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Ok, I know there is another thread in here about electrolytic rust removal, but the information in it is so far off base and dangerous that I am compelled to write up another one with some very strong warnings:banghead .
If a little is good a lot must be better :twak – this is absolutely positively not the case here. 2-10 amps at 12V is more than enough for this process to work. Any higher on the voltage and you are risking a bad electric shock. Any higher on the Amperage and you will just be heating / separating the water. The process will not work any faster by throwing 110 Volts into the mix:shocked . Your life however may go faster ( or end faster ) if you do.
It is not electroplating and should not be compared:twak . There is a “plating” affect but what you are plating is a very weakly bonded iron oxide that will wash off with soap and water. That is the black gunk that you have on your parts after you remove them.
DO NOT USE STAINLESS STEEL:twak :twak . This process tears apart the sacrificial anode and it ends up broken down in the water. Stainless steel contains chromium and this process will free that up into the environment. So you don’t have to change out your stainless anode but you will be exposing yourself and the environment to some very nasty and poisonous chemicals. I have also made the mistake of putting a galvanized pipe on the anode and ended up with light green plating on my parts (not desirable).
Highly Flammable :doh0715: – While the mix is bubbling the water is being separated into hydrogen and oxygen. This collects inside the rusty foam on the top of the water. I have read accounts of this popping / exploding on some people when the power supply was not shut off before removing the parts. It did not hurt anyone but it did make a very nasty mess. I have found that after turning off the power supply a good stir of the bucket will get rid of the foam and dissipate the hydrogen.
The last warning is that this process removed everything loose form the surface. The part will begin to rust again almost immediately if you don’t take steps to protect it. This is not an alteration to the part, it is just so clean of oil and oxidation that is completely unprotected.
Here is the best link to the process I have found so far.
http://www3.telus.net/public/aschoepp/electrolyticrust.html
http://www.davidbradley.net/ERR.html
The only exception I take to this information is the chemical used. Almost all the sites I found call for Arm and Hammer washing soda. I searched high and low around the bay area and did not find any. After so serious research I found that washing soda is Sodium Carbonate. Another name for this is Soda Ash – wait that sounded familiar – a quick look at my pool supply shed and I found Soda Ash "Ph up". That’s right it even spells out on the tub Sodium Carbonate 100%. I was so mad I could have strangled the horsepower hosts. So save yourself the trouble and make a quick trip to the pool supply store instead of every grocery store in town.
Ok, enough warning how about some pics of what an over night soak can do for you.
This is the axle tube and the Dana 60 BOM number before. It has been pressure washed with a 3500 PSI washer and is still very rusty. I had to get just the right angle to get a readable picture.
Here is a shot of my tanks. The one in the front has the knuckles and brake caliper mounts. The one in the back has the axles in it. Just a note, I used a set of jumper cables to connect across the u-joint. That way I made sure both pieces were electrically connected.
Here you can see the water line where it was hanging in the tank.
Here is the same BOM number and this is just a snapshot. It is clearly visible and the rust is even removed from inside the numbers. The best part of this is the inside of the axle tube has been cleaned as well.
This is a knuckle after being cleaned.
What I really like about this is the lack of effort. I used to spend hours with a wire wheel and still have rust down in the corners. I then use a sand blaster to get at those. Of course then it has to be washed out before painting. yikes – hours of rust up your nose. Now its a hit with the pressure washer, into the tank overnight, and another shot with the washer. Air gun dry and paint – done.
If you want a refund for the last 10 minutes of your life I will gladly return everything you paid me
opc1: .
thanks for your time – hope you can use this
If a little is good a lot must be better :twak – this is absolutely positively not the case here. 2-10 amps at 12V is more than enough for this process to work. Any higher on the voltage and you are risking a bad electric shock. Any higher on the Amperage and you will just be heating / separating the water. The process will not work any faster by throwing 110 Volts into the mix:shocked . Your life however may go faster ( or end faster ) if you do.
It is not electroplating and should not be compared:twak . There is a “plating” affect but what you are plating is a very weakly bonded iron oxide that will wash off with soap and water. That is the black gunk that you have on your parts after you remove them.
DO NOT USE STAINLESS STEEL:twak :twak . This process tears apart the sacrificial anode and it ends up broken down in the water. Stainless steel contains chromium and this process will free that up into the environment. So you don’t have to change out your stainless anode but you will be exposing yourself and the environment to some very nasty and poisonous chemicals. I have also made the mistake of putting a galvanized pipe on the anode and ended up with light green plating on my parts (not desirable).
Highly Flammable :doh0715: – While the mix is bubbling the water is being separated into hydrogen and oxygen. This collects inside the rusty foam on the top of the water. I have read accounts of this popping / exploding on some people when the power supply was not shut off before removing the parts. It did not hurt anyone but it did make a very nasty mess. I have found that after turning off the power supply a good stir of the bucket will get rid of the foam and dissipate the hydrogen.
The last warning is that this process removed everything loose form the surface. The part will begin to rust again almost immediately if you don’t take steps to protect it. This is not an alteration to the part, it is just so clean of oil and oxidation that is completely unprotected.
Here is the best link to the process I have found so far.
http://www3.telus.net/public/aschoepp/electrolyticrust.html
http://www.davidbradley.net/ERR.html
The only exception I take to this information is the chemical used. Almost all the sites I found call for Arm and Hammer washing soda. I searched high and low around the bay area and did not find any. After so serious research I found that washing soda is Sodium Carbonate. Another name for this is Soda Ash – wait that sounded familiar – a quick look at my pool supply shed and I found Soda Ash "Ph up". That’s right it even spells out on the tub Sodium Carbonate 100%. I was so mad I could have strangled the horsepower hosts. So save yourself the trouble and make a quick trip to the pool supply store instead of every grocery store in town.
Ok, enough warning how about some pics of what an over night soak can do for you.
This is the axle tube and the Dana 60 BOM number before. It has been pressure washed with a 3500 PSI washer and is still very rusty. I had to get just the right angle to get a readable picture.

Here is a shot of my tanks. The one in the front has the knuckles and brake caliper mounts. The one in the back has the axles in it. Just a note, I used a set of jumper cables to connect across the u-joint. That way I made sure both pieces were electrically connected.

Here you can see the water line where it was hanging in the tank.

Here is the same BOM number and this is just a snapshot. It is clearly visible and the rust is even removed from inside the numbers. The best part of this is the inside of the axle tube has been cleaned as well.

This is a knuckle after being cleaned.

What I really like about this is the lack of effort. I used to spend hours with a wire wheel and still have rust down in the corners. I then use a sand blaster to get at those. Of course then it has to be washed out before painting. yikes – hours of rust up your nose. Now its a hit with the pressure washer, into the tank overnight, and another shot with the washer. Air gun dry and paint – done.
If you want a refund for the last 10 minutes of your life I will gladly return everything you paid me
thanks for your time – hope you can use this