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Electoylysis for rust removal on an old knife??

Okay, here in lies the story-- Saturday I watched an episode of " Hillbilly Blood" on TV--In the episode, the guys took an old Winchester 37 shotgun they had found that was covered in rust and would not even break open, it was so badly rusted-- They used their (dangerous) version of an electolysis bath to pull the rust off the rusted steel-- Turned it into a fireable shotgun, which looked mighty good. I'm just wondering if this is a viable solution to a badly rusted vintage blade??- Scientifically, it makes sense, and is very akin to the anodizing process one would use to color a titanium blade--Anybody ever tried this?? I realise that the results you see on TV are to be taken with a grain of salt-

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on June 8, 2015 at 17:15

hmmmm, my first concern would be handle material and possible combustion. a good many of those vintage handles were not stable. We discuss celluloid a good deal but there are others that may just totally disintegrate. I do think though it would be interesting to find an old one with a natural handle and give it a try. You can find many with broke springs or blades that would be likely candidates

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on June 8, 2015 at 17:40

Jan- In the episode they broke apart the shotgun so that only the rusted metal had any contact with the electroylisis bath- However, I I am semi informed on the electolysis process-- I have used successfully along with several professional welder frriends, an arc welder made from a Playmate cooler, an isontonic saline solution, and 2 steel rods-- It was something an old inventor friend was trying to patent & market through me-- The major drawbacks-- The process releases hydrogen gas- The welder also tended to blow fuses,except in a commercial setting-- Amazingly, did not produce either an AC or a DC current- Oddly, something in between-- I had it tested at the U of Florida engineering lab-LOL

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on June 8, 2015 at 17:51

My question however remain,s if a scaled down version such as an anodizer might perform the same function without the hazard in a proper enviroment ??

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on June 8, 2015 at 17:56

The process was basically applying a negative charge to the rusted metal and having the positively charged surrounding metal attract the rust particles , producing a rust free metal-

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on June 8, 2015 at 20:29

Electrolytic Rust Removal

Cleaning Rusty Tools;Electrolysis Made Easy

Electrolytic Rust Removal

Google or otherwise search using "rust removal by electrolysis" as search criteria
.

Works great .. on metals where Fe is a component.

However .. as Jan mentioned .. beware other materials .. scales, pins, bolsters, etc.

Attachments:

rustremoval.pdf, 25 KB

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on June 8, 2015 at 20:33

"Amazingly, did not produce either an AC or a DC current- Oddly, something in between ....."

................................................................... can you expand on this, John ???

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on June 8, 2015 at 20:53

D ale- It was something that the experts had not previously seen- Reflecting as best as what I can remember an oscilloscope determined that the wave pattern had significant characteristics of a DC wave pattern, but showed a flat horizontal line rather than a pointed peak at the top of the wave- Similarly, did not emulate an AC wave pattern.-Therefore, they called it an unknown wave pattern- Further details- I will have to trust to memories from 40 years ago.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on June 8, 2015 at 21:18

Best I can remember- I carried a similar version to an international metallurgy firm I had prior contact with-- In an industrial environment it welded like a champ and was positively received with the potential of being used in 3rd world environments as a cheap welder source.In standard home use from my welder friends, that unusual wave pattern tended to blow 60 amp fuses and throw circuit breakers- Still, the darn thing would make a weld that you couldn't break with a sledge hammer-- Go figure-- The original concept came from the inventor who was deep sea fishing and was stranded with a broken rudder- Used the materials at hand & a coat hanger as a welding rod to make the emergency repair--USA regs required so many changes, due to hydrogen production, lack of safety kill switch, it became economically unfeasable.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on June 8, 2015 at 21:39

Ahh .. using an O'scope .. you were looking @ voltage. Simple semantics.

Appears that rust removal using electrolysis is a gentle yet thorough approach for metals w/ Fe (iron) as a component. The main ingredients appeared to be ... Arm & Hammer, H2O, & a battery charger.

I've a rusty hammer head which has surfaces not easily accessed by a belt sander .. I may try this.