Oh dear. Yep, I've had many things "disappear" off the polishing mop. Pretty sure it's 1/8" imperial thread.
Turned my eye to the rusty cage today. Have watched many youtube vids on electrolysis for rust removal so thought I'd give it a go. Needed a bucket, washing soda (sodium carbonate) for electrolyte, couple of steel offcuts for the anodes, old battery charger, some wire. Dissolved the washing soda in hot water, filled bucket, connected all up with the cage as the cathode. Now bubbling away so something going on. Will be interesting.
Ahhh! The ubiquitous workshop black hole. In every worship there is a connection to an alternate universe where important parts, one sock of a pair and myriads of other bits and pieces disappear to, never to be seen again. Bugger! Hope you sort it. Cheers Pete
So I took the cage out of the electrolyte bath after 18hrs at 6 volts. Apparantly the rust is converted to magnetite, which is a stable form of iron oxide. Gave it a quick scrub and pretty pleased with the results. Image 1 - before shot. Image 2 - as taken from electrolyte bath. Image 3 - after scrub down. Cheers Michael.
Thanks Damien. Yep, just the collar and tank to clean up. I said I may leave it with original patina, but I just can't help myself. Cheers Michael
@Zigfire That cleaned up well. I’ve yet to try electrolysis, this gives me more encouragement to do so. Cheers Pete
Thanks Pete. I too have been meaning to try it for a long time but was worried about the setup. In reality it was very easy indeed and no really bad chemicals involved. Develops some hydrogen that you need to be aware of as far as enclosed spaces is concerned. Apart from that I recommend it and you can use it on any rusted metal. Just takes a little while. Cheers Michael
@AussiePete For someone who does nickel plating, electrolysis should be a breeze. Just remember: no stainless steel should be used. Tony
Yes I'd like to do my own nickel plating. I do zinc plating and aluminium anodising. The anodising is a bit tricky. Cheers Michael.
Okay, I attacked my Aladdin fount and collar today. Removed the home applied paint job. Probably lucky it was on as protected the chrome quite a bit. Gave them a polish. Came up ok. Fount has some expected pitting on top and looks like it had a repair around the filler hole. Before and after shots attached. Cheers Michael
@Zigfire They did clean up very well. @Tony Press Yes I know, so while under lockdown there is plenty of time to set it up and do some jobs with it. Cheers Pete
Hi @Zigfire , I really like your results with the electrolysis.. well done! Was the frame Nickel plated? Or did it have some form of plating originally? Cheers !
Hi PB, Thanks for that, yes it really stabilised the rust. Pretty sure it was chrome plated originally and the chrome was affected by the electrolysis. Cheers Michael
Well I hope this post doesn't offend too many members. Working on the hood today. On cleaning found the enamel was basically shot so decided to remove it. Well, one thing led to another. You know how it goes. Before and afters attached.
If the hood is brass then it wouldn't have been enamelled. To my knowledge, the enamelled ones were always steel. With a chrome (or nickel) tank it would have had a chrome (or nickel) hood as well. Maybe the chrome has been removed at some stage or this is an earlier top?
Thanks Nils, that's interesting as when I fired the lamp up initially the hood poped and cracked just like an enameled hood does occasionally. As it was thick and crusty I assumed it was enameled, so perhaps it wasnt then. Definitely not chromed. Perhaps it was nickel plated, in which case I would like to get it re-plated. Cheers Michael
I've never done it but online there are videos of people re-plating with nickel. Apparently you can buy pure nickel strips and if you can use electrolysis to remove rust you can electro-plate just as easy.
Sounds good Colin. I have done zinc plating before. Will have to check out nickel plating. Cheers Michael
@Zigfire Have a read up on nickel plating using google or similar. There is some good information to be found there. I plate mostly small parts and collars. I have plated some frames and a Veritas 350A hood resulting in excellent results. Pure nickel, for anodes, can purchased from Aussie sellers via the Bay of Evil at a reasonable cost. I’m only too happy to help if you require it. Sometimes, just having someone to bouncing an idea off is very productive. Cheers mate Pete
Hi Pete, Thanks for that and your offer of help. I am going to give this a go for sure. Have found some ausie sellers of nickel ingots. Have read up on the nickle acetate electrolyte solution and how to make it, so will try and give that a go first. Did you make yours, if so how did it turn out? I do know that the nickel plating process does not hide scratches, so surface prep is paramount for a good finish. Cheers Michael
