Parts Cleaner

[75 C20]

I thought i would share this way that i clean rusty parts with everyone here- i got this out of a john deere tractor magazine and i love it- it works great
Its called electrolysis- first i'll list wut u need:
1.washing soda(don't use baking soda) or lye ( lye definately works better-but its pretty gnarly stuff, its type of drain cleaner so becarefull with it)
2.plastic container(s) size depends on the size parts u will be cleaning- i just went to wal mart and got a rubbermade tote thing and it works pretty well
3.battery charger- size doesnt matter as long as it can do bout 10 amps- if i cant it will just take a bit longer
4.piece of scrap metal-iron-steel, this will work for a piece that u will scacrifice to clean ur part- it will eventually turn to nth but rust but u will need to wire wheel it clean every so often so it makes good connection in the water- i use rebarb bent up to fit into a nice shape- u can use ne thing really- lawn mower blades just any metal steel really
5.water- i dont think u need to much help there
cooking it
mix the solution of a rate of 1 tablespoon of lye to every gallon of water in ur container- becarefull when u mix it that it doesn't slapsh up on u
put the part u want to clean in the center of ur tub with a wire connected to it so u can hook ur battery charger up to it
next put ur sacrificial piece of metal in it somewhere- on the edges or smth so it isnt touching the part and put a wire on it so u can hook ur battery charger up to it also
becareful cuz we are dealing with electricity-water-and drain cleaner   make sure nth is touching and it is safe and on a good outlet and all is good  
now hooking up the battery charger
hook the BLACK(-)  cable up to the part u want clean
hook the RED (+) cable up to ur piece of metal so it can rust away
turn on the battery charger and u should see bubbles coming up and the battery pulling some charge- if it goes of the deep end it is shorting out- fix and go on...
it may take a while- couple days..week- depends on how rusty and dirty the part is.... it wont rust as long as power is kept to it- once power is off the it will start to rust like metal in water(cuz thats wut it is  ) it will take all of the rust, dirt,paint, etc off.
every so often u can  take it out when u think its lookin good and it should be kinda cover in black stuff- this is black oxide u can scrub,high pressure this off and it might be good enough for u but if its still crappy then just throw her in again and let it go for awhile.
clean it off- i usally steel wool and then wash it off w/mineral spirits then oil,prime-paint it, whatever u got to do to keep it from rusting because it will start quickly

i have done quite a few things in my bath- valve covers, intake manifolds, timing chain covers, truck rims and so far evey thing has worked out great- its nice because its cheap, u can do it urself, and it doesnt eat away at the metal like sand blasting and acid dipping- it also doesnt get sand every where
thats all the typing i want to do for awhile  

try it- it works great and is not hard to do at all
any ?s just ask

Edited by: 75 C20 at: 12/7/06 8:00 pm

[Lt.Del]

My brother uses this method to remove 14 decades of rust/corrosion from the Civil War artifacts he finds around here (Richmond, Va) where over 50% of CW battles took place.  He puts all his shell shrapnel/minie balls, pieces of bayonetts, rifle barrles, buttons, etc in a big plastic tub and uses the voltage to rid the corrosion over time.  

SgtDel
aka "Andy"

www.delbridge.net

1979 Big 10 383 stroker
1991 Blu 'Burb 3/4 ton 4x4

[cruppert77]

never heard of that, but it sound cool. can't wait to try it.

[shaved80]

i'm trying this right now...first hour or so not much action, the water got a little foggier but that's it. went and did some other stuff and came back about 3 hours later and the water was dark brown and bubbling! i'm gonna keep it in over night and see how it turns out...

[75 C20]

it'll work good- but when u take it out if its not good enough just put it back in and let it cont. workin but remember to clean it up right away because it will start to rust- i have had to much stuff get  cleaned then have to been put back in because i never got round to it after i took it out and it got rusty again  

[shaved80]

turned out great! now i want to get a bunch of rusty parts just to keep doing it  

[75 C20]

thats good- so wut did u clean?

[Mr Diesel]

I remembered this post from last year and decided to try it out today on some old rusty parts, but I don't know what you mean by "washing soda", or where I can find "lye".

Can anyone give a little more detail on these or have a suitable alternative to them?

[VileZambonie]

http://www.thelaundrybasket.com/Our_Products/Our_Products_Super_Washing_Soda/our_products_super_washing_sod.html

[75 C20]

thats wut i used
i tried washing soda first because i couldn't find lye but it doesnt work near as good as lye does.
look next to the stuff like draino max or wut ever is used to open clogged drains in any store should have lye in it some where.

[werewolfx13]

As a "safety" note, do NOT try to buy more than one small container of lye, its illegal in many states to sell more than 50 lbs of it to one person without having a DEA agent/Sheriff deputy check out every inch of their property every time they try to buy it, and buying more than 1 container may invite a visit from the local sheriff's department anyway just to check on you. The same goes for lithium batteries...and don't buy lithium batteries and lye at the same time either.   

That said, check farm supply stores for lye if you can't find it anywhere else..Just ask if they sell lye, anyone working in one of those stores should know what it is and be able to direct you to it if they have it.