Thanks for the good info Keith! I let the process run overnight, with a
trunk lid brace component in the plastic tub. I had dents at the back of
the trunk lid, hard to get at due to the cross bracing inside. Also a
ridge of rust at the lower edge on the inside. So I used my air chisel
to take off the internal bracing. The factory inner areas were unpainted
and were heavily rusted. Yech! Way to much work to sand and grind the
rust off by mechanical methods, so I checked into other means.
The brace is about 5 x 33 inches, and more than half of the length fit
in the tub. When I pulled it out today, all the rust was gone on the
side in the water facing the positive sacrifice plate. There was a light
black covering on the formerly most heavily rusted areas. It did remove
a lot of rust on the side facing away from the positive plate, but not
all. Saved me a lot of manual work. I'll add more baking soda and see if
it works faster on the other end of the brace. When I weld it all back
together I'll have the knowledge that it's rust-free.
Fred Katz - So.SF
BADROC
'70 1600 Blondie (undergoing cosmetic fixes)
'66 2L Lucie
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of
Keith0alan@aol.com
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2006 6:29 AM
To: roadster@rcn.com; datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Rust removal
Fred,
Pretty much anything that makes the water conductive will work.
I've
used baking soda and even salt. While the salt works I wasn't
comfortable with
being able to get it all off when I was done. I also do antique engines
and
that community swears by the electrolysis process. One thing that is
interesting is that the process is pretty much line of sight so you
need to turn pieces
over to get the back side. 2 amps seems a little low for large parts,
you
might throw in a little more soda. The anode (positive) side sure gets
eaten up
but the cathode (negative) does not seem to be attacked at all, the
rust
just comes off. Just make sure and not get your leads backwards.
keith
In a message dated 2/9/2006 11:03:06 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,
roadster@rcn.com writes:
I've got questions about electrolysis rust removal, for those that use
this process. Most websites I researched say to use washing soda. Not
having any on hand, I used baking soda. I put 8 gallons of water in a
plastic tub, and added 1 tablespoon baking soda per gallon. Attached a
positive lead of my battery charger to a 6 x 6 steel plate dangling in
the tub. And attached the negative lead to a large body part (not my
personal body, but trunk lid pieces I separated with an air chisel).
It seems to work, hydrogen bubbles stream off the negative connected
part while converting the rust to iron. And oxygen coming off the
positive plate. (Yes, the tub is outside with air circulation.)
My question is, if I were to use washing soda would the electrolyte
solution make the current too strong for my battery charger (too much
current flow)? Am I better off with the baking soda, which maybe
dilutes the effect of the electrolyte and it's ability to pass a strong
current flow? I'm using a 20amp charger at 12 volts; it has a meter
that shows a 2 amp current flow.
I'm trying to minimize the loss of steel in a bunch of body parts I'm
restoring. Grinding and sanding would be too destructive.
Fred - So.SF
BADROC
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