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One Great Tip » Removing Rust with Electrolysis
Removing Rust with Electrolysis
By George Vondriska
Photos by George Vondriska
Posted: May 2, 2011
This article is two-fold. First, I’m going to show you how to use electrolysis to remove rust from tools. Secondly, this is the first installment in a series of articles that will take you through the rehabilitation of a hand plane including finding replacement parts, tuning, and sharpening. You can watch as I get the plane back in working order.
Ever get to an auction or flea market and stare lovingly, but in despair, at a hand plane that you’d love to own, but are going to pass on because it’s too rusty? There’s a solution for this problem. Electrolysis. It’s crazy cool, and easy to do. Here’s the overview; submerge the tool in a solution of baking soda and water, connect a battery charger, and let it sit overnight. By the next day the rust will have sloughed off.
The beauty of using electrolysis for rust removal is that you’re not abrading the tool and removing metal. It’s better for the tool, especially if you’re concerned about its value, if you don’t hit it with sandpaper or a wire wheel. This, and the ease of doing it, makes electrolysis the perfect answer for restoring old tools. Electrolysis provides a very easy way to get rust out of a tool’s nooks and crannies.
I picked up the plane in this story cheap. You’ll see it go through the rust removal process here and, in future stories, get to follow along as it’s restored and tuned up.
Here’s a Bailey #4 hand plane I picked up for $25. Last patent date on the body is April 1910. It’s sound, but has a lot of surface rust on it, and is unusable in its current condition. I’ll remove all the parts from the body and use electrolysis to remove the rust.
What You Need
Gather your electrolysis supplies together.
- An electrolysis vat that is non-conductive. A plastic five-gallon bucket works well for most tools.
- An anode (I’m using a coffee can)
- Auto battery charger
- Baking soda or washing powder
- Measuring spoon
- Scotch Brite pad and soft bristle brush
- Wire leads
- Rubber gloves
Prep
Wash the tool you’ll be treating. Make sure there isn’t any oil or wax on it that will prevent the electrolysis process from working. Give it a good bath with soap and water.
Make an anode. You need some kind of sacrificial steel for this. It’s best if the anode surrounds the tool so the electrolysis can happen from all sides. The anode will get eaten up by the electrolysis process, and will need to be replaced after being used a few times.
Connect one of the wire leads to the anode. Make sure you have a good, solid connection and that the lead is long enough to connect to the battery charger outside of the bucket.
Connect a lead to the tool. You’ve got to have a good connection or the process won’t work well. This can be challenging with a rusty tool. You may have to clean a small section of the tool with sandpaper to make certain you have contact.
Make up the electrolyte solution. You need enough water to completely submerge the tool. Add one tablespoon of baking soda or washing powder (either one will work) per gallon of water. Mix the solution to dissolve the powder.
Suspend the tool in the vat and check the set up. Try to arrange the anode so it surrounds the tool, but don’t let the tool and anode touch each other.
Start Removing Rust
Connect the clips from the battery charger to the leads on the tool and anode. Make sure you get this right. With the charger unplugged connect the positive to the anode and the negative to the tool. If you do this backwards your tool will become the sacrificial anode. Set the charger on a 2-amp charge and plug it in. Don’t let the connections from the charger touch the electrolyte solution.
Within minutes of plugging in the charger you should see bubbles rising from the tool. Allow the tool to “cook” for 15-20 hours.
Results
After some time the top of the vat will be covered with sludge. This is a good thing. The sludge is the rust coming off the tool.
Unplug and disconnect the charger and remove the tool from the solution. It won’t look like much now. It’ll need some cleaning.
Wearing rubber gloves, use a fine Scotch Brite pad to remove the sludge from the tool. It doesn’t take much elbow grease, just some wiping.
Use a soft bristle brush to get into the spots you can’t reach with the pad. Wipe the tool clean using a paper towel.
After the tool is clean and dry, coat it with paste wax so it doesn’t start to rust again.
The result? A tool that’s clean of rust. If only I could make a vat large enough for my 1959 Farmall tractor to fit into…
The vat of electrolyte solution is pretty benign stuff, but will burn your lawn if you dump it all in one spot. It’s best to dilute the liquid before disposing of it.
Now that the rust is gone from the plane body it’s time to do some shopping. In the next installment we’ll have a look at the replacement parts I purchased for this tool.
Related Videos:
Removing Rust with Electrolysis
29 Comments
I had read about this process but it wasn't until you featured it in one of your DVDs that i felt comfortable enough to give it a try. I was able to clean up the planes that belonged to my husband's grandfather. Worked like a charm.
I have seen this process also with one small addition. After the cleaning, they baked the piece in an oven at 200 degrees to allow all of the moisture to come out of the pores before the waxing. I have yet to try it because this is supposed to only work with older chargers as the new ones have protective circuits in them to prevent them from being used like this.
I tried this method once before with poor results. The problem appears to have been incomplete instructions from my other source. It didn't specify the anode surrounding the tool, didn't say to leave it overnight, and didn't say to use the 2 amp setting on my battery charger. Common sense says those omissions are more than trivial. It also caused me to buy washing soda, which in my area is more rare than the dilithium crystals used to power warp engines. Thanks a ton for good instructions and a great video. My tenoning saw will be the next target of electrolysis, this time with favorable results.
looking in the net, found many digital chargers and not many choices to charge the car battery // slow: 10 amp – 3 hours fast : 20 amp – 45 min. super fast: 25 amp - 10 min.// to do this I need some ancient analog model ?
Great little reminder of what I learned in school some 34 years ago. Thanks for the article. It was useful.
