out2kayak

FWIW, I'm doing a chemistry experiment to clean rust.

I mixed 9 parts water to 1 part molasses and am soaking the attached very rusty cigarette tray mount for two to three weeks.

I'll take pictures as things progress. Ideally all of the rust will be gone after the process.

The molasses is from Tractor Supply Company, where they sell it in gallon bottles for livestock.




The idea came from:






-- Joe

66jack

This looks like a killer idea...hope it works like the video shows...

tuxnharley

Well, at least it oughta smell good - better than the vinegar technique!

reedkona

As stated previously, it works -- well-- and it won't take two or three weeks, but should look better in a matter of days. I prefer it to electrolysis. Do not leave cast pieces, like vibration dampers, in there any longer than needed to remove rust.

quahog

I have been using molasses straight up for rust removal for some time , works good and is safe for paint and just about anything else. Jeff

Railroadman

I'm waiting for the "after" pic - the piece will be totally covered with 20,000 ants!

out2kayak

I have the bin that the parts are soaking in out in the garage (there is a bit of a smell, but it's not too bad -- just enough to warrant not doing it by the furnace).

My garage is not heated, but it maintains about 40* F this time of year (or warmer, depending on the weather). So, ants should not be a problem.



-- Joe

hlvette

I have used this method many times & it works great. It won't take off grease or paint but the rusted areas will look like new steel.
It works best when warm. I usually do it in the summer & leave it out in the hot sun. 1 to 2 weeks.
The first time I used it was on a model A hood. Worked great between the louvers & cleaned the hinge knuckles out perfectly.

Railroadman

Impressive! Since the part to be de-rusted seems to have to stay submerged, I'm guessing this does not work well on a frame - say, repeated applications with a paint brush or spray bottle. Maybe an unused swimming pool would work?

out2kayak

Actually, a nice big pallet bag (or two) that's sealed up with duct tape may work. That's what I have for a bigger part that I'm working on.



-- Joe

LouieM

Never heard of molasses for rust removal. You learn something new every day.

Railroadman

I was thinking of trying something like that. The downside would be it's in the garage and these western New York winters are not conducive to hosing it off. For example, 17 degrees outside now, probably 40 in the garage until I fire up the heater. hlvette notes it works best when warm, so maybe this is better off postponed till about May.

out2kayak

Don't know -- here in Indiana we have been having similar weather (and my garage is about the same 40*F). Will take a look this weekend (the 1 week point) and post a similar pic to the above.



-- Joe

Dale002

Done this years ago using a 55 gallon barrel filled half way. Works great for small parts with tight areas. The part must be completely degreased for max effect. Best done warm because it gets too thick when cold.

Dan Laxuma

This is certainly a video that has sparked my interest.

gccch

I'm waiting for the third video where he shows how to brew beer with the left over solution!

Love the sign: Private Property Bugger off!

Biscayne

Just try some evapo rust. It's available in any local Advanced, or Autozone. It works wonders

mrtexas

The various generics to evaporust on the net work better and are 25% of the cost per gallon. They can be mixed up stronger as well.\


Here is generic evaporust. $60 including shipping to make 16 gallons or $5 a gallon. Also tried another generic rustdepot. Both work the same as evaporust $25 a gallon. It is also better in that you can mix up more concentrated and it works faster. I also use ospho but it leaves a residue. I got into using evaporust when I needed to free up a frozen 36 glove box hinge. Ospho wouldn't have worked but evaporust did very well! It is still sort of a specialty product as it is not good at taking off really heavy rust. I soaked my 49 woodie rear hatch in evaporust and it didn't make much difference. The ospho ate some holes in the hatch but it only eats rust after all! I'll have to patch the holes.

mrtexas

As a rule of thumb chemical reactions like rust removal double in speed for every 10F increase in temperature.

out2kayak

OK - one week in the cold garage soaking in the mixture resulted in these pics. Paint is still on and has some of the molasses coating but looking good.

Only a quick clean off of the molasses coating, but nothing beyond that.