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Cabinet and Chassis Restoration and Refinishing For help with cabinet or chassis restoration (non-electrical), please leave a message here. |
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#21 |
Octode
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Gloucester, Glos. UK.
Posts: 1,509
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#22 |
Nonode
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Preston, Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 2,130
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Do you think there was some chemical or electrolytic action, or did the foil just behave as an effective mechanical 'scrubbing brush'?
Andy |
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#23 | |
Octode
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Wimbledon, London, UK.
Posts: 1,385
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Colin. |
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#24 |
Pentode
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Camelford, Cornwall, UK.
Posts: 188
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I have used aluminiumfoil scrunched up to remove rust. its pretty nonabrasive. I believe it was for a chrome plated trim panel for a accordian with rust pitting.
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#25 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: W.Butterwick, near Doncaster UK.
Posts: 7,710
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When I get around to trying it,I have some Hammerite Rust Removal Gel here.
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G8JET BVWS Member and V.M.A.R.S |
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#26 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Oxfordshire, UK.
Posts: 3,106
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Perhaps we should look at this from another angle. Rubbing down a rusty surface with aluminium foil will give you nice mixture of particles of rust and particles of aluminium and I suspect that some of you will now think of the term "Thermite". For those who don't know, Thermite is an extremely powerful pyrophoric mixture, consisting of powdered iron oxide and powdered aluminium which used with skill, can be used to either cut or weld large sections of steel, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXQnIgrXJd8.
Anyone trying this "rust removal technique" had best make sure there are no sources of ignition anywhere near! As iron oxide is so hard that it is used as an abrasive, and aluminium foil is more "soft as putty" ranking, this does not sound like a good rust removal strategy to me. Why not just use steel wool or stainless steel wool? There's no 'magic electrolytic action' because there's no electrolyte! B
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Data beats opinions most times... that's my opinion, though I have no data on that. |
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#27 |
Heptode
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, UK.
Posts: 927
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I'm sure Thermite is very hard to ignite. When we made it at school (yes, such things were allowed in those days) we had to use a piece of burning Magnesium strip to start it off.
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#28 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Oxfordshire, UK.
Posts: 3,106
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Maybe so. I don't recall getting to 'play' with Thermite at school
![]() in the days before it had inhibitor added to it, and a death or two was only narrowly avoided ![]() B
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Data beats opinions most times... that's my opinion, though I have no data on that. Last edited by Bazz4CQJ; 3rd Apr 2019 at 11:09 pm. |
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#29 | |
Octode
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Wimbledon, London, UK.
Posts: 1,385
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Colin. |
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#30 |
Pentode
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: South Coast, Western Australia.
Posts: 129
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I agree with Kalee: Oxalic acid, sold here as a concrete and patio cleaner in a granular form, is very cheap and superb. It needs no heating and the steel item can be left in the solution indefinitely without ill effect.
I keep the solution in old 2L plastic milk bottles, and pour it into whatever plastic container best suits the shape of the item to be cleaned. It can be reused many times until it loses its potency. The rust disappears completely leaving a matt grey surface. It hurts like heck in a cut !! BC |
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#31 |
Pentode
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: South Coast, Western Australia.
Posts: 129
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The local old boys recommend molasses for rust removal. It is readily available because sugar cane is grown in Oz. It seems to be a bit fierce and will eat away the steel if left too long. I have just searched out a story of a chap who dug a big hole, lined it with black plastic, and put a 1913 Cadillac car chassis and springs etc into a molasses solution. The narrator recalls that his elderly friend forgot about it for a while, and when he checked again the chassis had gone !
BC |
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#32 |
Pentode
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Wigston, Leicester, UK.
Posts: 184
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All the above makes absorbing reading, is there any way of making any of the above (apart from the molasses) thixotropic so it can be applied to a vertical surface without dripping off?
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#33 |
Nonode
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: near Reading (and sometimes Torquay)
Posts: 2,482
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A clue to how the original mixture works is that hydrogen peroxide has to be stabilised and tends to contain things like phosphoric acid.
(Something that people who used it to whiten teeth discovered the hard way!) |
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#34 |
Hexode
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: South Manchester, UK.
Posts: 257
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Electrolysis works very well
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#35 |
Hexode
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: South Manchester, UK.
Posts: 257
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more pics...
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#36 |
Hexode
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: South Manchester, UK.
Posts: 257
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Just need to fill the pitting, and have finally confirmed the original colour as a sickly green, so after getting a photo sample from Pleasley museum I will finish this project!
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#37 |
Nonode
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: near Reading (and sometimes Torquay)
Posts: 2,482
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The electrolysis method can work well, but be aware that the result is said to re-rust very quickly unless painted without delay.
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#38 |
Octode
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 1,354
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#39 |
Nonode
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: near Reading (and sometimes Torquay)
Posts: 2,482
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The recommended electrolyte is washing soda (sodium carbonate). Do not be tempted to use common salt as this will promote re-rusting very well indeed.
When I tried this technique I used iron as the other electrode on the grounds that I didn't want any other metal going into solution, but it gets messy as it oxidises and reduces the current. I suspect carbon would be best, or gold/platinum of course! Don't use copper or you will eventually end up copper plating the object. |
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#40 | |
Octode
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Mareeba, North Queensland, Australia
Posts: 1,249
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REAL rust, like car parts or tractor components? Use Molasses. DOES not eat steel, JUST the oxide bits. I haven't tried it on screws from a 3 gang tuning condenser/capacitor, but it sure works on motorcycle parts, car parts, (even rusting sills) nuts n bolts. I think what I am saying is its probably MORE suitable to " big bits" rather than smearing it over an 18 valve communication receiver chassis. Thanks aussie. Joe |
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