Electrolytic Rust Removal
Thread Starter
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Cruiser
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 165
Likes: 31
From: Alberta
This is similar in:
brass, copper, zinc, lead, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, etc..
I heard copper will produce a green slime in the electrolysis tank. I imagine it depends on the solution used, how it will react with certain non ferrous metals.
I suppose experimentation might be the best answer but I don't want to experiment so much on my harley parts😃
Tourer
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 486
Likes: 155
From: British Columbia
Cleaning agents on aluminum.
I am going to use a taller size rubbermade tub so I can fit bigger stuff in it. I have some scrap 1" x 1/8" angle iron that I can bolt or tack into a shape that will frame the inside of the tub, and surround the work piece. I heard it's better to have the anode action all around the workpiece rather than jyst one or two sides. I will send some pics of the setup.
I have a 15 Amp setting on the charger that should work good but will try the 30A and 40A settings too.
If the process is safe for rods and pistons (bushings to be replaced anyway) I would like to set
the whole flywheel assembly in the tank and do it all at once; take it apart after.
We'll see.
Anybody else know about the electrochemical metallurgical limitations😃 on what can safely go in the tank?
I have a 15 Amp setting on the charger that should work good but will try the 30A and 40A settings too.
If the process is safe for rods and pistons (bushings to be replaced anyway) I would like to set
the whole flywheel assembly in the tank and do it all at once; take it apart after.
We'll see.
Anybody else know about the electrochemical metallurgical limitations😃 on what can safely go in the tank?
Thread Starter
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Cruiser
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 165
Likes: 31
From: Alberta
Caustic soda is another name for sodium hydroxide, commonly referred to as lye. Washing soda is sodium carbonate, (we know sodium bicarbonate, baking soda).
It could be very dangerous to mix these up. Caustic soda is extremely alkaline, enough to cause severe chemical skin burns (it attacks the proteins of the skin), (and disolve aluminum?)
Washing soda is quite alkaline (but not nearly as alkaline as caustic soda) and can cause strong skin irritation
, (effect on aluminun?). Ingestion of either could prove fatal, and both can cause severe damage to the eyes.
Baking soda is as we know used in cooking, as a dentifrice and as an antacid.
Too heavy of an acid can gobble up ferrous metals too, as we know.
I should have buckled down to math and chemistry in high school.
One thing for sure, I will move the tank outside during the process. I don't want to produce explosive, corrosive, or poisonous gasses in the shop🤓🦨💣🤮😵
Last edited by tinkering; Dec 11, 2021 at 11:20 AM.
Tourer
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 486
Likes: 155
From: British Columbia
Caustic soda. Bad , bad
Is washing soda caustic? Baking soda is alkaline but at what PH value are materials classed as 'caustic'? Does the electrolytic process make mildly caustic solutions more destructive? 🌞
Caustic soda is another name for sodium hydroxide, commonly referred to as lye. Washing soda is sodium carbonate, (we know sodium bicarbonate, baking soda).
It could be very dangerous to mix these up. Caustic soda is extremely alkaline, enough to cause severe chemical skin burns (it attacks the proteins of the skin), (and disolve aluminum?)
Washing soda is quite alkaline (but not nearly as alkaline as caustic soda) and can cause strong skin irritation
, (effect on aluminun?). Ingestion of either could prove fatal, and both can cause severe damage to the eyes.
Baking soda is as we know used in cooking, as a dentifrice and as an antacid.
Too heavy of an acid can gobble up ferrous metals too, as we know.
I should have buckled down to math and chemistry in high school.
One thing for sure, I will move the tank outside during the process. I don't want to produce explosive, corrosive, or poisonous gasses in the shop🤓🦨💣🤮😵
Caustic soda is another name for sodium hydroxide, commonly referred to as lye. Washing soda is sodium carbonate, (we know sodium bicarbonate, baking soda).
It could be very dangerous to mix these up. Caustic soda is extremely alkaline, enough to cause severe chemical skin burns (it attacks the proteins of the skin), (and disolve aluminum?)
Washing soda is quite alkaline (but not nearly as alkaline as caustic soda) and can cause strong skin irritation
, (effect on aluminun?). Ingestion of either could prove fatal, and both can cause severe damage to the eyes.
Baking soda is as we know used in cooking, as a dentifrice and as an antacid.
Too heavy of an acid can gobble up ferrous metals too, as we know.
I should have buckled down to math and chemistry in high school.
One thing for sure, I will move the tank outside during the process. I don't want to produce explosive, corrosive, or poisonous gasses in the shop🤓🦨💣🤮😵
Thread Starter
|
Cruiser
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 165
Likes: 31
From: Alberta
Sodium hydroxide will eat aluminum. Some of the citrus cleaners will badly etch or take the shine off of aluminum parts. May even dissolve surfaces if left too long. Talk to a chroming shop if you can locate one. They have all sorts of fancy and safe processes for removing corrosion. They may provide better steerage on what you're trying to ask. I think most of us on here learned by the school of hard knocks or basic high school chemistry recollection.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 19,937
Likes: 8,036
From: poway
Aluminum is weakly magnetic. Paramagnetic materials arent magnetic under normal circumstances, but they can interact with magnets. When a magnet is nearby, small electrical currents form in the paramagnetic material due to the magnets movement. These cause small interactions with the magnet, which disappear again when the magnet is removed.
This is similar in:
brass, copper, zinc, lead, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, etc..
I heard copper will produce a green slime in the electrolysis tank. I imagine it depends on the solution used, how it will react with certain non ferrous metals.
I suppose experimentation might be the best answer but I don't want to experiment so much on my harley parts😃
This is similar in:
brass, copper, zinc, lead, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, etc..
I heard copper will produce a green slime in the electrolysis tank. I imagine it depends on the solution used, how it will react with certain non ferrous metals.
I suppose experimentation might be the best answer but I don't want to experiment so much on my harley parts😃
Thread Starter
|
Cruiser
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 165
Likes: 31
From: Alberta
Very interesting, that is why it is called a paramagnetic metal.
Thread Starter
|
Cruiser
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 165
Likes: 31
From: Alberta
...you need AT LEAST the same surface area for the anode as the piece youre working with. Using less area still works, just not as well, and probably doesn't last as long between cleaning the anode rust buildup.
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Thread Starter
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Cruiser
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 165
Likes: 31
From: Alberta
"Make sure whatever you cleaning doesn't have any aluminum, it will get eaten away pretty quickly. I thought a headlight bucket was steel but it was aluminum and it was gone in less than 6 hours."
Last edited by tinkering; Dec 11, 2021 at 11:20 PM.