Derusting/Degreasing advice

[tool-me-up]

Hi

Electro etching differs from electrolytic rust removal in that the item to be etched is attached to the positive electrode and the electrolyte is a salt of the metal to be etched.

Washing soda is sodium carbonate, if you want to etch iron or steel you would use ferrous sulphate.

Regards Mick

Table salt works too, for etching and cleaning purposes - Typically I use a full 500G tub in approx 10l hot water ( dissolves faster - but let cool before use ).

You are right about the electrodes - I bet i put mine on backwards in a hurry to clean the rusty parts Or maybe not looking at other guides on net - see my next post

Still if you are having troubles getting it going - add more electrodes as close as possible to the part - I used to use four thin sheets of steel cut just to fit inside tube and crocodile clips and bits of wire to join them all together.

I will revisiting this again - probably around summer time when i tear down another motorcycle so I will try and do a detailed WIP of it as last time I was doin lots of this I was turning parts the size of a golf ball completely black in around 30mins.

 

[Dissolve]

UPDATE:

Huge success, I moved the electrodes closer (8mm steel rods) and it started bubbling much quicker. I got the drill table out of the solution and scraped off as much as I could. I found that once I'd scraped the sludge off. It felt massively greasy/slimey to touch, can anyone recommend a method/product that's good for de-greasing the parts after rust removal?

I plan on stripping the finish back to metal before painting but the solution did little to affect the paintwork. i will try more electrodes and space them closer but I'll be using wire brushes in a drill by the looks of things!

When it comes to the largest part, the head casting. There will be more grease inside it and I'm not sure if I should attempt degreasing before exposing it to the electrolysis solution? What would you use to degrease it throroughly before removing the rust?

 

[tool-me-up]

UPDATE:

Huge success, I moved the electrodes closer (8mm steel rods) and it started bubbling much quicker. I got the drill table out of the solution and scraped off as much as I could. I found that once I'd scraped the sludge off. It felt massively greasy/slimey to touch, can anyone recommend a method/product that's good for de-greasing the parts after rust removal?

I plan on stripping the finish back to metal before painting but the solution did little to affect the paintwork. i will try more electrodes and space them closer but I'll be using wire brushes in a drill by the looks of things!

When it comes to the largest part, the head casting. There will be more grease inside it and I'm not sure if I should attempt degreasing before exposing it to the electrolysis solution? What would you use to degrease it throroughly before removing the rust?

Yes I would definitely degrease it first. A cheap way I do most things if i run out of "proper degrease fluid" is to use laundry washing powder (lots of) in hot water. It will require another clean in plain hot water after to get the residue off though.

Ive never tried to strip paint using this method so maybe it may be quicker just to use a paint stripping solvent etc. Another cheapie way is to scuff the surface with sandpaper and bathe in brake fluid for a few hours.

Try and get a lot of electrodes evenly spaced around the parts as it helps to clean all areas more evenly ( you will know when the electrodes are too close as you will get very clean parts right next to them).

Further to my last post - I may not have had my electrodes backwards - I probably did the damage upping the power ridiculously high in an attempt to get everything cleaned at once.

Pinched from an electrolysis guide

An electrolysis primer - Introduction

One of the most tedious jobs we encounter while restoring old iron is the process of removing many layers of paint and rust as well as freeing up seized bolts and pistons. The following introduces you to a method of parts cleaning that has proven to be the most effective means of de-rusting and paint removal I have ever used.

BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING READ ALL THESE INSTRUCTIONS.
A word to the wise, slower is better. Trying to clean anything fast and without care and attention may result in badly pitted and damaged items. Using high current and a large positive electrode eats away at steel (and anything metallic) in a non-uniform and aggressive manner leaving pits that may be worse than what rust did to it. High voltage (moreso than current) can also cause hydrogen embrittlement (covered in more detail below).

 

[Spindle]

BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING READ ALL THESE INSTRUCTIONS.
A word to the wise, slower is better. Trying to clean anything fast and without care and attention may result in badly pitted and damaged items. Using high current and a large positive electrode eats away at steel (and anything metallic) in a non-uniform and aggressive manner leaving pits that may be worse than what rust did to it. High voltage (moreso than current)

Hi

I suspect this a case of you can find anything on the web - I have never experienced it and the majority of web based info confirms this.

Regards Mick

 

[tool-me-up]

Hi

I suspect this a case of you can find anything on the web - I have never experienced it and the majority of web based info confirms this.

Regards Mick

Quite possibly - I have only did it once, and when you mentioned the reversed polarity for etching - i know i was messing around with that at the time ( nothing serious just curious to what exactly happens) - but on the other hand I was using an old charge and start to power it all and when it was on it resembled a miniature hot tub at times.

Either way OP sounds to have the right setup and i said earlier i need to do this soon to de-rust some bike parts so ill try and make it happen again on some scrap.

 

[Dissolve]

Any recommendations for proper degreasing fluid? There seems to be countless products for the same job, and I'm going to need quite a lot of it!

I'm not sure what type of finish/paint is currently on the drills but I don't think electrolysis will remove the paint, it's shown no signs on softening/flaking off as of yet, Can anyone suggest something that might remove the paint /possibly de-grease at the same time?

The gunk left after taking care of the rust is nasty stuff! I've scraped missy of it off, would some proper degreasing fluid take care of that too?

 

[Yorkshire Sam]

Any recommendations for proper degreasing fluid? There seems to be countless products for the same job, and I'm going to need quite a lot of it!

I'm not sure what type of finish/paint is currently on the drills but I don't think electrolysis will remove the paint, it's shown no signs on softening/flaking off as of yet, Can anyone suggest something that might remove the paint /possibly de-grease at the same time?

The gunk left after taking care of the rust is nasty stuff! I've scraped missy of it off, would some proper degreasing fluid take care of that too?

While I don't use this method of derusting , I use citric acid bath which I found very effective, it also makes a good degreaser. Its cheap, very easily available ( don't buy the stuff from wine shops) and its quite environmentally friendly too.

 

[carlb40]

You could also try some brake fluid on a section to remove the paint. Thinners should be ok for degreasing.
It might be an enamel type paint, so might just require cooking longer.