Seeing as I've been on this forum for a while and taken so much from it, I feel it's about time I give something back. I'm pretty sure I'm not the first to discover this technique and how to use it on car parts, but I haven't seen any write-ups about it yet on the forum, so here it is. Also -- I posted it here in the first generation section because that's the car I have and also many first generations would likely suffer from this than later generations.

Electrolysis is a technique used to remove surface rust from metal and steel products. For this experiment, I decided to take the rust off my FB's dash frame.


I loaded up a garbage can full of water and 3 boxes of baking soda my grandmother had left in her fridge before she passed away.




Next I peeled back the wire casings on an old laptop power supply that I don't have anymore.


After checking which is (+) and which is (-), I attached the (-) to the object I wanted to remove the rust from and the (+) to something else that's metal (in this case, an old wrench I don't need).



Make sure you attach the negative wire to the item you want the rust to come off of, otherwise you'll be wasting a lot of time.

Let it soak for a few hour. Flip it when you notice the rust turning to a black shade. Don't forget to take off the cable and attach it to the other side.


In the morning, I took it outside and gave it a good spray with a hose and scrubbed it down with steel wool. The loose rust just came right off easily. Here are some after pictures.




As you can see, I didn't get all of the rust off... mainly because I was cutting my hand using a tiny pad. But I'm happy with the outcome. Cost me nothing that I didn't have already and took about 1 day of waiting and 20 minutes of work. I tried it with a metal panel that I found in the back of the car covering the rear bumper struts. I did the same technique. The black oxide seems to be very difficult to remove. I read on one site that cola will do the trick, but I soaked it in cola overnight and nothing. Anyway, I hope this all helps somebody out there. =)

 

Nice. I've heard about this process, but I've never seen it in action before.

I'm not sure if there are any advantages over a soak in Muriatic acid though. The cost would be about the same, and both processes are hazardous with one using electricity and the other using, well, acid.






.

 

Hydrochloric acid is much more likely to damage the underlying metals and is much more caustic if gotten on your skin.

Rubber soled shoes and rubber gloves are all you need to protect yourself with the electrolysis.

 

I have done the process before and utilized a media blaster to remove the latent rust. This saves a ton of time and effort of just using the media alone to remove the rust, and it actually stops the rust from spreading.

Remember to thougherly dry it in the sun and hit it with primer or a clear coat.... Nice write up!

To anyone thinking of doing this:

I believe I used a 6V (1 ma) power supply from an old cordless phone. Also - using a spade connector soldered to the end of the (-) side will allow you to bolt the ground (-) to the part (or use an alligator clip). I then soldered the (+) side to a 36"x6" sheet of tin. Hint - make sure the tub is non-metallic!!!!! And what ever you connect to the (+) side will get pitted quickly - make sure you don't need it - like ingaman's wrench.

@Kentetsu - the acid technique, I believe, would remove not just the rust, but also part of the metal itself. Acid dips are great for large heavy parts, like car frames, as it lightens the whole part evenly while removing the rust, and etches the part for powdercoating. Small thin parts might just dissolve away or make them too thin. This process only neutralizes the rust.....and the best part is that it stops the rust, so once you primer it, no worries about blistering down the road.

 

very cool!
Thanks for taking the time. and thanks for follow-up Keith.

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

i have a dumb ?
i assume the wrench is also placed in the solution;correct?

 

Try http://www.metalrescue.com/home.aspx for the results you are looking for.

 

Yep - an the bigger the better on the + side. Personally, a wrench might be a bit small, but it still works obviously. Surface area is what counts here.