Hi all I have read about the 'wonder' of rust removal using a solution of molasses and water. I was a little sceptical, but did some web research, including HAMB members who have extolled the virtues and explained the science and magic of the process. Thank you for that, and I had an old ice cooler ('esky' here) that I mixed a solution for. Miscellaneous brackets and trim pieces for my 35 Hudson went into the soup. They stayed there for 2 weeks, and 'hey presto'!!! Clean and tidy with the help of an old toothbrush and fresh water. Dry the items, sand with some fine grade or a wire brush and then etch prime and set aside. Here in Australia molasses costs $40 for a 20 litre bucket, so it is cheap, harmless to the environment (and my hands) and does a great job. Each item has stayed in the tub for 2 weeks before removal and cleaning. Sorry if many of you know this, but for those of you who do not, have a go. Time is the real cost, the rest is dollars in your pocket, and beautifully clean parts that you may not have kept because they look like crap. For you Ford boys and girls, parts are relatively easy to come by- new repro, refurbished oldies and original, but for some other makes there are no other options....have a look at my pictures please. HAMB is about spreading the message and passing on stuff that is useful, cost effective and relatively easy. Love this site, enjoy the stories and looking at the pictures.
I got another tip from You-tube (another guy in Oz) After you scrub off the sludge and whatnot, spray with POR 15 Prep and Ready and it will stop flash rusting until you can prime it. I live on Canada`s "wet" coast , this tip was brilliant! It`s kinda nice when something simple and cheap works so well eh?
Could you tell us what Molasses to Water ratio you used and post a pic of what you used for a container (if you built one)?
I put a pair of EAB heads in a 1 to 7 solution yesterday. Gonna wait a couple of weeks to look and see.
You gotta keep an eye on it, too rich and the acids will eat away at the metal while you're not looking!!
MAGIC NUMBER! THANKS! I hadn't tripped over it yet in my searching. I've gotta do a quick, rough mockup on my project & then I'm doing this to my body panels.
The bad part read here is that it causes embrittlement of the metal. So, it was not recommended for structural or motor parts. Is this fact or fiction?
It's been proven to be fiction.There isn't enough of a chemical reaction to cause the metallurgy to change.That was one of my concerns at one point also..
I've been using mine for about 2 years now. Works great. Lost one small part when it fell off the hook, and I forgot about it. Completely dissolved. My ratio is about 9-1 water to molasses. About once every month I take a cat litter scoop (a clean one!) and scoop the mold off the surface of the bath water in order to keep oxygen flowing and to keep things clean. I used a compost bin that the provincial government was nice enough to drop off one day. It has a latching lid and wheels. Not nearly big enough for body panels, but all my small parts including backing plates fit in just fine. I can latch the lid to keep hungry animals away and roll it around if it's in the way. There's a thread on here about a guy that built a big bath (hottub sized) with a latching lid, for body panels. You can use about anything that seals/holds liquid. A chest freezer would be perfect. Use your imagination. I've never heard this before. I imagine that it will if you leave it in long enough, but the first thing the molasses is going to attack is the weak rust.
Wow this is great! Gotta try it. 100 gal mollasses / 1000 gallons of water and a shipping container might just do the Pontiac! Seriously - great tip - great site - THanks
You will probably be o.k. That said, be careful with cast parts with machined surfaces. I did a block or two and the deck surface got eaten up. I had to have it resurfaced. I think that the impurities in the iron is affected by the mollasses. I was told to put a film of grease on the machined surfaces to keep the molasses from coming in contact. I also forgot a timing cover in the bath and after a month or so the cast seemed soft to where I could remove what I did not want to remove with a scraper. Neal
yeah, keep an eye on those heads. I seem to remember on another thread someone saying that the acid in the molasses would sometimes eat into cast parts.
We used on old chest type deep freeze . It holds 130 gallons, just shut the lid and walk away. Have done numerous panels and parts, but no cast stuff as yet. Left some 27 T coupe doors in there for 2 months one came out mint and the other with a bunch of holes I didn't see before but the good parent metal was unharmed. Power wash it off , dry thoroughly and blow the seams clean, then a good spray and scrub with metal prep rust remover, dry again. And spray with durepox etch primer sealer.
Those mentioning "cast" stuff..........NO cast aluminum, mind you!.........It WILL eat it up. Cast iron and steels, no problem, just monitor the progress as on all the parts.
Hi all I used a ratio of 9:1. Stealthcruiser is correct- NO aluminium. It eats that shit up. Olderchild is correct too- temperature affects efficiency Kiwi4d has got the right idea for a container, by using an old chest freezer. I'm looking for a fuel pod, which is 1 cubic meter in size. I'll be able to do my door in halves. Remember this process gets to places that sandblasting cannot- it just needs pressure cleaning after.
been wanting to try some in my Model A tank....it's not real bad...but some stuff keeps clogging the stock set up - or what do you guys think ?
I'm assuming that your tank has gas in it now and isn't leaking. It will work decently well, but you'll have to find some way to thoroughly flush everything out afterwards. Also, it'll be hard to tell if any pinholes develop until the tank starts leaking. It'll also be hard to tell how clean it really is. Personally, I'd want to remove the tank first. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
Thanks for bringing up this worthwhile topic again. I have been using molasses and water in roughly a one to ten mixture for over ten years now, and have used it to get the rust off hundreds of parts. It is a bit of labor, but is very cheap and not harmful to the environment, so all around a win on every point.
Has anyone tried this on partially rusted, galvanized parts? I'd imagine it will strip the zinc along with the rust. Yes/No?
Anyone ever tried this on either aluminum or pot metal? Can't wait to try this - every piece of chain I own is a rusty mess Eastern Canada ! If its not vacuum sealed its oxidizing!
I bought 20L of feed grain molasses at the local feed store for about 12$(including discount for cash) and have done a rusted interior clip and left it in for weeks. A little scrubbing and then paint. I left some chrome interior screws in for a while and they came out rust free and shiny. I just mixed some in a plastic container without checking the ratio. Very happy with results and cost.
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