The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Super de-rusting

I was sent this BB link that someone scanned the written article to on use the electric method for de-rusting. This is great info. Once you get to the BB scroll down to the 5th. post and see the written article with color photos. That's what I will build this weekend.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=167665&highlight=electrolysis

I'll post this at jolly's site and also in the Greasy Spoon and send them this way.

I will have to give that a try! Thanks for posting.

Curiosity got me. I am derusting shock and spring brackets using the set up in TECH TIPS with modifications. I have to say it works very well and am surprised as to how well. My charger is a newer digital type and intially wouldn't work. It shut down and kept sending messages about a bad battery cell. So I fooled it by hooking it first to a dead 6V battery and then used copper 14GA copper wire from the battery posts to the discahrge rod and rusted piece. Works like a charm.

I have not tried that yet, but heard it works better than just the charger.I guess I need to get a battery to use for de-rusting.

For the folks that are using this process, how long do you need to let this thing cook? Or does it depend on the type of DC source your using?

Is there some way to tell it's done?

I let my first shock bracket "cook" for 3 hours
with periodic brushing with a wire brush. I don't think it needed to be in the process that long, but I was painting too, so I just checked it when I had time. It was, by the way, very heavily rusted. Later today I'm putting in the other bracket along with the flat U-Bolt plates all wired together. I'll let you know how long that takes.The nice thing about this process is that it doesn't require a lot of attention so it's almost a side job.

I have a similar set up just in a 55gal barrel and have had great success on wheels and a bell housing and a few other items I could not get in my blaster cabinet. most of these were then taken out of the tank and scrubbed with a plastic brush and then I cleaned with Por15's marine clean to make sure all the oil and goo was removed then rinsed and shot with metal ready before I primed them. sure works slick. You guys should try it at least once.
Mike

OLTRUCKS,
55 Gallons!Wow! How did you fiqure the proportions of the soda and did it require higher voltage? Never thought about doing wheels.

The soda numbers stay the same 1-2 oz per gallon so for 55 gallons would need 6.9 lb of Soda I used pH Plus from wal-mart in the pool section $5.00 for about 5 pounds.

It seems to work on the bumper brackets. I used an 18 gallon large plastic container, Next time I will rig up a 5 gallon bucket, I think the "less travel" space between the pos and neg ions may have something to do with the effectiveness of the process.

Yes,I agree that less space between the +/- seems more effective in shorter time. I placed my remaining brackets in a smaller container and the 3 pieces were done in less then 2 hours. I'm going to locate a plastic container that will hold one wheel and see how it works. Thanks for the info.Simple math afterall.

Hey OLTrucks guy- did you hook up one of the battery cable leads to the 55 gallon barrel and then suspend the parts in it, with their own lead? I hope I have been clear on this question.

I read about this system & set up some parts is a 5gal plastic can with great results. I went out & purchased a large plastic storage bin & now have an assembly line going. Parts waiting are soaked in vineger 1st then are placed into the electroyte bin. If I find an inexpensive charger I'll get it as mine is only 2 amps & I think it would go faster if I use a 10amp system

I had used two leads (steel rods) in the barrel and connected the other lead to the chain the held the wheel (one at a time)suspended with a pipe across the top of the barrel. I used a charger hooked to a battery then to the leads for the tank/item (I had problems with the charger alone). The gap I had between the rods and the wheel was close to 8-10” and it did take about 24 hrs for them to get where I wanted them. After I scrubbed them down with a stiff plastic brush while rinsing them off then hit them with por15”s marine clean then rinsed then prepped with metal ready till I’m ready to paint them they look great. I’m sure some fine tuning can be done and might have faster results.
Mike

here is a great write up on this.
Mike

One thing I would like to point out from that write up. I have read from other sources that stainless steel is very bad to use for this. It produces a highly toxic by-product in the water that is a known cancer causing element. I use steel rebar in mine and it works just fine. I'm not trying to pick apart the write up, just want everyone to be safe.

Electrolysis is the coolest way to derust parts. After letting pearts soak over night most paint is softened up enough that it will come right off with a wire brush and hose. I did from the bellhousing to the rear end on my coe, and all the little parts in between. I just use a 32 gallon trash can but plan on going bigger.

The key is to surround the piece with scrap metal. I hang my parts in the middle and have 10 or more sticks of scrap steel wired around the edge of the trash can.

Heres a pic of the driveline. When done, flip and repeat.

The tranny case came out super clean, did the oil pan, all kinds of stuff. Just take a grinder to the scrap metal once in awhile to clean off the big stuff. Its also worth putting a lid on so you dont end up with drowned rats in the solution.

Jeff

YEPPPPPP, there is another post floating around about this w/several sites w/info on how to do it also...Joe