Rust removal through electrolysis

[JCrerand]

I've seen this on the web several times, removing rust with a tub of water, some washing soda and a car battery charger.  I picked up some really rusty rims the other day and decided to give this a try.  Personally i hate wire brushing and besides having to order the washing soda from ACE hardware (thank you Mindy!) It was hassle free...

Here's a pic of the rim before i did anything...




Here's the rim in the mixture with the charger hooked up....



And here was the final result....




It took me two days to finish it since i didnt have a bin large enough to submerse the whole rim at once so i had to do half and then spin it.  Been running it with smaller parts that need cleaning up and it's been working great.  Pretty neat actually, and the arm and hammer washing soda doesnt give off flammable or toxic fumes so its safe, but it probably wouldnt be a good idea to touch the water while its running.

[vwtrike (Rich)]

That worked great. I think I can manage to do some small parts.

[JCrerand]

Takes off paint too, just rub it with a rag or with light brushing when its done.  No damage to the metal itself either, beyond what the rust has already done.

[kvbug (karen)]

Pretty neat trick!!

[lovebus (jack)]

There are many posts about it on here and Joe T. did a demo of it at one of our meetings, works good.