Electrolysis question

[PaulS]

After reading these posts on electrolysis I made a plastic garbage can into my tank and it works good. My question is can cast iron parts be done in this manner.

[nikster]

Originally Posted by PaulS

After reading these posts on electrolysis I made a plastic garbage can into my tank and it works good. My question is can cast iron parts be done in this manner.

I put the whole nose from my #122. You would have better results if you slopped on some lethal paint stripper. I used airplane stripper from advance auto. Got to wear gloves & painter Mask. Powerfull stuff.

NIK.

[fleetlines]

Hey Paul,
I did about half a dozen cast iron pieces last year with great success.
Last winter I used it through the winter and just got some ice crystals. I believe using it creates a little heat. I had a huge chunk of ice this year when I went to use it. I've had a pile of parts disassembled and ready to run through it for over a month now waiting for it to melt.

[PaulS]

Freezing was a concern with me too that is why I waited till now to build and test.

[Sam Mac]

I may try something like this for the tank to soak stuff in. Figure it's long enough to do a frame.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/stor...-feeder-5-ft-l

[PaulS]

If the part that holds the water is a plastic or vinyl then yes it would work. All you would have to do is insert some sacraficial metal into the sides, hook them together with wiring and you would be good to go. I have done only one part so far but it was pretty well painted and nearly all the paint came off and all the rust was gone. Tomorrow I am doing the foot rests. This is fun not having to scrape and sand and wire wheel all day. The part comes out looking kinda bad but when I washed it everything just came off. We are thinking of making a wood frame and line it with vinyl and use that for the frame, fenders, tower etc.

[EarlJ]

Originally Posted by PaulS

We are thinking of making a wood frame and line it with vinyl and use that for the frame, fenders, tower etc.

I built a large tank, It wont fit a super frame but nf and wf no problem. I framed it out of 2x4's and used a pond liner I found at lowes for about $40 got less than $50 in the whole thing. You have to be extremely careful setting the parts in, frame& rearend as they will easily rip the liner..

[PaulS]

so far I am impressed by the job that electrolysis does cleaning up things. Best thing is you just place the part carefully into the tank and get it going. The water gets real nasty looking but all you have to do is wait or do something else while your part is being cleaned. You do have to have enough time for cleaning, i.e. scrubbing and drying and priming the part as it will get surface rust real quick. You cannot let a cleaned part overnight without priming it. Eric and I are brainstorming building a wood frame long enough and deep enough to do the 102 frame all at once. We are thinking of putting the anode (sacrificial metal down the middle of the tank and supporting the frame on wood like squares of 2x4 so it does not touch the anode. Right now it has to wait a bit as the weather here is just too cold we had mid 20s last night.

[nailpounder]

Regarding bare metal, try protecting it with something like Krud Kutter Must for Rust. It is a phosphoric acid based product that converts rust and provides some protection for bare metal as well. I used it years ago on a Scout II body tub that a previous owner had stripped and then left in the weather. After sand blasting I used the "Must" to get the rust in any pits not reached by sand blasting - I sprayed the whole thing. Never had any problems with paint adherence or rust forming under the paint. It may be worth a try, of course it is a whole lot drier here where I live.

[EarlJ]

Originally Posted by PaulS

so far I am impressed by the job that electrolysis does cleaning up things. Best thing is you just place the part carefully into the tank and get it going. The water gets real nasty looking but all you have to do is wait or do something else while your part is being cleaned. You do have to have enough time for cleaning, i.e. scrubbing and drying and priming the part as it will get surface rust real quick. You cannot let a cleaned part overnight without priming it. Eric and I are brainstorming building a wood frame long enough and deep enough to do the 102 frame all at once. We are thinking of putting the anode (sacrificial metal down the middle of the tank and supporting the frame on wood like squares of 2x4 so it does not touch the anode. Right now it has to wait a bit as the weather here is just too cold we had mid 20s last night.

I used a 2x4 top and bottom an built it like a wall, Mine is 65" long 24" high and 24" wide 4 walls and a handful of screws. My liner is fitted to the bottom and pulled up and over the top and tacked down with roofing tacks. I used a pond liner from lowes. If you develope a leak a tire patch from the auto parts house works great..