Good evening all. Over Christmas my central heating boiler leaked into the garage and workshop. Water filled a tool storage cabinet in which I keep my lathe and milling machine tooling - I now have some very rusty kit.
I could bead blast some of it but I have heard of rust removal by electrolysis - does anyone have first hand experience of this method?
Thanks in anticipation.
Regards
Stuart

Location: Staffordshire, the creative county.

Hi Stuart have a look at the Cornwall Austin 7 Club web site they show how to do it, sorry I don't know how to do a link for you. Cheers Ian M

Location: Bristol

Hi
What about considering total immersion in a bath of one of the usual rust removers? Has worked well for me in the past for items like rusty tools.
Regards
Colin

Here's the link ;-) http://www.austin7.org/Technical%20Articles/Rust%20removal/
Do Google " Rust removal electrolysis " as well - there is plenty of info out there..
hmmm I can't do a proper link either...copy and paste required !

Location: Goldsithney

There's you tube videos on laser rust removal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLaBFkeHG0A

I don't know how it affects the structure of the metal.

You could try Bilt Hamber's Deox C, 1 Kg costs about £14.00 and mixed with 10 to 20 litres of water is very effective. I have various plastic containers, from bucket to the bottom 12" of 1000 litre oil container for derusting items up to an RN doors and wings. You don't have to wear gloves and it's environmentally friendly.

I have used agricultural molasses with great success, cheap, environmentally friendly and seems to be non aggressive to metals. There are several videos on You Tube on the subject. Good luck with the recovery.

Location: Slightly dismal Cotswolds

Presumably this involves getting a cow to lick off the rust?

Charles. Rural Norfolk

Location: Norfolk

Try the electrolytic on a bit of rusty scrap.

It's magical, costs virtually nothing and requires very little physical effort.

There was a bucket of stuff de-rusting in my garage for most of last summer.

Location: East Sussex

Good morning all. Many thanks for the responses and email. I have 3 methods to explore and I'll report back on their effectiveness.
Regards
Stuart

Location: Staffordshire, the creative county.

I was going to suggest this stuff, there is hydrate 80 also available from amazon etc which is available as a paint on gel or dilute with water which leaves a dull grey finish on previously rusty metal.I've seen a brake disc done with this and it appears to work well.
I think it won a best buy award from practical classics.

Location: Channel Islands

Hello Stuart
Just one caution for using electrolysis on any structural components.
Apparently this process can cause hydrogen embrittlement!
Adrian.

Location: The New Forest

A method I've used a lot is to make up a solution of Oxalic Acid in water and soak the rusty part in it; Just use a plastic bucket or bin. The metal is not attacked but the rust is dissolved and turns into a sort of green sludge. Oxalic Acid is relatively benign and is used as a wood bleach. Here's a work in progress photo of one I did earlier, apologies for it not being an A7 part.



I bought mine from these people (usual disclaimer only a customer etc.

http://www.agwoodcare.co.uk/Item/oxalic_acid

Location: N W Kent

Stuart, did you use the 1 kilo to 7 or 9 litres of water to get that result?
It sounds to be very usefull for cleaning up smalbits.
Any downsides?

Location: Bonnie Galloway

I've never used any especially scientific measurement I'm afraid It seems to work at very low concentrations, But to get a result in a several hours on everything but the most crusty bits,I use a bit less than 1/2 a baked bean can of the crystals to 5 litres or so of water; at a guess, that probably represents a bit less than 1/2 kilo to 9 litres. The crystal dissolve much quicker if the water is a bit warm.

Not found any real downside with Oxalic Acid, it seems particularly good for precision machined parts. I rescued a Jones & Shipman precision grinding machine that had a seized and rusted Z axis column using it; said column (and grinder) works fine now with zero play in the affected part.

To get quicker results, it is necessary to agitate the solution once in a while; once the Oxalic Acid starts working a green slimy deposit appears on the component where the rust used to be. stirring the solution with a stick or such causes the slime to settle to the bottom of the bucket and speeds the de-rusting process up.

You can leave your parts in the solution for days -I have, once the parts are de-rusted, nothing else happens to the metal. But once you do remove the parts and wash them off, the metal will get a light coating of rust straight away if you don't spray it with WD40 or similar. A weak solution of soluble coolant as used in metal lathes etc. makes a great final rinse to stop this issue.

Location: N W Kent

Not tried it myself but I believe Coke is a good rust remover,does it contain oxalic acid in its recipe?

Location: Piddle Valley

Coke contains phosphoric acid. That's the main ingredient in a lot of rust treatments. Oxalic acid is often sold as wooden deck cleaner and can be found in hardware shops (Bunnings has it in Aus and NZ).

Simon

Location: Wellington

Re the possibility of removing some of the metal with an electrolysis bath, I used this method for years, utilising a household enamel bath. I found no evidence of damage to the metal. Cheers, Bill

Location: Euroa. Australia

As Roger mentioned there is lots on line. The site http://freechemistryonline.com/removal-of-rust-from-iron.html seems the most succinct. It claims no embrittlement with alkali....

I think I grasp electroplating but how the cathode comes to be selectively stripped of rust is not explained. Have we any chemists?

The dangers of embrittlement may be unknown to many. To be avoided with HT steel and particularly spring steel as road springs and spokes.
Chrome plating of such parts esp suspect; not only causes embrittlement but also proneness to fatigue, the latter not necessarily remedied by heating.

Location: Auckland, NZ