|
Hey Mike, Nah, didn't get a whole lot done today - just enough to say I got out of the house. I made a mistake - I told the wife that I was feeling much better and she was so happy for me that she left me a "honey-do" list that ate up half of my day and all of my energy. I guess that's why God invented tomorrows. He knew once he created Eve, Adam was gonna need all the time-help he could get! Yes, I do use a separate tub of lye water on parts that have a lot of grease and/or paint. That way, the electrolysis process only has to deal with the rust. I usually leave the part in the pre-treatment tub for a day, then hose it off and take to the electrolysis tub. It also keeps the amount of crud down in the second tub. Of course, to be honest, it would be more efficient to do all of it (grease, paint, rust) at one time by using lye in the place of the washing soda. I just have a fear that one day I will get momentary CRS and put my hands in the bucket to remove a part for inspection (I tend to inspect pretty often out of curiosity)and end up doing a chemical peel on my skin. You have to be politically correct about using the term "lye". It used to be that the term was a well-known and accepted one for cleaning drains, removing paint and varnish, making homemade soap, and several other country uses. However, once the dope-heads started using it in some of their manufacturing processes, it suddenly became a bad word. When I first started experimenting with electrolysis, I naively ask the local hardware store (where I had routinely bought lye in the past) where he had moved it to in the store. He gave me a look of suspicion and smugly remarked that hardware stores no longer carried lye because they didn't want to encourage drug manufacturing. Fortunately, Lowes has not succumbed to that way of thinking, but they don't stock lye. They stock a product called Crystal Drain Opener (brand name is ROEBIC)which is 100% sodium hydroxide or caustic soda or lye. However, when I asked for lye, the guy said "are you needing drain opener?" When I said yes, he led me to the aisle where all the different types are stocked and said with a smile, "help yourself". I am sure there are other brands of the same stuff, but this one is easy to spot - it is bright yellow plastic bottle with a gray U-Trap on the front. It's a strange world our beloved politicians have created..... ..... . Take care also,
Larry
|
