Rust Removal

[dencins]

I was talking with some friends who restore antique cars and mentioned the problem with removing rust off parts.  They asked me if I had tried Washing Soda and electrolysis.  They said it was cheap, easy and did not damage the good steel.  I have not tried it yet but it sounds interesting.  Here is an article about it.

http://1bad6t.com/rust_removal.html

Has anyone tried this?

Dennis Hallworth

[TelePlay]

Very good article with details and photos making it easy. Also precautions to prevent problems.

Only one thing, the thermonuclear hydrogen bomb is a nuclear fusion device. In electrolysis, water is split into hydrogen and oxygen gas. A few liters of both in a concentration ratio of 2 to 1, hydrogen to oxygen, is a highly explosive mixture. Hydrogen burns or is oxidized by oxygen and metal fabrication shops use this type of torch to cut niche metals today. A large amount of either in a basement or garage can be touched off by a spark, not a good thing, with oxygen causing an explosive fire and hydrogen causing an explosion. The product of a hydrogen-oxygen reaction, controlled or explosive, is simply water. As you may know, they launched the space shuttle with that reaction (the big tank attached to the shuttle was filled with both liquid hydrogen and oxygen). Still, both oxygen and hydrogen gases are dangerous none the less and this procedure should be done in a well vented area with constant air movement to avoid build ups of either.

Other than that, I'm heading to my local Home Depot tomorrow to get the components and try this. In the past, I was using toilet bowl cleaner (hydrochloric acid) to remove rust. That works well for small parts but this method of electrolysis seems ideal for larger parts that can be submerged.

Good tip. Seems it should work. Can't wait to try it.

Now I'm just thinking about how I can get this to work on my car . . .  

[old_stuff_hound]

I've used it -- it works well! Fairly slow though. It's also mostly "line of sight" -- you'll get the most reaction on the side of the part that faces the electrode and a lot less on the opposite side. But given how small phone parts are (how little surface area), this might not be as much a problem.

Be sure to report how it goes!

[cihensley@aol.com]

Dennis - if you try this, let us know how it does. Do you think it will be better than Evapo-Rust? Evapo-Rust is so easy to use and completely removes rust.

Chuck

[DavePEI]

Dennis - if you try this, let us know how it does. Do you think it will be better than Evapo-Rust? Evapo-Rust is so easy to use and completely removes rust.

Chuck

Not to mention, non-toxic

http://www.islandregister.com/phones/teletype/rust.html

D.

[dencins]

If it works like the article says then I like the price over Evapo-Rust which around here is $30.00 per gallon.  If I get it online with shipping it is still comes out about the same.  I can get a box of washing soda at the local grocery store for less than $5.  It would also let me do some larger parts (not telephone parts).

I have also thought about a scaled down version - maybe a one gallon size that would use uncoated steel spikes instead of rebar.  

Of course all auto restorers have battery chargers so if someone does not have one that could be more expensive.  I have a trickle charger that may not have enough amperage.  My second choice will be a old computer power supply.

Dennis Hallworth  

[TelePlay]

If it works like the article says then I like the price over Evapo-Rust which around here is $30.00 per gallon.  If I get it online with shipping it is still comes out about the same.  I can get a box of washing soda at the local grocery store for less than $5.  It would also let me do some larger parts (not telephone parts).

I have also thought about a scaled down version - maybe a one gallon size that would use uncoated steel spikes instead of rebar.  

Of course all auto restorers have battery chargers so if someone does not have one that could be more expensive.  I have a trickle charger that may not have enough amperage.  My second choice will be a old computer power supply.

Dennis Hallworth  

It would seem one could use a container as small as a pint or as large as a 5 gallon pail depending on how big the rusted part would be. Each size would need it own set of electrodes evenly spaced around the inside perimeter of the container but once set up, would work until exhausted and would need to be replaced.

Evapo-Rust seems great for smaller objects that can't be submerged. Car parts stores carry it in the gallon size for less than $30 which avoids shipping charges.

[Greg G.]

A lot of things I would have to spend some time (and money) finding and setting up.  I put rusty parts in a bath of CLR, it's always worked for me.

[TelePlay]

A lot of things I would have to spend some time (and money) finding and setting up.  I put rusty parts in a bath of CLR, it's always worked for me.

I use "The Works" toilet bowl cleaner to get rid of rust. It's basically hydrochloric acid and it's cheaper than CLR. Takes off the rust but seems to leave the unrusted metal untouched.

Also works great at taking lime off of the glass bowls I use to water my cats