Electrolytic Rust Removal

Unless I've miscounted, this would be rust removal method number four that I have written about on this blog.  We had Oxylic acid (wood bleach), white vinegar and molasses.  While these methods all work very well, they have some serious downsides.  The biggest is time;  One has to be quite patient and have the ability to wait days or even weeks for rust to disappear.  Mess and odour are another, that is most specific to Molasses and vinegar (to a lesser degree).  Thirdly, weather and temperature are factors.  If you have a cold shop or garage, these processes are almost impossible to undertake in the wintertime as your solution will freeze. 


This brings us to electrolytic rust removal which I finally got around to trying.  A method that is quick, relatively clean and can be done in cooler temperatures.  I won't do a seminar about the science of it as there are far better and more detailed write ups out there.  This is more a matter of sharing the results.


My specimen was an old 650 Triumph crankshaft.

Not the best picture as I had just cleaned and de-greased it.

It took me about six minutes to set up a simple system. 

-1 Home Depot bucket
-1 cup of Arm and Hammer Washing soda (this is very important.  It must be washing soda, not baking soda or laundry detergent)
-Hot water
-Piece of Wood
-Metal Strapping
-Old scrap metal shears (to use as a Cathode)
-Old Battery Charger (set to 12V)

I mixed my washing solution in the hot water, attached the strapping to the crankshaft (in order to keep it suspended).

I then attached the positive lead to the sacrificial shears, negative lead to the Crankshaft-

As soon as the charger was turned on the water began to gently bubble.  After half an hour it looked like this:

After two hours I pulled the crankshaft out.  Lo and behold, the rust was gone! 

Not the best photo, as the crank is still wet.  The rust was however, gone.

I then used a sponge brush covered in oil to protect the part in storage. 

The verdict?  Going forward, this will be my go-to method.  Easy, inexpensive and most importantly, fast. 

Until next Time....