I know there's nothing new in using electricity to remove rust, the experiment was to see if I could remove it from the inside of a petrol tank. The salt is there to conduct electricity better, but as with the first method, it seems to kill rust as well. No chemicals, acids or alkalines, so the water is quite harmless.

So I'm trying the salt de-rusting method to see how good it is. 150ml salt in a litre of boiling water, then I found the rustiest thing I could (no it wasn't one of my bikes) and it's been in there for 48 hours. I would say the rust is no longer rust..?





I don't know if it will do any good leaving it longer but I'll see. I think a wire brush and the black would come off.
So with hind sight, I think I should have filled the tank with salty water and left it for a day or 2 which seems to kill any rust. Then use electricity to remove the black residue. I may do it again to see if this works.

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

H

You're getting sucked in .... i spent days messing on this subject, not certain what the end result was though .... ?

It looks as if there's been some transformation of the ferrous oxides to the black material - most of the chemical treatments do that, though electrolysis may/should be better on flaky stuff which the chemical treatments tend not to get to (hence mechanical 'abrasion' nuts/bolt etc.).

My test pieces were something left in a bomb-fire then left to rust - heavily.
Almost all the chemicals i tried, produced the black deposit.

HOWEVER - high concentrations of the phosphoric acid ~20% by volume, did clean the metal back to bare steel.
It was also evident though it attacked the FeO2 first, it then started on the steel, itself.
In other words its aggressive and you need to keep an eye on it.



Slightly different subject - i'm thinking of stripping chrome, firstly from the h/bars then having a go at the plating on the brass levers.
As usual, lots of bollox on the internet - anyone with real experience?

I reckon cheap chrome on steel, will be no problem, minimal if any nickel and no copper.
What about the brass?
Would need to be nickel plated to get the Chrome to bond, what about the zinc in the brass?

here is my method. 1 block off tank outlets etc
2 go to supermarket buy 15-20 lts of cheapest white vinegar
3 fill tank right to the top with vinegar
4 leave for three days
5 get a big container and large funnel,empty contents of
tank into container
6 rinse with high pressure water hose.
7 repeat as many times as necessary, may take upto three weeks
just keep using the same vinegar
8 when your happy with the last rinse before it dries pour
one or two litres of the cheapest engine degreasers you can
get (one of the ones that mixes with water)and give it a
good swish around and drain
9 finished.

email (option): daavem20@gmail.com

Washing Soda - sorry, you are correct - reading one thing, thinking another.

You still get a reaction with an acid, be it a Carbonate or Hydroxide, only difference is the gas given off - one explosive the other, not.

Tried acetic and citric acid ...... sorry but life's too short for me to wait on something happening - even after chucking a fish-tank heater in to warm things up.
3-4 weeks, i expect the rust killed, the paint applied and the tank fitted and filled with petrol, within that time scale!
Acetic acid fumes get to my asthma so i don't consider it that benign (nice on F & C's though).

The expensive Rust Killer - 5L of EVAPORE or something was bloody slow reacting - i say expensive because it seems to be nothing more than citric acid - see previous thread on the subject.

As for keeping scurvy away - i think Cpt Cook would disagree with you, it had a very limited effect - however it was an excellent disinfectant and used right into the late 19th century by the navy.

Anyway good luck finding a the ultimate solution ... do like idea of electrolysis though - just fitted an old sacrificial anode to my trailer in an attempt to stop it rusting.

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

i used to be Lab/R&D Manager for a Centrifuge company and did all the 'dodgy' jobs - mainly cos i've no sense of smell.
I was once dragged out our 'fume-room' after collapsing on Hexane fumes - I think my eyes were like your family ....

Whatever you do using electrolysis don't use stainless steel. A by product is hexachrome which is highly carcinogenic.

email (option): leonhop3_at_planet_dot_nl

Leon I sent you an email. But as usual you didn't reply Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com