Hub carrier in process

rmattila · Post by **rmattila** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 7:13 pm

Can't wait till morning to see what comes out..

-17 C outside, but the water is almost scalding with 20 amps going through.

rmattila · Post by **rmattila** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 4:17 am

After process:

Next step: painting & installation of new bearings.

Kitch · Post by **Kitch** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:15 am

Interesting! Can't help thinking sand blasting it would have worked better though?

rmattila · Post by **rmattila** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 9:45 am

I don't think it would be possible to obtain a much better result by any method: all rust was boiled off, and all that was left was a gentle brushing to remove the loose deposits of de-rusted iron and the chips of paint that had had rust under it. In addition, the warm water helps to remove all other impurities such as dirt and grease. And all this while you just wait..

Post by **Defender110** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 10:07 am

rmattila wrote:I don't think it would be possible to obtain a much better result by any method: all rust was boiled off, and all that was left was a gentle brushing to remove the loose deposits of de-rusted iron and the chips of paint that had had rust under it. In addition, the warm water helps to remove all other impurities such as dirt and grease. And all this while you just wait..

I don't think you can argue against that! Obviously a job to be done overnight whilst sleeping to stop you hovering over the pot like an expectant father

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 6:51 pm

I'm surprised that you havent built yourself an ultrasonic cleaner, that would do an even better job, but i still like your homemade way of cleaning, improvisation at its best

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:01 pm

An ultrasonic cleaner wouldn't remove the rust though, apart from loose flakes. I'm assuming this is reverse electrolysis using a weak alkali solution?

Wish I had a bucket large enough for an entire car!

rmattila · Post by **rmattila** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:53 pm

I do have an ultrasonic cleaner (the blue object vaguely visible in the background of the "before pic"):

which is OK for post-processing smaller parts after electrolysis, but it doesn't do good job as removing rust/dirt without the electrolysis first. And for larger parts, brushing after the 'lysis is not too much work.

Just a couple of handfuls of washing soda is enough to turn a bucket of water into a good electrolyte, and depending on the batch size, either the 24 V start booster or the welding inverter will make a good DC source. Due to the heavy hydrogen buildup the process must be done outdoors, but it's not a problem, since with 20 - 100 amps the water keeps hot even in winter (it's -23 C now and I've got another batch bubbling overnight).

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 9:56 pm

You learn something new every day, i've had some reasonable results with an ultrasonic cleaner just using some washing up liquid in tap water, it managed to clean up quite a bit of rust on some bolts that appeared on the face of it to be totally knackered. Perhaps like you say, they work better on smaller parts rather than the larger ones? I'm going to buy some seaclean which apparently can clean rust, so will report back with some findings.

Kitch · Post by **Kitch** » Tue Jan 31, 2012 8:26 pm

rmattila wrote:I don't think it would be possible to obtain a much better result by any method: all rust was boiled off, and all that was left was a gentle brushing to remove the loose deposits of de-rusted iron and the chips of paint that had had rust under it. In addition, the warm water helps to remove all other impurities such as dirt and grease. And all this while you just wait..

I've sandblasted a couple of uprights recently at work - they came out silver for a start. Completely removes everything!

The idea of being able to set it up and then fuck off is hugely appealing though