Rust Removal Experiments: Electrolysis

Rust removal with electrolysis using a welding machine as the current source.

Lathe Restoration videos:

Interesting videos about electrolytic rust removal (by other Youtubers):

[tomalcolm]

By far the best electrolysis video on YouTube. Keep up the great work.

[mayflowertrillium]

Thanks for another great video ! An old guy once told me he used WHEY to loosen rusted manifold bolts on a marine engine. He said you could then turn the bolts out with your fingers. He chose to use whey because they used to feed their pigs on whey from the local cheese factory, and the iron feeding pots never got rusty. I've had good results using whey on rusty tools, bolts steel wire and chain. Sometimes I left the rusty item immersed for a week or more. Can be a bit stinky in the hot sun, but put a lid on the plastic pail. When done, wash the item off with soapy water, dry it, then apply a coating to prevent rusting again. As a quick fix, I threw several lengths of chain in pails of used engine oil over the winter. I may wipe off most oil, leaving enough so I can store chain in damp conditions. Or I may clean up and spray cold galvanize or some other pail coating. Whey is cost effective for big jobs if, as I did, you get pails of whey for free from a cheese factory. [ RIP Uncle Billy ]

[shedactivist]

More current is not better. The aim is to chemically convert the ferric oxide Fe2O3 (rust) into magnetite Fe2O4 by adding an oxygen molecule. This oxygen molecule comes from the water which is why the anode gives off hydrogen. Low current over longer time will convert more rust without pitting because the more violent reaction simply dislodges the rust in the pits. Even a 12v battery charger gives off too much current so either use a resistor to step it down to 1 Amp or use a 6v battery charger. Less is more. Great video and great channel by the way.

[ThePostApocalypticInventor]

Some additional remarks:
1.) You can work with much lower currents, but that has been done in many other videos before (check video description)
2.) You CAN use baking soda, but washing soda works better.
3.) But please don't use Sodium Chloride ("Salt") UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! You will produce "Chlorine Gas", a chemical, that was used as a chemical warfare agent in WWI by the German armed forces. You don't want that in your workshop!

[michaelmayo]

Great Video, very instructive, lets have more German technical videos, with their no thrills and no nonsense commentaries. Just great to listen to and my days at technical school were no wasted, I understood the jargon. Great Video, en venlig hilsen fra manden who lives north of the border from you. Yes a welding transformer, why not, plenty of current. Just great man !!

[stevenyamada]

Your English is getting much clearer.
Thanks for another great experiment.

[AgentDexter]

If you are rushing the part it's ok, but too much current isn't always better.

To much current can crate pits on the surface of the material. Bubbles are not conductive and more of them are there the less surface is in contact with electrolyte, and only that surface is getting etched.

[katart]

Always use graphite rods as sacrificial anodes, they are superior compared to steel and don't create any mess.

[FearsomeWarrior]

Awesome. I've seen this and just used vinegar because it looked bothersome and about the same results but you made it look much easier.

[ecospider]

Fantastic. Really fun seeing the change in amps with decreasing the resistance.

[pcfred]

I knew you were going to be a wild man when it came to electrolytic rust removal. You did not disappoint either. You were cooking the goods! Be aware that the process causes hydrogen embrittlement of the pieces you clean. You can relieve that by putting them in an oven for a while, or it just dissipates over time. Also the cleaning action is mostly line of sight. So with your one anode setup you should rotate your work piece for maximum effect.

[MikeSmith-vbul]

You can use graphite anodes just fine -- they're more inert (and thus more reusable) and no "hexavalent chromium". Electrolysis just removes rust simply by generating lots and lots hydrogen gas for use as a quick debriding agent (to mechanically dislodge the rust away). So, you'll want to run this at high currents and likewise keep the anodes very close to the cathode to maximize energy-efficiency (waste less energy just on running current through the solution!).

[mowwow]

You always produce such great and high quality videos with very clear explanations. Plus, for someone whose first language is
not English your English is impeccable.

[karl]

Thank you so much for the super valuable math and thanks for repeating the formulas. Once i hear it I'm alerted, the next time or time after it sinks in. A1!

[jobspeedmms]

The experiments shared for cleaning rust are very good and detailed, friends

[nickybritain]

Can we look at Chrome Plating and the precautions we need to take, a relative was a Crome Plater and died from stomach cancer years ago probably before we knew Chrome was highly carcinogenic. Or is Nickel a better result/finish? Excellent video, very instructive, thanks so much.🙂

[vincentvanhelden]

Great Stuff, I used citric acid with warm water, 125g per litre to remove the rust from parts on a old fire place.

[Kezat]

If you wanted PAI you could measure the current with the V drop over the a segment of thick wire or even one of the welder cables, and tune it with the power resister used at the lower currents. Might not be the most accurate but should give you a good ballpark at the higher currents.

Love your videos, keep them coming.

[Record]

Your massive angle grinder is the most amazing thing ever

[sportytone]

You should also research rust blueing as used on antique firearms. It is an old-school way of metal preservation.