electrolysis rust removal

[ricky]

saw this on pirate and thought it was pretty neat pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=774320

this is a quote from post number 15 pirate4x4.com/forum/showpost … stcount=15

@YJ_and_Corey

I work in the corrosion business, and have for 15 years. We do cathodic protection, where we use the electrochemical properties of different metals to protect underground steel structures.

I’m unsure why you would use baking soda in the water - plain old table salt would supply as many Na+ ions, the trick is to increase the salinity of the electrolyte (or solution) you are immersing the parts in, and decrease the resistance of the water.

By increasing the amount of DC current passing from the anode (+) to the cathode (-) you effectively move electrons off the anode and attach them to the cathode. The cathode is your old rusty part. A plain old 12V battery charger would work just fine for this. I recommend using aluminum foil as your anode (the part that sacrifices itself) due to it’s low cost and it’s high surface area. As mentioned, keep the leads out of the water.

As the current increases, hydrogen gas is generated on the surface of the cathode (so do this outside and away from open flame). This would effectively remove paint, tar, scale, etc etc - as well as removing corrosion product (Fe2O3 or “rust”). You may also begin to pit the surface as the current increases - so be careful with machined parts.

If the water starts “boiling”, you have a good system. The rig I take to customers when I give lectures will boil pretty good at 8 ADC and 12 VDC.

EDIT:

heres an other post on it pirate4x4.com/forum/showthre … st+removal