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Antique Tractor Paint and Bodywork

Electrolysis Didn't Appear to Work

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Scott1ky

05-22-2006 06:23:23

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Hey all,
I tried the elctrolysis experiment over the weekend. Here's what I did. I took my dad's 4amp battery charger, some 12 gauge stranded copper wire, a piece of rebar, a 5 gallon bucket with Arm and Hammer wash powder. I put about 5 tablespoons of the powder in the bucket and mixed it with water. Then hooked my charger up to the electrode with the copper wire, and made sure polarity was correct. I wired up the part I wanted to cook (which was an old rusty bolt.)

At first the charger was reading 0 amps and it didn't appear to be doing anything at all. So then I decided to hook up a deep cycle (marine) battery, and finally the charger appeared to be putting some current into the system.

The expected bubbles did appear around the part and the sacrificial electrode started to get more rust and turned the water around it brown. However I left the bolt in for around 3-4 hours and took it out. I could not see that it looked any different than when I put it in. Did I do something wrong?

I first thought this process might be a good and inexpensive way to avoid sandblasting. If this doesn't work, I may have to look at other alternatives, like chemical paint strippers. But aren't they fairly expensive? It could be about the same cost as sandblasting. What do you guys recommend that I do?

Thanks,
Scott

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James Nauert 420W

05-26-2006 01:22:14

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Re: Electrolysis Didn't Appear to Work in reply to Scott1ky, 05-22-2006 06:23:23

I have had great success with electrolysis, time is very important. You cant be in a hurry when you use this method, i have been cooking parts for my H for about 6 months now i do a few at a time. When i'm done cooking the part i rinse it off good then spray it with rust kutter, it turns black and will remain rust free till it's time to prime and paint.

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jubilee johnny

05-22-2006 08:49:15

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Re: Electrolysis Didn't Appear to Work in reply to Scott1ky, 05-22-2006 06:23:23

What kind of equipment are you working on? You may have said already but I have slept since then. I always worry about contamination with chemical strippers and not getting it all off, especially around bolts and corners. I still like the surface after sandblasting. I use sifted dry play sand which is pretty inexpensive and all I can get in a small town. You might price an economy sandblaster. Some have talked about hiring it out, too. I like the painted finish after blasting, too without old paint edges showing.

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Daniel H.

05-24-2006 17:01:15

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Re: Electrolysis Didn't Appear to Work in reply to jubilee johnny, 05-22-2006 08:49:15

I have had excellent results with electrolysis, and I like it better than sandblasting when appropriate. If you have some type of ammeter you can tell how much current is flowing and when the process is over. The key is good connections. I use a five gallon bucket with two 5/8" re-bar rods. The rods need to be about 1/2" off the bottom of the bucket. You need real clean connection on the rods, use a wire brush in a drill or on a grinder to get to clean metal. The same thing for the rusty part. You must have a clean spot to connect to. You might add a little more soda, again the meter is helpful to tell when you reach the point of diminishing returns (the current will stop increasing). But the key is clean tight connections. If the part is a little greasy, you can add a little red devil lye, but be careful as now the solution is caustic and you need long rubber gloves and safety glasses. Either way, when the part comes out you need to wash it under running water using a scotchbrite or a wire toothbrush to clean it up. I usually spray my parts off with non-chlorinated brake clean as a finally step to displace any water.

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Brad_bb

06-06-2006 14:08:43

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Re: Electrolysis Didn't Appear to Work in reply to Daniel H., 05-24-2006 17:01:15

And what do you fellas do with this toxic mess when you are done?
We have a company here in Chicago (Roselle, IL actually) called Redi Strip that does this on a big scale. They can do whole car bodies. Turn around time on my part is often 8 weeks, but I"m sure they are not in the tanks that long. I think it takes one to three days run down their line. Once in awhile they may repeat the process if the part was difficult. They also do soda and sand blasting too. Their big deal is the electrolytic alkaline dipping though. They do industrial things too like power plant heat exchangers, ship engines and parts and lots of car parts.

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