Rust removal by electrolysis - My turn

[MalibuLX3]

So after reading a couple of threads about electrolysis rust removal, I decided to set on and try it myself. Like many, I was able to find most of the necessary supplies around the house.

Here is what I used:
10amp battery charger
2 gallons of distilled water
Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
Scrap steel rod
Grey finishing pads
Bailing wire
5 gallon bucket

I found 3 tools I wanted to clean. The first one was a wrench I found literally in the dirt. It’s hard to tell, but it’s an old Craftsman raised panel. Next was a really old caliper type tool, as well as a compass type tool.

I mixed up my solution using 1 tablespoon of washing soda per gallon of water, and placed my steel in the solution. I then connected the positive terminal of my battery charger to the steel and the negative terminal to the Craftsman wrench, the first item I was going to clean.

I made sure the items weren’t touching and flipped the switch, expecting the rust to melt right off. Since this was my first time doing electrolysis I didn’t know exactly what to expect, and when I saw no activity at first I thought I’m sure it takes time and decided to let it sit for a little while and see what happens. I came back 30 minutes later but still nothing. I thought maybe my battery charger wasn’t sending any current so I hooked up a battery in between the charger and the tool to be cleaned and flipped the switch once again. Still nothing.

Then it dawned on me that I did not have a good enough connection between the charger and the tool due to all the rust. So I pulled this tool out and decided to go for the compass instead.
I hooked it up to the charger, positioned it in the solution, flipped the switch to the charger, and it started bubbling immediately.

I let it sit for 2 hours and when I pulled it out, most all of the rust was gone. So I threw the caliper in and went on cleaning up the black residue left on the compass. The black residue was easy to remove from the flat straight areas of the tool, but a challenge cleaning the smaller areas. I read about soaking the tool in lemon juice after electrolysis, so I decided to give that a try.
After soaking both tools, the compass and the caliper, in the lemon juice, the black reside was coming off, but now I was left with some type of an orange-ish colored residue. This came off easily, but once again was had to remove from small areas.

One weird thing that happened is when I took the tools out of the lemon juice; I noticed one of them had cracked clean in half. This didn’t happen in the electrolysis, but in the lemon juice. Any idea what could have caused this, and why didn’t it crack earlier?

Lastly, I rubbed the tools down with a light oil to prevent rust. Overall, I’m happy with electrolysis. It was very simple and barely cost me anything. If there were only an easier and more effective was to remove that black residue I would be even happier with the results.

I’m still going to try and clean the Craftsman wrench. I know the electrolysis won’t replace the missing metal or fill in the severe pitting, but I will think it will be a cool experiment.

Thanks for reading
-Curtis

 

[kywking]

Might try an acid solution to remove the oxidation.

-wking

 

[JayL]

Do you think the setup works better with a car Battery in parallel with the Charger?

 

[MalibuLX3]

Do you think the setup works better with a car Battery in parallel with the Charger?

When I did the second tool the caliper, I disconnected the battery and I didn't notice any difference. I let it sit for the same amount of time and got the same results.

Maybe there might be a slight difference, but I didn't notice one.

 

[stopdroplol]

I just wire wheel the carbon deposits off (the black coating). Maybe try diluting the lemon juice to limit the amount of residue it leaves.

I'm not sure why you bothered using distilled water. The hose would've worked just as well. And I noticed you dropped your "negative clip" into the water. I guess that's mostly ok, but if it rusts it will ruin your connection. What I do is just tie the wire around the part and put the clip on the extended wire. Your choice though.

Electrolysis is fun and all but It's generally not my first choice. Generally the only time I use it is when the parts are to big to be submerged in acid.

Edit: The battery/charger parallel probably wont make a difference in this case. The amount of amperage is limited to the amount of electrolytes in the water. And the amount of electrolytes is limited to the amount of water in the tank. Then you'd also have to consider the effectiveness of the anode (which you'd probably need multiple of). To get beyond 10 amps you'll probably need at least 10 gallons of water. I once used a garbage can filled with water and I managed to burn out a charger. I imagine the amperage was probably around 20, which was probably to much as it runs a risk of damaging any plating process on the piece.

edit2: Last bit of advice. Learn from my experience...never put your hand in the water if it has an open wound. I wont be making that mistake again....

 

[BlindViper]

I cleaned about 5 or 6 compasses and calipers and had one crack like that to.

 

[MalibuLX3]

I just wire wheel the carbon deposits off (the black coating). Maybe try diluting the lemon juice to limit the amount of residue it leaves.

I'm not sure why you bothered using distilled water. The hose would've worked just as well. And I noticed you dropped your "negative clip" into the water. I guess that's mostly ok, but if it rusts it will ruin your connection. What I do is just tie the wire around the part and put the clip on the extended wire. Your choice though.

Electrolysis is fun and all but It's generally not my first choice. Generally the only time I use it is when the parts are to big to be submerged in acid.

Thanks for your advice, I'll definitely consider it next time I give electrolysis a try.

I cleaned about 5 or 6 compasses and calipers and had one crack like that to.

Thanks for speaking up, that sure is strange. I'm glad, but not really, that it happened to someone else and not just me.

 

[DocsMachine]

Thanks for speaking up, that sure is strange. I'm glad, but not really, that it happened to someone else and not just me.

-The cracking is actually fairly common to dividers and calipers like that, regardless of rusting or how it's removed.

The ring is a spring, that preloads the legs against the adjustment screw. It's a pretty stiff spring, and under a lot of stress when the legs are closed.

Add to that the fact the calipers might be upwards of forty or fifty years old, just plain age tends to fatigue 'em. It wasn't the electrolysis that cracked it.

Doc.

 

[MalibuLX3]

-The cracking is actually fairly common to dividers and calipers like that, regardless of rusting or how it's removed.

The ring is a spring, that preloads the legs against the adjustment screw. It's a pretty stiff spring, and under a lot of stress when the legs are closed.

Add to that the fact the calipers might be upwards of forty or fifty years old, just plain age tends to fatigue 'em. It wasn't the electrolysis that cracked it.

Doc.

That makes perfect sense. The one caliper that broke had printed on "PATENTED JUNE, 2, 1885".

 

[1320stang]

Make sure you do that outside as hydrogen gas is created in the process. Also, I put up multiple positive leads around the outside and wire them together with welding wire or even pieces from romex. The process works with a direct line of sight between the positive and negative so if you put a piece of rusty plate steel in there, only the side that 'sees' the rod would de-rust.

 

[snapmom]

Sometimes you need a battery to get the charger going. I use a piece of 8 inch steel pipe and set it in the bucket.

 

[MalibuLX3]

Sometimes you need a battery to get the charger going. I use a piece of 8 inch steel pipe and set it in the bucket.

Thats a good idea, thanks for the advice.

 

[diesel research]

I'm not sure why you bothered using distilled water. The hose would've worked just as well.

Agreed, distilled water is actually not as conductive. Those minerals are similar to "electrolytes".

 

[MalibuLX3]

Agreed, distilled water is actually not as conductive. Those minerals are similar to "electrolytes".

That's good to know. I had read somewhere else that distiller water was better so I went with that.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Steevo]

How much effect does the voltage have on this process?
I have a 24v charger from my old lawn mower that I saved thinking I'd do this with it some day.

 

[spongerich]

How much effect does the voltage have on this process?
I have a 24v charger from my old lawn mower that I saved thinking I'd do this with it some day.

I've seen guys use DC welders when doing very large parts (like a whole engine block).

24v will work OK, but I'd use a fairly large tank or you'll risk boiling your electrolyte.

 

[Displaced Hokie]

Looks like it did a great job. I'm always impressed with it myself.