How To Remove Rust With Electrolysis In Six Easy Steps
 

I've been using vinegar for rust and corrosion removal on small hand tools and also some of my motorcycle fuel tanks.

It seems to work well but am wondering if electrolysis would be a better method.

I ran across this YT vid which shows how it's done.

In the comments section, it's mentioned that using Sodium Carbonate works better, and to sand off where the wires attach for a better connection, and to use coated wire where it enters the solution. I also read in another vid to use several different connection points on the rusted item to help the process.

Thoughts?

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I'm thinking Shaun is the SME on this.

I did electrolysis on my garden tractor fuel tank. I will try to hunt up some pics. Very messy. Very satisfying to do. Takes forever. You think you are done with a tank, but, no, you are not done! Rinse. Repeat. Rinse. Repeat. Rinse. Repeat. (A week later....) Rinse. Repeat. I was surprised there was any tank left when I was done. :)

Washing soda is what I've heard. All it does is make water a better electrical conductor. Once just for grins I threw a live 120v extension cord into a swimming pool. Nothing happened. I unplugged it and pulled it out, let it dry and it was fine.

Also, running a charger through a battery is a good process. You don't need a big battery either.

Honestly that vise would have turned out better in Evaporust.

Used it multiple times and it works very well. Sodium Carbonate is simply washing powder…I use Muel Team Borax available in grocery stores. Multiple anodes, like short lengths of rebar help speed up the process but any metal will work. You will need an old school battery charger as the smart ones will not work. It does produce hydrogen gas so don’t be foolish and put in a closet or you
“could” make a big boom and rearrange your abode.

One of the forum members in one of the VFR forums said he's done 5-6 fuel tanks using electrolysis and it worked very well. Said to remove the petcock and cap first.

I might just try it on one of mine and will keep everyone posted on my findings.....

Tanks are different….the anode goes inside the tank.
Gas Tank Cleaning using Electrolysis

I'm a member of a vintage tool group on Facebook. There are lots of folks that restore old tools. Vinegar and other caustic methods work, but can degrade the parts/metal. One of three guys had written up his methods of doing reverse electrolysis. I'll grab it and post it here shortly.

Some folks on SOHC/4 use this technology on old rusty NLA tanks. IIRC it takes a few days to complete. But.....when complete that gas tank is CLEAN. Shiny clean. ALL of the rust is removed.

I'll admit that I ddin't watch much of the video. I have used this method (washing soda / sodium bicarbonate, a big bucket, steel electrodes, and an old high-capacity battery charger) and it worked well. A couple of tips:

- Brush/scrape as much rust off as you can.

- Thoroughly degrease / pressure wash and dry the parts.

- I've used both multiple pieces of rebar and steel wire mesh for electrodes. It was most effective when I lined a circular bucket with wire mesh and put the part in the center of the bucket so it was equidistant from all sides.

- Watch the amperage on the batter charger; surface area and electrolyte conductivity determines current draw.

I think Evaporust is still the best, but it's not cheap. Electrolysis is cheap, but not as good as Evaporust.

Submersion in vinegar, or diluted molasses work if you're patient.

My favorite is still phosphoric acid etching. Cheap, fast, and relatively easy.

Lastly, what a chump, leaving the vise assembled. Take it apart and do it right. :rolleyes:

Evaporust is good for about 15 sessions depending on the amount of rust. Excellent for a special project that needs TLC like a small steel toy car. Not great money wise for dunking rusty tools and iron bits.

I use a 50 dollar power supply from amazon...

After treatment is important, so that it doesn't rust again...


It's also sodium bicarbonate... Na + HCO3-

Evaporust is a chemical that removes rust through the chemistry process of chelation. When a rusty part soaks in a bucket of Evaporust, the molecules of Evaporust attach to rust molecules and remove them from the surface of the part. Eventually all the rust is picked clean from the surface. There are two big downsides to this process. First, Evaporust will leave the part with the ugliest uniform dull gray color you can imagine.

