Someone has a post about a method of rust removal involving a bucket baking soda and electricity. I plan on using this on some small parts but can't find a link to the thread? Anyone remember this method?
[ QUOTE ] Any time. Better off asking than getting hurt. [/ QUOTE ] Yeah and the last thing I wanted was my pomp turnin into a psycho vanilla ice pomp after a jolt of electricity
I had the polarity backwards, didn't work too good. Then I read the instructions and it worked great.
[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] i tryed it, didnt work so great. [/ QUOTE ] well the key is to leave it in a long time. [/ QUOTE ] it removed the rust and made the other bare steel corrode.
thats because you need to do something with it right away after you strip it to keep it from flash rusting! i'd suggest rinsing it with metal prep or something.
i've been going nuts with this technique since i found it in the tech area. i always hit my parts with a wire brush or wheel or scotch brite or something then give a liberal douching of wd40. seems to hold the rust back purty good.
I use lye... I have experiemented with this method of rust removal ALOT lately.. I now have a 55 gallon drum for big stuff and AM seriously considering getting a kiddie pool for some sheet metal pieces I am gonna need to derust... FWIW I only let the parts go till I notice some stuff floating at the top of the solution then I remove the parts from the bath and use a wirewheel to remove the loosened rust, then If necessary I do it all again.. Just be careful not to smoke around the process (or induce any other sparks) while the electrolisis process is working) remember the hindenburg... later sawZall
I've been using this a lot lately with great success. I just place it in the tank with the solution and plug it in for a couple of days while I work on something else. After that, I take it out, wire bruch/wheel it, let it dry and paint it. Then again, I'm just another satisfied customer... r
I've seen times ranging from a few hours to several days. How long for sheetmetal? 2-3 hours? 8 hours. Very curious.
I tried it with baking soda and it didn't work either, supposedly laundry soda is the magic ingredient? i dunno, haven't tried it yet.
If you read how it actually works it is a chemical transformation of the rust. The metal doesn't come out shiny and clean. You still need to clean off the black stuff that gets left behind. Baking soda works fine. I don't know what the ratio for it is, but if you have an amp meter on the charger (if thats what you are using) you can watch the amps rise as you add more soda in.
The Arm and Hammer "Super Washing Soda" seems to work best for us. A student just did it with a pair of pliers he found under a 100 year old barn that they tore down. They were rusted solid so bad you could barley tell they were pliers. When they were done, even the rivit holding the 2 halves together spun freely. -Jeff
[ QUOTE ] IJust be careful not to smoke around the process (or induce any other sparks) while the electrolisis process is working) remember the hindenburg... later sawZall [/ QUOTE ] actually, re: the hindenburg, i recently read the transcript from a pbs do***entary on it, a guy has this theory, that hydrogen had nothing to do with the explosion, it would have burned if it was filled with inert gas. the problem, was the "dope" used to coat the fabric outside to make it weatherproof, and control the temperature. the hindenburg used an experimental coating, made from iron powder and aluminum dust if i recall correctly, which is an explosive mixture. anyway, it wasn't grounded properly, got hit by lightening, and the rest is history. how's that for off topic?
[ QUOTE ] I tried it with baking soda and it didn't work either, supposedly laundry soda is the magic ingredient? i dunno, haven't tried it yet. [/ QUOTE ] Baking soda is sodium BI-carbonate...what you need is sodium carbonate, as found in laundry soda. The soda provides a conduit for the oxide ions to move from the rusted part to the anode, if you use BI-carbonate the conduit is severely limited...in car terms, you go from a 4-lane freeway to a 1-lane dirt road. You only need about a tables**** per gallon of water, a box of laundry soda costs less than $2 so even you cheapskates can afford to do this right. There is nothing dangerous about the biproducts of this process; it's just water and inert gas. Nothing toxic, nothing flammable. As for size of the tank, I have seen websites where guys have used 2x12 planks standing on edge to build a 20x10 foot "tank" using plastic sheeting as a liner. Several anodes were placed around the inside of the "tank" to get better coverage. One guy actually derusted a complete motor home frame using this arrangement. As for the condition of the clean metal, there will be a black oxide left on the derusted metal...this is the same material that is used on magnetic recording tape. Open up a VCR tape and you will see the same black material bonded to the tape. This is easily buffed off leaving clean steel. Pits are pits, this process removes the rust it does not fill in the holes. Good Luck, this process really works if you follow the simple directions...
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