[AT] De-Rusting

[Steve W.]

Stephen Offiler wrote:
> 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?

Not much the bath will take off most of the rust and scale for you.

> - how to pre-clean them, soap and water, mineral spirits, mechanical
> means such as wire brush, sandblast, etc?

Got a car wash nearby? Take them in there and blast them clean of the
dirt and any loose crud. Whack them a few times with a hammer to knock
off any large loose chunks of rust.

> - is electrolytic the best choice?

Yup.

> 
> Thanks,
> Steve O.

-- 
Steve W.