Re: Electrolysis question

[Kevin Valentine <kevin@valentinephoto.net>]

On Mar 24, 2005, at 10:11 AM, Timothy H. Collins wrote:
> Kevin,
> I'd like to hear the details concerning dipping an entire Midget. What 
> did you use to get a decent current density - an industrial size 
> battery charger or another special power supply. How many amps did you 
> use? How long in the solution?
Tim,

The 74 Midget was dipped in a  tank made of 2x6's and heavy plastic 
sheeting.  I built it 20" deep and big enough to hold a Midget tub, 
(including the front suspension but everything else was removed).   I 
used 3 boxes of washing soda and filled the "tank" to 16" deep with 
water.  The Midget tub was set in the tank right side up and after a 
week or so I flipped it upside down and left it in another week.   
After the Midget had it's turn in the "tank" I dipped a sheet metal 
chute for a friends tree limb "shredder" and a small utility trailer 
frame.

The power supply was a 12v inverter from a travel trailer (1972 Shasta 
- the rest of the trailer is now my car trailer).    Amps don't seem to 
matter (too much) I've used the amps at "trickle", at 6 amps and at 12 
amps.  Trickle works good for small parts, like pedal boxes.  The 
bigger the part the more current I use, although I have not seen my amp 
meter ever go over 3 amps so I usually set the amps at 3 - 6 on 
chargers where I have a choice.   Amps are limited by the current 
capacity of the electrolytic solution.  Most of my cleaning of small 
and medium parts is done at 3 - 6 amps.

> The process is a "line of sight" removal from the anode to the work 
> piece. Did you position multiple sacrificial pieces to get into and 
> around all the nooks and crannies?
 I used 4 anodes (concrete re-bar) - one in each corner of the tank and 
a 5th suspended in the center after the Midget tub was placed in the 
tank.  The process is not "line of sight" (some articles found on the 
internet say it is, but this is not true), it will work on any metal 
that is immersed in the solution.  The process will "clean" the metal 
closest to the anode(s) first and the longer the the part is left in 
the more cleaning takes place.  Keep in mind this process will free the 
threads of rusted together nuts and bolts.  That's why I left the front 
suspension on the Midget tub.

> Did the paint and primer come off easily?
Anywhere there was rust under the paint - the paint will simply fall 
off.  Otherwise the paint will not be removed by the process.  I use 
Brillo to clean the parts after they come out of the tank.  Brillo 
contains a soap that is rich in Phosphorus which will keep the metal 
from re-rusting for a couple of weeks.

> Would you do it again?
Yes.....  I will be "dipping" a 68 Midget tub this summer.
> Was it tough to clean up your swimming pool when you were done? <grin>
The pool was a 15 x 30 - 4 feet deep..........  I was threatened with 
execution just for looking at the pool.....

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