I was told that soaking in molasses is a good way of cleaning rust metal. I was a bit dubious but I gave it a try. About 20% molasses to water and the rusty objects were left in for about 3 months. Here's a before/after pic of  wrought iron railway spikes. I think it worked pretty well so I've thrown a couple of dozen in the mix. The other pic shows two very rusty eyebolts after the treatment. Perhaps I can find a creative use for them.

Anyone else tried this way of cleaning metal, and apart from the wait time and the stinky mix, are there any negatives?  

 

No negatives if you give it a good clean off with water mate.

Yeah, I scrubbed the gunge off them pretty well.

Really brings out the grain, good job

Attracts critters in the shop; finding dead mice floating in the bucket is not my cup of tea especially when I'm not checking it every day...

Vinegar works great, is a lot quicker than 3 months, is cheaper and surely not as messy.  I prefer molasses on my buttered biscuits or pancakes. 

Many years ago, I helped a friend remove a "bulk" molasses tank from a feed mill.

In the bottom of the tank, we discovered a 10 inch "Craftsman" adjustable wrench.

The molasses had removed every bit of the chrome from the wrench.

We had no way of knowing how long the wrench had been in the tank, but it appeared to be a fairly "modern" pattern.