Ok so I wanted to try a new method of cleaning up some of my rusty tools.
I as many of you, I dont like to wire wheel any of my tools. I wanted to find a way to clean my tools that have rust that
didn't require caustic chemicals, tons of scrubbing with wire brushes etc. So I did some Google searching and found that maybe
I should try electrolysis? I did some searching on GJ and only found two threads that even mentioned the process..... (maybe
I need to work on my searching skills). So I thought i would write a thread and post back my thoughts on using electrolysis
as a de-rusting method. You know I had everything this process requires in the garage & kitchen pantry(as most of you
guys probably do also). It took me about 15 minutes to throw together a "dunk tank" and get it going. After about 40 minutes
to and hour of soak time the results were amazing!
Here are "before" pictures of the wrench I used for testing:
Here are the "after" pictures:
The last step (to clean the remaining black oxide), I need to find a better tray for the lemon juice/soda
or hydrochloric acid bath. So I just soaked the box end of the wrench in a small plastic cup of lemon juice I had.
I think next I will purchase a plastic coated cookie cooling rack and use it to set the tools on.
That will work a little better than the plastic lid I used.
Here is a quick video I threw together on the crude setup I used. Please excuse the extremely amateurish
video. I'm great with DSLR's, but its painfully obvious I'm not too proficient at video or video editing for that matter.
"Hammer to shape, Grind or File to fit, Paint to match!"
