electrolytic rust removal

[Barlidge]

well i finerly bite the bullet and ordered one..

O-FS-PS200ADJ

doing a few bits again in the bucket using the battery charger.

They are good value, you can also use them for plating

 

[marlinspike]

When I've derusted stuff in citric acid, I've just chucked it on the garden. It's in lemonade so pretty sure it's no problem to dispose of.

 

[T0rnado69]

They are good value, you can also use them for plating

yes i remember wallace mentioning that a while back.
something to look into at a later date...
well you know. you have to try these things

 

[123hotchef]

would a 200w 12v transformer work as a power source for this?

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

When I have done with de rusting with my citric acid I filter it and use it to make copper sulphate to copper plate parts..

Then I filter that, the sludge goes into my copper recycling box. As does the remains from the de rusting, that goes into the steel box.

Then I dilute the copper sulphate and use it as weed killer. It will kill ivy and dandy lions.

Then with lots of water running down my out side tap drain.

 

[DAPPH]

Simple things can totally cock the process up. That's where having an ammeter on the setup comes in handy. If you don't see any current draw, you know either a connection is poor else something else is up. Most problems, if the setup is generally sound, are usually down to bad connections.

Just been catching up on this thread , having cleaned the electrodes with a wire brush on them as they are still wet and washing the crud off has made a massive difference in the speed of cleaning .
I have also taken the wire hand brush to a few old Record plane bodies that had been de-rusting in the tank for three days , then power washed them off.
It not only got rid of most of the rust but any part that had been covered in a protective grease & crud cover also came clean . Putting them back in the tank for another two days they have come out very clean .
A wash off and spray with WD 40 to chase away any water than an oiling with a few drops of lathe way oil on a soft rag has left them looking like new according to the guy I cleaned them for . He is going to wash them off in petrol then repaint hem in that gorgeous dark blue that Record used on their planes .

One tiny thing didn't work out , that was loosening the bolt that the backing plate adjuster slot uses . I hollow ground an old screwdriver to the exact slot size after gently using swiss files to get the slot re-cut square , then ever so gently tried to undo the screw , it wouldn't budge . Heating the screw via a 20 ounce old fashioned lump of copper soldering iron , using penetrating fluid for a couple of hours , tap tapping on the screw driver didn't work either. In the end I just turned the screw driver by hand & sheared the sodding thread. Used the Dremel to grind it flat across the break and then made a jig so I could accurately center pop the remains of the adjuster .
Had to do a bit of very accurate drilling out at the correct angle using extra long 4 mm twist drill & then set it up to re-tap it in 1/4 ANC , finally I turned up a new adjuster on the lathe & put a 1/4 ANC thread on it ... success at last .

 

[DAPPH]

Wouldn't have thought that additional agitation would make much, if any, difference. If you try it though, let us know the results between running a pump and not.

Filtering the solution definitely wouldn't hurt, but isn't a necessity. All of the crap settles to the bottom of the tank when you're not running it, so it's out of the way as such unless you stir it up.

I have used a plastic washing machine connection tap , set it about 2 inches off the floor of the cut down 310 liter barrel . , added a plastic hose connector so I can simply push on a short hose with a plastic connector and run the vast majority of the water into my soak away . Once it gets to the last 10 inches of water or so i stir it up with a stick , then drained it into the soak away system. Ten as the barrel was almost empty , raised the opposite side of the tub to the tap up on two bricks and used the hose pipe & spray gun to wash everything out via the tap fitting. The last bit of water left in the tub is so small it's easy enough to manhandle the barrel upside down to drain everything out & spray rinse it internally whilst it's upside down .

 

[Barlidge]

