Is it worth putting in the blaster/E-Tank?

[Swingpress]

As the title says, is it worth it or just a big paper weight.

In my shop I have a shelf system where everything I collect to restore gets queued. I hadn't made any great accomplishments the last couple of weeks so I checked the next tub and I'm not sure it's worth the cleanup.

It's an old hay trolley from a barn but this thing is CRUSTY! I thought if it cleaned up good I might have a shop near me porcelain coat it (not original to the piece but thought it might look neat/ different) but it pretty rough.

What say you iron sages?

 

[Mintgrun]

electrolysis would do a nice job on that.
so much less 'invasive' than blasting.
personally, I think it is pretty just the way it is.

ashes to ashes and rust to rust.

 

[dkroth]

Electrolysis for a day or to to soften it up. Then bead blast it to prep the surface for paint (or whatever).

 

[gnpenning]

Stick it in a box.... then ship it to me.

That is a classic piece of old iron that needs to be brought back to life. It just begs to have the lettering to be painted a contrasting color. Soak it.

 

[bill300d]

That might just turn out better than you think.

 

[ssdave]

I'd e-tank it, and see how it comes out. If you don't want to paint it after it comes out of the e-tank, pressure wash it to get the crud off, and then let it flash rust for a few days. Then, boil it in water (or steam it in hot, fully saturated steam) and the rust will stabilize into black rust instead of soft red rust. You will end up with a black/gray finish, somewhat resistant to rusting, that you can oil and polish with a cloth and have look good and not rust further unless you really abuse it by poor storage.

 

[M_George]

I have one of those. My wife wants me to make a swag light out of it.

 

[Shiftless]

I have one of those. My wife wants me to make a swag light out of it.

Good idea! I recently obtained a big ol' cast iron pulley that I plan to turn into something like this.
Yours would be way better.

 

[happymachinist]

I have one similar. I will probably use electrolysis to get get the heavy rust off. That is after a good power washing to get the bird **** off.

 

[Swingpress]

Alright, you all convinced me. She is sitting in the tank as of this morning. Any votes on colors? I was thinking gloss black with the pulleys/rollers and raised lettering in gold.? But I'm open to suggestions!

I do need to find a correct hook for it also.

 

[torqueman2002]

I'm for the e-tank as well, good choice.

If you want a 'natural' look, try boiled linseed oil.

Be mindful of the old rags, they will spontaneously burst into flames.

 

[CNGsaves]

^ ^ ^ +1 for the BLO (boiled linseed oil) finish. Gloss black will look too new.

Post up some more pics as it comes out of the tank.

 

[LXCam]

Alright, you all convinced me. She is sitting in the tank as of this morning. Any votes on colors? I was thinking gloss black with the pulleys/rollers and raised lettering in gold.? But I'm open to suggestions!

I do need to find a correct hook for it also.

The black will hide all those badass details of the casting. That's such a nice piece I'd maybe give some consideration to greens, reds and beige colors

 

[M_George]

Here's mine. Picked it up at an action a couple of years ago. Got me interested in giving it a bath and making the swag light for the wife.

 

[torqueman2002]

I know you're using the e-tank, but here's another rust removal process.

<a href="<iframe width=" 560"="" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CLaBFkeHG0A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="">"><a href="<iframe width=" 560"="" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CLaBFkeHG0A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CLaBFkeHG0A" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

 

[Shiftless]

I want one!

 

[Swingpress]

tic. tic. tic. tic. DING!

 

[torqueman2002]

Those laser blasters are soo kool. Who wouldn't want one?!? And they look dangerous! What's not to like?

Any way, I found a b4 and after pictures of a vise that got the e-tank and BLO treatment.

BTW - If any one has information on this Parker 52, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[Swingpress]

I know you're using the e-tank, but here's another rust removal process.

If that thing came down in price to sub 10k range I would probably do whatever it took to own one!

But, at $480,000.00 its gonna be awhile!

I would have to aggressively expand the volume and types of projects I take on and even then it would have to be run full time to make it justifiable. Even then, the technology is line-of-site so it still has its limitations though it will remove paint, oil, grease, etc. But, sublimation surface prep is VERY COOL!