Rust remover

[Bear]

Hi sam,
There are many rust removers out there. I like Evapo-rust because it only removes the rust and not the rest of the steel. You just soak whatever it is you need to remove the rust from in it and it does it generally in only a few hours. MUCH better than naval jelly and some of the other liquids which if left in too long will eat all the steel.Here is the link:Evapo-Rust Rust Remover Home


Sean

[ApprenticeMan]

Cool thanks Sean, i'll look into it. I really want a shiny looking anvil.

[FredW]

That same method for electrolytic rust removal can be used to cut steel also using salt water. It is kinda neet to watch.

Fred

[johnny99]

Fred, are you talking about electro discharge machining, or electro etching like the knife makers use to mark their blades?

[easilyconfused]

I've reclaimed many rusted up pipe wrenches and crescent wrenches with the electrolysis method. Works good enough that my dad has started trying to use it too. He never does that.....

[ApprenticeMan]

Electric rust remover? Can you post a diagram of a setup for that?

[easilyconfused]

It was posted on the previous page. Really simple to set up and use too.

[Mills]

AM, plastic tub put baking soda in it and fill with water. using tie wire, copper wire, coat hangers etc create a skirt inside the tub but NOT touching the item to be derusted. have insulation wherever it might physically touch the tub because sometimes your chosen anode gets really hot. have a place to hook up the negative lead of the battery charger. Set the item into the tub and have a place to hook up the positive side to it. Hook up battery charger, pop a top, watch the bubbles. if bubbles don't form on the item switch the leads.

This would work great for an anvil or wrenches. This method is linear. for example if you were derustifying pipe, the outside would be cleaned up and the inside would just be wet. To clean the inside you would need to run the anode through the center. There are several different websites that can walk you through it as well as the info on this site.

A word of caution if you want it to go faster so you hook up a bigger battery charger it will happen quicker. Rust comes off quicker the anode and cathode get hotter more smoke and fumes. Shoot, go large enough you could launch the anvil right outta the tub! 2-10 amps is quite fast enough for me. I tryed the 50A boost and generated a lot more than what I was capable of handling.

[habu68]

Word of warning, the bubbles given off by the anode and cathode are oxygen and hydrogen the same fuel used by the space shuttle. It is explosive in an enclosed enviroment.

[Glenn]

Mills from everything I have read anything drawing over 4 amps is too much. Remove some of the positive electrode from the water to lower the amp draw. DO NOT let the electrodes touch the work piece. More is not always better. It did not rust over night and should be given time to work "the magic" and clean things up.

The TV had a program on about the same process being to remove the sea crud, shell growth, etc from sunken artifacts. They said that it can some times take several YEARS to remove crud. Slow is the way to go.

Most projects only took 2-3 days. The gears I showed in the photo were pulled from the bottom of a creek after being there for who knows how long. Pressure washing only broke loose some of the encased crud. A week in solution did the rest.