If any part of the tool sticks above the Evaporust solution while soaking, you’ll create an endless chemical reaction at the waterline where rust is continually created by oxidation and then removed by the Evaporust. That will produce a deep irreversible line in the metal of your tool at the waterline.

use Evaporust in two situations: (1) On iron parts when I want to remove rust with as little work possible (for example if I plan to turn the part black again by bluing or seasoning with oil then baking it) or if I just don’t care what the parts look like afterward and (2) on small parts such as screws and washers when I plan to buff them with polishing compound afterwards to restore their shine. Each part in a reverse electrolysis operation must be connected to the power source, and it usually isn’t convenient to do that with a bucket of screws.

If the part is plated the ER will not remove the plating. So the outcome is not always a ugly dull gray. It depends on the alloy. It it rusts, then ER will remove the rust. Some SS rusts but it comes back looking like SS. For sure it has to be ferrous. Ball bearings have a lot of chromium in their alloy. If they happen to rust they are useless, but the point is that chromium doesn't blacken much at all. Not talking about chrome plating.

On Practical Machinist someone put a piece of steel that had a fresh cut at the end in ER and while the rusted surface was blackened with carbon, the cut was somewhat bright. It was also pointed out that once the rust is gone what you are seeing is result of what rust does, i.e., pitting even if micro pitting. So the original finish is lost.

I did a lot of reading about ER months ago. Many have come close to reproducing the formula using anything from beet juice to molasses (a known rust remover). There is a lot more to it than combining a ratio of beets and molasses. But it's pretty well known that the compound is organic.

You can get decent results with a home brew, but so far not quite the same.

An important aspect of the discussion is how to keep your stuff from flash rusting immediately after treatment.

I've been spray coating mine with Fluid Film. It contains "lanolin" and also serves as a lubricant.

Here is a current vinegar soak of some small hand tools.......

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Tomorrow I will remove, wire brush by hand, soak with a baking soda solution, rinse, dry off, then spray down with Fluid Film.

Here are some I did weeks ago.......

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I think Evaporust is magic. Best stuff ever for what it's designed for.

Just don't use it with magnesium.

I used Evaporust or something similar on a caliper and it broke the “spring” on top. Somehow it changes the composition of the metal.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1704164523.jpg

Proof that sometimes rust is the only thing holding stuff together.
Evaporust is essentially EDTA. If the rust runs deeply enough and the EDTA chelates it, then it's realistic to expect that metal piece to fail. IMO

Project farm on both electrolysis and evaporust:

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These were lightly rusted, and I probably could’ve used a wire wheel in retrospect, but I wanted the protective covering left after treating it. It’s interesting that the spring broke right where the hole is in the top.

Worth reading the comments on that page.

A 2 part Electrolysis vs Vinegar vid ---- plus how to make an Electrolysis tank......

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<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OYK7sMNUDJo" title="Rust Removal - Electrolysis vs. Vinegar #310 Pt 2 tubalcain" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_gNAbvz1B6w" title="How to Make an Electrolysis Bucket Tank Thing DIY" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Was able to finish the cleanup of the tools I had in my vinegar soak today.

I could have done more to clean them up but mostly was concerned with a quick removal of the surface rust and wipe down of Fluid Film to mitigate future corrosion.

I picked up the washing powder and tomorrow I plan to start the electrolysis of one of my fuel tanks. Will post updates here.

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Moving ahead today with the 1st of 3 Honda fuel tanks.

Down and dirty startup. I know I can rig something better than this - and will. Just working with some stuff I had handy for now....wanting to get something going for my observations.

BTW....the can is not currently touching the tank. Just sat it there for the photo.

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After re-thinking this I dumped the bin and just set it up to treat the inside of the tank. So no more bin.

Will post pics tomorrow.

I think this is the better approach......

