[AT] De-Rusting

Rob Wilson ro.wilson at att.net
Wed Jul 1 18:23:19 PDT 2009


Might give this stuff a try if you're not in a hurry and don't want to
destroy what you're trying to save.

http://www.safestrustremover.com/

Rob 

-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
[mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Stephen Offiler
Sent: Wednesday, July 01, 2009 1:54 PM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
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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