My charger has been around the block a few times. I know it works well for this process. I think if you can only get down to a 10 amp charge you should not leave the process "cooking" as long. If you do this, please let us know how it comes out. G
I am sure if you use a higher amp setting the exact same thing happens only faster, but so does the production of hydrogen and oxygen, "the bubbles" during the process. This should be done in a ventilated. Use the same precaution as charging a battery, there is a possibility of an explosive build up of hydrogen. Most garages are leaky enough but it's still safe to open a window or crack a door in the garage for some air exchange. Great write up, I have done this a few times before to rescue tools the kids left outside tinkering with this or that, but I have not herd of baking the tools in an oven afterwards to cook out the moisture, thanks for the tip Ruben.
I think it's a great presentation. However, I'm concerned about using it on "antique tools"; does the process affect any of the tools properties that generate value such as the surface patina or other appearnce qualities? Returning an old tool to "like-new" appearnce while great for the person wanting to restore the tool to use would not serve the antique preservationist's interest. -RDD
have I missed it.. is there a way to print this article easily??? Love the article, will use the info.
Will this affect japanning or does it only attack rust?
What kind of metal for the anode is required? I have some saws I would like to use this on and I don't think a coffee can would work.
motorcycle chargers are generally 2amp or less.
One of the benefits of this process is that it doesn't abrade or change the surface of an old tool. As you can see from the "after" photo, the plane I worked on still has a lot of old tool patina. At least until i start truing the sole. If you're concerned about the affect of this process on the value of a tool, be sure to check with a tool expert before treating the tool. The anode needs to be a conductive piece of steel. It's best not to use stainless steel. Some people hang pieces of reinforcing rod, available at home centers, in the solution. Wire them together so you can have one lead from the from the rods to the charger. The process shouldn't affect the japanning. G
A much simplier way is to use white vinager in plastic pan with a piece of alum. foil it works tha same way and I think is faster with out the charger etc.
Great video thank you a lot. One thing that let's me thinking. If the anode corrodes itself it's because it travels the solution towards the catode (the tool) and coats it. The question is: That replaces the rust entirely or removes it partially and creates a new coat on it?
I was unable to print this article. Was this due to a problem on your end? I recieved pictures but no written text. Please advise if possible Thanks Frank Morrison
Great airticle. I rember this from school but had forgotten about it. And without all the do's and dont's I could not have got it right
On May 2nd you published the article"Removing Rust with Electrolysis" and were going to followup with another article completing the process. Its July 4th and still no follow-up. Are you going to complete this process, if so when? We've been waiting 2 months...whats up?
Very good article. I am 75 yrs old and can remember people doing this on tools etc.
To print relevant parts (or all) of this article, I just highlighted it, did a COPY (Cntrl-C) and pasted it (Cntrl-V) into a blank page WORD document. Edit out unnecessary line returns and extraneous text. It prints normally after that.
In order to get the small charge (amp-hours) needed for this process, a good starting place might be looking for what's called a Trickle Charger, commonly used for motorcycles/ATV's--Schumacher 2 Amp 12V Trickle Charger for 6 and 12V Batteries, only $29.
You can get a Schumacher SE-82-6 manual charger at Walmart for $35, see link below for the one I've got. It's got a 2amp 'trickle charge' setting. I think the difference is manual vs automatic (or smart) chargers. The smart chargers turn themselves off once they detect a charged battery. I think to allow the 'cooking' process to go on for hours on end you'd have to use a manual charger. For the record this process works like a charm with my charger. I use a plastic storage tub lined with a cage of thin (easy to bend) expanded metal for the anode http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-SE-82-6-6-2-Amp-Dual-Rate-Manual-Charger/15160135
I have tools with rust, so I thought I would try this as a learning experience and to clean up the tools. I didn't want to invest too much money, so I bought the cheapest battery charger I could find. It cost about $25.00. The problem is, the process is not going as expected. Maybe you can tell me why. Here's what I did: My battery charger is not adjustable. The label says, OUTPUT: 120 VDC@750mA, while the INPUT says, 120VAC@60Hz12W. There was a stream of tiny, tiny bubbles in the beginning, but not now. The tool I am derusting is not suspended, it is resting on the plastic bottom of the plastic tub. Everything else is in accordance with your instructions having learning that cathode=negative=black and anode=positive=red. Oh, the tool I am derusting is inside of an aluminum band I made that completely surrounds the tool. Th tool is not touching the aluminum band. Have I done something wrong, or should I just be more patient?
Niku if you read back to what George stated... "The anode needs to be a conductive piece of steel. It's best not to use stainless steel." (I think it would also be worth suspending your tool off the bottom just in case.) Shouldn't be very hard to do that. Those may be your problems. Good Luck
What a dork, Niku. Steel, not aluminum. Suspend the item! You probably didn't use WASHING SODA either. Lastly, your power is way to low . . . less than half the lowest recommended. Why bother trying if you can't follow directions?
Yes, 750 MA probably not enough. I usually use about 2 amps. aluminum may not be a good choice, although it is a good conductor. I have also heard of using carbon or graphite as well, got supposed to get all the slime, have not tried it. There is a discussion over at the southbendlathe yahoo group . Walnut, why are you being so nasty. Baking soda or washing soda will work, all I ever used was baking soda.
Hi George. Thanks for a great lesson. May I ask why you cut the can down the side? I have not tried this out yet. You mentioned you want to surround the object, so why not leave it intact? You have a space open with the cut side..
Nice article. I don't have a battery charger but I do have a 12vdc power supply rated at 23 amps. Would this work?
What about the rest of the articals on restoration and parts. It said this was series and more were to come? did I miss them ?