I'll work on this some more tomorrow......that sacrificial anode (a piece of rebar) is probably too rusty to be effective.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1704676236.JPG

https://antique-engines.com/electrol.asp

Better than i can explain it (time wise)…

Don’t let the two electrodes touch as in the bin picture. Also a coated can is a poor electrode. You also want the part completely submerged.


Yeah that rebar needs to be heavily cleaned.

Ed China's channel showed him using a product on a whole RR chassis but I'm too lazy to Google but it seems to work well.

Updates.......

I figured out the battery charger I was using was actually a smart charger, so wouldn't work unless I also used a battery with it. So I went with an old Sears charger that used to belong to my grandfather. Boom...instant success! After experimenting with some different sacrificial anodes I ended up using a short piece of rebar.

Tomorrow I plan to empty the tank and take a look inside to see how things look.

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Before.......and after about an hour.......

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I've used EvapoRust on several different occasions. Here are some before/after treatment pictures of the Smithy 3 in 1 machine I bought off Craigslist about 20 years ago.

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Thanks, Mark...very nice work cleaning up your Smithy there! Thanks for sharing.

Here's a video specific to what I am doing right now with the fuel tanks. It reinforces I am on the right track with my process!

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ICW01HFbaxc" title="Removing Rust In a Fuel Tank With Electrolysis - How To" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

OK - even though it's a chilly 45 out this morning.........I got some more work done on the tank and feel good about how it is coming along.

I flushed it out as thoroughly as possible, removing the sender plate on the bottom and spraying a jet stream inside from all directions through that opening and the filler opening. Repeated dumping out by hand...swirling by hand......rinse....repeat.....until the water coming out was pretty clear.

Then I buttoned the bottom back up, refilled with electrolyte solution, and reset the charger. I will re-check later this afternoon to see how she looks.

Something interesting to mention.....I keep hearing something rattling around inside. I finally got it to land near the bottom opening - too large to get out. Very flat and maybe 2" in diameter irregularly shaped and white in color. You know what I think it is? A chunk of the carbonate soda that didn't dissolve. I may have to poor some boiling water in the tank next time I empty it to get it dissolved so I can remove it. I tried to break it with my fingers but it's too hard.

Lesson learned.......use warm-hot water when you mix up the electrolyte and maybe even strain it before pouring into your tank.

Sorry not great photos.......but you can see all the surface rust is gone.......

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So once the gas tank is purged of all gunk, how do you seal it? Slosh some liquid around in it to seal the pores of bare steel?

Yes.

Two-cycle oil, fogging oil, two-cycle oil with gas mix, are three options I have seen used.

You could use proceed with an epoxy coating product, like Caswell if you'd like.

Little more work involved but more permanent in it's result......

If you just poured your base (sodium bicarb) into the tank and didn’t dissolve it beforehand…. Most likely excess sodium bicarbonate. I would give it another round of rebar love.

Thanks!

FWIW.....I always use a bucket to first mix the soda with some water before poring into the tank.

I'm wondering if either some of it didn't dissolve fully before it was poured into the tank....or some of it somehow solidified later on while in the tank.

Either way I learned a lesson to use warmer or hot water while doing the mixing. Guess I didn't realize the stuff didn't dissolve that easy.....

I have it going again fr a second round. Just checked and had some accumulation on the rebar so going to let it go until tomorrow morning and then that should be it for the electrolysis part of it.

Golden Earring?

I have a new endoscope coming tomorrow and hopefully will be able to share some good pics of the inside.

For now, I have to say I'm absolutely THRILLED at the results I am getting using this electrolysis method.

I just emptied out and blasted the insides after the second soak and really and truly I think almost all of the corrosion is gone except for what's left over that affected the surface of the metal itself.

That big chunk of carbonate is gone too. Must have dissolved (shrug).

Of the 3 tanks I'm working with....this is the worst one. The other 2 won't be bad at all.

I'm thinking when I get her emptied out tomorrow all that will be left to do is to dry her out real good and then spray with the fogging oil.

I appreciate all the help, as always! SmileWavy

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