Additional notes on electrolytic rust removal

Clean the thing first.

Yeah, I know... it's a mess. But the odds are it's an oily, greasy
mess. And there may still be some paint under all that rust.
Electrolysis does not work on grease. Nor paint. You'll end up
removing the rust from all around the greasy or painted part... which
may be what you want but usually isn't. So degrease it.

A hot solution of lye (ie, the traditional 'hot tank') is the
time-proven method. Of course, if get some on you, you tend to jump
around and make funny noises. TSP -- trisodiumphosphate -- is a more
benign getter of grease and does a pretty good job on paint. Just
keep boiling the dirty part until it's down to Basic Rust then pop it
into your electrolytic bath. (Be sure to use real tri-sodium
phosphate. There is a common household cleaner with the BRAND NAME of
'TSP' that does not contain any phosphates at all. Paint department
usually carries it [you use it to scrub old paint before laying on
new]. )

Same holds true for your iron electrodes. If you clean them before
wiring them up they will have more effective surface area.

Handiest clamps I've found were pieces of copper pipe. Cut off a
piece about an inch long, wrap your wire around it and solder, then
drill the thing to accept at least three sheet-metal screws. Slide
over the re-bar, tighten the screws, connect the wire and away you go.
The re-bar gets eaten up but the clamps will last just about forever.

If you've used a concentrated salt solution for your electrolyte then
you'll need to BOIL the part in clean water once the rust has been
removed. The derusted, boiled part will develop a haze of rust as
soon as you lift it from the boiling water so be ready to deal with
it. Either give it a shot of primer as soon as it's dry or hose it
down with WD-40. (I don't recommend the use of lye. Any salt (as
opposed to acid) will work. I use washing soda.)

A big advantage to electrolytic rust removal is that it only takes
away the rust, not the metal attached to it. With sand blasting,
everything goes -- and leaves a surface that's rough as a cob.

Save the Coca-cola for rotting out your teeth, the way God and the
American Dental Association intended. If you got rust, there are
smarter, less expensive ways to get rid of it.

-Bob Hoover

On 27 Oct 2004 15:47:48 -0700, (Bob Hoover) wrote:

>Clean the thing first.
>
>Yeah, I know... it's a mess. But the odds are it's an oily, greasy
>mess. And there may still be some paint under all that rust.
>Electrolysis does not work on grease. Nor paint. You'll end up
>removing the rust from all around the greasy or painted part... which
>may be what you want but usually isn't. So degrease it.
>
>A hot solution of lye (ie, the traditional 'hot tank') is the
>time-proven method. Of course, if get some on you, you tend to jump
>around and make funny noises. TSP -- trisodiumphosphate -- is a more
>benign getter of grease and does a pretty good job on paint. Just
>keep boiling the dirty part until it's down to Basic Rust then pop it
>into your electrolytic bath. (Be sure to use real tri-sodium
>phosphate. There is a common household cleaner with the BRAND NAME of
>'TSP' that does not contain any phosphates at all. Paint department
>usually carries it [you use it to scrub old paint before laying on
>new]. )
>
>Same holds true for your iron electrodes. If you clean them before
>wiring them up they will have more effective surface area.
>
>Handiest clamps I've found were pieces of copper pipe. Cut off a
>piece about an inch long, wrap your wire around it and solder, then
>drill the thing to accept at least three sheet-metal screws. Slide
>over the re-bar,

Ooh. My knees are gettin' shaky reading Bob talk about rebar. :-D

> tighten the screws, connect the wire and away you go.
> The re-bar gets eaten up but the clamps will last just about forever.
>
>If you've used a concentrated salt solution for your electrolyte then
>you'll need to BOIL the part in clean water once the rust has been
>removed. The derusted, boiled part will develop a haze of rust as
>soon as you lift it from the boiling water so be ready to deal with
>it. Either give it a shot of primer as soon as it's dry or hose it
>down with WD-40. (I don't recommend the use of lye. Any salt (as
>opposed to acid) will work. I use washing soda.)
>
>A big advantage to electrolytic rust removal is that it only takes
>away the rust, not the metal attached to it. With sand blasting,
>everything goes -- and leaves a surface that's rough as a cob.
>
>Save the Coca-cola for rotting out your teeth, the way God and the
>American Dental Association intended. If you got rust, there are
>smarter, less expensive ways to get rid of it.
>
>-Bob Hoover

--

Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite,
and furthermore always carry a small snake.
- W.C. Fields

Boil the parts in a good dishwasher detergent. Can't beat it. Then oil 'em
up to keep them from rusting.