Hi, I need some help with electrolysis. I've been using it successful for few months but I want to make some changes. My free PSU had hissing caps and you can hear it down the road when it's operating. Like somebody is trying to steal your tyres. I will be replacing it with something else but I want to make the right decision without just throwing money to experiment. While I'm happy with my big tank now it only draws 2-3 amps from a 12v desktop PSU. The original plan was to get another desktop PSU but I want to be able to run more amps now. I want to be able not only to remove the rust after 24+ hours but also lift/soften the paint more easily. This is where this setup is struggling and I have to leave the wheel for days while I keep brushing every day the newly softened paint.
My question is, I'm going with a Universal Switch PSU and they are available in either 12v 5-40 amps or 24v 10-25amps etc This is what they look like http://i.imgur.com/PnekaW6.jpg So the question is should I get a 24v at around 20amps or should I purchase a 12v that can do 30-40amps (for my price range). I haven't heard people talk about this and I was wondering if anybody has tried it. I only heard positive opinions on people on the internet who are running 24v. Maybe it's smoother or maybe it keeps the high amps up. My desktop PSU was rated up to 12A yet it never managed anything above 2-3amps but that's probably on me due to my setup. Which is ok, I can always adjust that. Again the best opinion had come from people who used 24v car battery chargers set on Boost, or Fork Lift Battery Chargers which are very expensive....we are talking 3 digits now. I don't mind if there is extra heat, extra foam etc as long as the process is NOT QUCIKER but better. I often find hidden rust under the crust where a bit more paint has lifted etc. Need to take it out, brush it and make some holes for the electrolysis to keep penetrating further etc.
My setup currently at 2 amps has zero foam, it's cold as ice, it's effective but drops amps very quickly after it's been stirred up.

Just my opinion but ... The amount of amps drawn is dependant on the size of the part and anodes, the conductivity of the fluid and distance from the part to the anodes, if the setup wanted to draw more amps it would and would trip the PSU's built in overload protection if it was getting pushed to its limit (which is why I like using them).

This process works best when run slowly, trying to speed it up by pushing more voltage and trying to pull more amps is more likely going to risk surface damage I believe. Stirring the liquid up will disturb the silt and effectively block the current. My setups never got even slightly warm.

 

[bigegg]

If you want to remove paint, use caustic soda as the electrolyte.

Gloves!
EYE PROTECTION!!!


it EATS skin!!!

12v 2a supply and patience

 

[ronan]

So happens i was watching Mrpete222 doing a comparison between rust removal with vinegar and electrolysis.

 

[123hotchef]

If you want to remove paint, use caustic soda as the electrolyte.

Gloves!
EYE PROTECTION!!!


it EATS skin!!!

12v 2a supply and patience

no need for the electric just a heated tank and caustic

 

[bigegg]

no need for the electric just a heated tank and caustic

Yerbut rust removal as well.

 

[MattF]

That bloke has already decided that he prefers vinegar before doing those videos, I'd say. I've never had to wire wheel a part done via electrolysis, and I've done a few bits. He's making it look much harder than it is. That dull, grey, etched appearance is why I'm no fan of acid removal.

 

[123hotchef]

Yerbut rust removal as well.

ah 2 birds one stone if its painted it shouldnt be that rusty

 

[MattF]

ah 2 birds one stone if its painted it shouldnt be that rusty

If only that were the case. Rust will merrily form under a paint surface once moisture has some way of creeping in.

 

[123hotchef]

tell me about it my vw arches look like the alps

 

[ronan]

I saw those videos pop up in my youtube feed.

Is it worth sitting through 45minutes of complaining about the epa/government/adverts for dvd lessons or could you tl;dw it for me?

I like him despite him being an old grump. I think he has dropped the whole paid for videos, no one was going for them. As for the epa/government moaning, its no more than i do when some silly law prevents me buying something in case i hurt myself, paint stripper fer instance.

 

[MattF]

I doubt the EPA would give a toss about vinegar with iron in it though. The current Tubal Cain has always struck me as being a bit half arsed and dramatic, from the odd bits of his videos which I've seen.

 

[ronan]

I doubt the EPA would give a toss about vinegar with iron in it though. The current Tubal Cain has always struck me as being a bit half arsed and dramatic, from the odd bits of his videos which I've seen.

I like Keith Rucker, Abom, this old Tony, doubleboost and a few others.

 

[ronan]

Don't get me wrong, some of his content is alright.

What got me was one last year where a good 10 minutes of a 30ish minute video was all about how the epa and the government were in cahoots with aliens and Garfield the cat creating a conspiracy of mind control over children and rabbits to take over the world and ban pliers because it's not fair that cars don't run on microwaves...

Well, I think that's what he said, I got bored and distracted and wasn't really paying attention.

Well some americans do have that whole conspiracy theory "new world order" paranoia thing, probably learnt from the 1950's "reds under the bed" everyones a commie scare.