Massive rust removal in 24 hours for less than $1 (game changer)

Sounds like a great technique. I just need to find some of that wash soda you're talking about. Ironically, I just bought a brand new battery charger this past week. It's one of those where you can switch to from 6 to 12v, has an lcd display, monitors the charge level, all that kind of stuff. I have got a shit ton of internal coin door parts that I tried the vinegar and then the rust remover technique on, both immediately turned a weird rusty bronze color after being exposed to the air again.

I got mine from Target, but Amazon has it for $5 delivered same day (at least to my address): LINK

With some parts after de-rusting, they may flash rust if you don't apply a rust preventative. I just spray it with WD-40 and let it sit for a while, then wipe the excess off. Probably better ways. This way does leave a little bit of odor.
 
Washing soda (also known as soda ash) is sodium carbonate. Shouldn't be hard to find, but in a pinch you can make your own from baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). Just heat it up in the oven (400° F for a ~1/2 hour) and it will convert to sodium carbonate.
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This process look very cool for large items where they can be wrapped with wire to act as the cathode but for multiple small parts it might be harder. @tstone , do the target parts all need to be connected ?

With some parts after de-rusting, they may flash rust if you don't apply a rust preventative. I just spray it with WD-40 and let it sit for a while, then wipe the excess off. Probably better ways. This way does leave a little bit of odor.

The methods I know all involve coating the de-rusted part. Easiest are soaking the part in oil (ala @tstone ) or spraying it with clear acrylic sealer or polyurethane.

You can also spray the part with epoxy or plate with zinc. Im just learning the plating process myself, its pretty much the same as the de-rusting process described here using buckets and a power source.
 
I've used this trick in the past to de-rust an old Triumph gas tank. The main limitation is the size of the container you use.

It's important to note that after you have to put something on the part to keep it from flash rusting again. Paint, or light coat of oil, whatever is most appropriate. For the gas tank: Gasoline!
 
This process look very cool for large items where they can be wrapped with wire to act as the cathode but for multiple small parts it might be harder. @tstone , do the target parts all need to be connected ?

Yes, the parts to de-rust (which all act as a single cathode) all need to be connected.

A metal parts basket, as @KazooBR suggests, sounds like a great idea, but make sure there's actual electrical contact (won't work if the basket is coated, painted, etc)

For me, for small enough parts, I'll probably continue using EvapoRust, since I have it.
 
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Here are what the tools look like after a bit more cleaning up.

Pretty much completely gleaming, working perfectly.

I don't really want these, I just wanted to see if I could make them look nice.

I'll probably put them up on ebay. It turns out this brand of clamp is very highly regarded in the community.

Quite a transformation from that rusty pile of crap that I almost threw away.
 

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Here are what the tools look like after a bit more cleaning up.

Pretty much completely gleaming, working perfectly.

I don't really want these, I just wanted to see if I could make them look nice.

I'll probably put them up on ebay. It turns out this brand of clamp is very highly regarded in the community.

Quite a transformation from that rusty pile of crap that I almost threw away.


Are those clamps?
 
Are those clamps?

Heh, yeah it's a vintage Wetzler "Dual Slide" Bar clamp with adjustable spacer.

It's essentially 2 bar clamps in a permanent fixture that lets you adjust the height and angle of the clamps.

It lets you pull corners together when gluing, for example.

It's useful for corner joints, pulling dowels/splines/corners together when gluing, etc.

Also can be used for countertops, welding etc.

I think they're super cool, but too specialized for me.

Here's a pic of one type of use.
 

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Before and after.

Same clamp.

Rust removal technique above plus some additional cleanup after.

They are actually pretty nice looking tools, and well built.
Amazing transformation from a simple technique. This was a fun thread, thx for sharing.
 
Before and after.

Same clamp.

Rust removal technique above plus some additional cleanup after.

They are actually pretty nice looking tools, and well built.
Well done and thanks for sharing.
 
this blew my mind


Yep, that's the exact same technique.

For some reason, he's using salt to increase the conductivity of the water instead of washing soda. Other that that, identical. I had the same fizzing and orange sludge on top, etc.

I suspect washing soda works better, and is much cheaper than salt ($5 for about 3.5 pounds with same day delivery in my area: LINK). I got mine from Target.
 
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Fun fact, you can also use salt with the vinegar-soak method to speed up the process 😉

I can't imagine ever using vinegar again.

It's more expensive, way slower, stinky, and you need to store all that vinegar (or throw it away, which makes it even more expensive).

I'll use EvapoRust for smaller parts and this method for larger parts from now on.

I can't think of any de-rusting use for vinegar now.
 
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I was thinking about sending my lightly rusted Dragon's Lair coin box to be sand blasted but maybe I'll give this a try instead.

Interested in what others are doing to prevent re-rusting. I've used WD 40 on other parts and it does seem to work pretty good.
 
One thought/lesson learned:

I've been using tie wire (I think 16 ga) to connect the parts. At least 2, possibly all 3 times I did this process, the tie wire on the anode portion was completely dissolved after 24 hours and no thus the process was no longer working. I assume it sucked so much rust to itself that it self-destructed. Kind of surprising, because it's pretty thick/tough.

The tie wire on the cathode portion was in very good condition. I actually used the same wire for that part all 3 times.

For this reason, I think I'm going to start using copper wire. I have a bunch of 12 ga Romex, I'm going to take a 7-ish foot piece of it and remove the 3 component wires and use them from now on.
 
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