[AT] De-Rusting

[Larry Goss]

I prefer a needle scaler, Steve.  The unit that Harbor Freight has on sale takes a lot of air, but it does a good job (in my estimation) and it doesn't damage the base material.  The hammering action is adjustable.  I follow the directions and set it just light enough to clean off the scale without peening the base material.  It doesn't make the base material shiny the way sandblasting does, but it doesn't do any uncalled for damage, either.

Larry


----- Original Message -----
From: charliehill <charliehill at embarqmail.com>
Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2009 13:29
Subject: Re: [AT] De-Rusting
To: Antique tractor email discussion group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>

> Sandblasting heavy caked rust requires a lot of pressure, a lot 
> of large 
> grit blast media and a lot of time.  Meanwhile you are 
> destroying the areas 
> around the heavy rust that have already come clean.  This 
> is what we do on 
> structural steel with heavy caked rust.  It might not work 
> on your stuff 
> without damage but it's worth a try.  Get  a BIG 
> hammer.  On steel beams, 
> etc. we would use at least a 10 lb sledge and knock the crap out 
> of it. 
> Hard enough to make it rattle.  A lot of the rust will pop 
> off.  Of course 
> you would need to use a hammer small enough that it wouldn't 
> bend, break or 
> deform your cultivator.
> 
> Charlie Hill
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Stephen Offiler" <soffiler at gmail.com>
> To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" 
> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 1:54 PM
> Subject: [AT] De-Rusting
> 
> 
> > It's a bit of a stretch to relate this to old tractors, but I still
> > think it's a fitting topic.  Here's the situation:
> >
> > My boss lives on a 300-year-old farm in Massachusetts.  
> Recently,> while excavating in a corner that hadn't been 
> disturbed in a long,
> > long time, they began to unearth some iron artifacts, some 
> down as far
> > as 3' below ground level if I understood correctly.  A 
> few of these
> > miscellaneous hunks of rust remind me of something that might have
> > been part of some old horse-drawn cultivator or 
> something.  My task is
> > to clean them up a bit, with the intention of perhaps putting 
> them on
> > display in his home if they appear interesting enough.
> >
> > They are heavily encrusted with rust and a fair amount of 
> soil.  I
> > started thinking about sandblasting or tumbling (because we 
> have that
> > equipment here at work) but then I started thinking electrolytic
> > de-rusting instead.  I am looking for comments from 
> anybody who's been
> > there, done that... and that would be pretty much every antique
> > tractor enthusiast, wouldn't it?
> >
> > - if I go the electrolytic route, how much pre-work should I 
> put into
> > them before they go in the tank?
> > - how to pre-clean them, soap and water, mineral spirits, mechanical
> > means such as wire brush, sandblast, etc?
> > - is electrolytic the best choice?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Steve O.
> > _______________________________________________
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> > http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at 
> 
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