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Many thanx for the tip. It does somehow beg the question:
What happens if u leave the part in the process for an indefinate period of time????? Will the process eventually disintegrate the part???

I'm also wondering if this process can be used to clean water jackets in heads and blocks. What about rust from chrome pieces???

From my understanding and what I've read, as long as the current is still flowing you can leave the part in there forever. Your scrap steel will eventually corrode away, but if you use something fairly thick it will take quite a long time.

As far as water jackets goes... it's my understanding that it's most effective as "line of sight" from the part to the anode (scrap steel). That doesn't mean that it wouldn't work, maybe just a really long time.

I've never tried anything that had any plating on it. I would be careful with chrome or anything that is plated. Personally, I'd try something that I didn't care about first and then decide to try my unreplaceable part. Maybe someone who understands the science of electrolysis and plating can chime in. I'm just a cave man mimicking the movements of more evolved beings.

The line of sight thing is not really accurate. If the part being 'de-rusted' is evenly charged and the electrolyte is fresh, it shouldn't matter. The problem is refreshing the electrolyte around uneven parts. If you circulate the electrolyte around/through the part you should be able to use this technique on any part. For straight bits this is unnecessary as the electrolytic bubbling will set up a pattern of circulation around the part.

NOTE: If you set up a circulation system, DO NOT USE a pump with a GROUNDED METAL HOUSING. Stray current through the ground wire can set up a fearsome electrolytic environment that will result in total destruction of the pump.

Cheers,

Tom

Keegan -

Thanks for illustrating a very interesting process. I wish you had also included a pic of the part fresh out of the tank, before you brushed it clean and wiped it down with WD40.

I've heard of using molasses to passively derust small parts, but the process you've described might be similar to what the RediStrip franchises use to remove rust without damaging the remaining good steel. Best of all the "chemcials" are readily available and seem to be environmentally-friendly.

I'm thinking this process could be adopted to clean the rust out of old fuel tanks, prior to sealing them - if I can find a sealant that modern fuel blends won't attack. (Looks like it may be quite some time before I find someone making an authentic repro of the original fuel tank that suits me.)

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BH- I'll try to show some pics of the next part that I do. As far as the fuel tank is concerned, I've seen some pics online of people filling the tank with the electrolyte and suspending the steel anode in the tank. My guess is that would work just fine as long as you were quick to empty, clean, and seal the tank right after you were done. The cleaning would be the tough part as the electrolyte is quite nasty by the end of the process.

Watch what you wipe down with WD40 especially if you plan on painting it. I learned the hard way.. You are better of coating it with expoy primer right away

The only problem I can see with trying this with old fuel tanks is that the Electolytic process probably wouldn't disolve any of the varnished fuel.

I would think that a bath in solution of diluted Muriatic Acid, and then following up with the Electolytic process might yield some good results in an old tank.

(and greetings from chilly Boston..brrrrrr)

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I've felt that pain as well! I like the WD-40 for when I'm doing a piece that's too big for my bath. I spray the freshly cleaned portion that's forced to stick out while the second half is being cleaned. After it's all said and done I do a acetone wipe down right before primer.