Rust remover

[BobStrawn]

Rootbeer, Coke, Lemon Juice, Citric acid, all have done well. electrolysis is better, but a bottle of lemon juice does a great job. Evaporust is a commercial product that may be even better than electrolysis.

Bob

[Bear]

another electrolysis link
article-electro

[cutter]

I uh ... had a little adventure with an old vise one time that I found rusting away on a horse farm.

1. Here is how it looked when I found it

2. and then how it looked after 44 hours in the de-rustifying tank. Still had to be wire-brushed but the residue fell right off.

3. Here is how it looks after being treated with Permatex Rust Treatment. I like a dark finish that still looks like iron.
Of course, it took a couple of years to get it open but that's another story, or two.

[welder19]

This place has a lot of great products for rust removal and prevention.
Eastwood Company: Auto Tools, Body Repair, Classic Car Restoration, House of Kolor Paint, Powder Coating

welder19

[Glenn]

Blueprint BP0448 shows how to remove rust from metal.

[Woody]

Be very careful running an electrical current through salt water, that generates chlorine gas. Very toxic stuff. In the quantities of salt water used to etch something it is not a problem but in larger quantities can be very dangerous.

[kogatana]

Now if I get a piece of very rusty and pitted iron that I want to forge: will the rust burn in the fire? Or do I need to have a really clean surface prior to heat?

Ludo

[ThomasPowers]

Heat to red and wirebrush and the rust will fall off---note red hot rust chunks are uncomfortable on bare skin.

Any pitting may translate into a cold shut though so forge carefully.

[monkeyboy]

What about the iron electrode?
The iron electrode works best if it surrounds the object to be cleaned, since the cleaning is "line of sight" to a certain extent. The iron electrode will be eaten away with time. Stainless steel has the advantage (some alloys, but not all) that it is not eaten away.
i don't quite understand this surround the object with the electrode???
what would the electrode look like?
explain by example, say a small jewelers vise.
buzz

[easilyconfused]

Electrolysis uses positive and negative electrodes to create current. That current is unidirectional from one to the other. I use a battery charger and attach the negative clamp to the object, and the positive to a sacrificial piece of iron. If the sacrificial piece of metal cleans rather than the object, reverse the clamps. If you don't used a piece of metal, your clamp will become the sacrificial metal and disintegrate. If I need to surround a piece of metal, I would rig up a stand or something to hold the item upright in the water and then make a loop of wire or pipe to place around the piece attached to the postive clamp. That way all sides of the piece wich is essentially a negative electrode has a line of sight to the Positive electrode, aka:the sacraficial metal. Jeez, I'm confusing myself....so much easier to show than explain. If all else fails, just flip the object you want to clean and wait a little longer.

As a safety note, this will give off hydrogen gas DO NOT USE NEAR OPEN FLAMES. The amount is fairly minimal for most tool cleanings but better safe than sorry.