Dear all, a little while ago i asked about the effects of electrolysis on rust removal from steel and received positive responses from folks so resolved to give it a go. Unfortunately the only old school charger i had has conked out so I thought i would try Evaporust as have seen good reviews. Not cheap and i still hope to try different brands which are dilutable but opted to go with a brand as i wanted to get on with it and not trip over a box with some bits in it, 6 months down the road here are the bits to be treated.. the gallery from a Tilley 120a table lamp and the support ring from the same lamp that sits on the tank ; a kind of strengthening plate The plate is already sitting in its liquid and a couple of hours later it looks like this.. Next day it looked like this.. The process took longer from this time on, and approximately 5 days later I changed the Evaporust for some fresh, filtering the old stuff lots of filtering.. after a while it didn’t get any cleaner? seems to be in suspension now.. and draining off the sediment after another day or two things looked a bit different from when I started.. the rust has almost completely gone with no adverse effects to the plating that i can see this has left a kind of cheese grater effect.. not very touch friendly so several options available Pleased with the gallery :-) anyway, thought it might be of interest to anyone thinking about using it.. meant to be great with enamel as well ; doesn’t haze it at all like an acid would? regards pb edit : the support plate is the same as the one on the bottom of the x246b lantern the first x246bs had a slightly different shaped plate which i have seen more on the table lamps.. by the time this one rolled off the production line they switched to using the current design?
@podbros Looks like decent results to me. Did you give it a coating of wax based car polish or clear lacquer to preserve it? I have found the internal power pack/transformer unit out of an old tower computer is a good option for electrolysis. Regards, Jeremy
@X246A thanks Jeremy ! sorry about the late reply ; not long got in.. yes i was pleased with a first attempt .. encouraging :-) i forgot to say that i thought i had read that after using the evaporust if you dry it lightly it has a film which helps protect it against rust? The picture of the gallery is at least a month old ; it has been sitting in a container with a loose lid so i would say it has helped prevent rust? You are right, i need to spray some high temperature clear lacquer on soon regards pb Edit: I have more of the 1 litre left.. not just the small amount I showed i recommend that, if possible its best to put in a container with a lid as it does evaporate
Nice job. I quit using Evapo Rust cause of the cost. Not sure if you can get it in the UK but give Rust 911 a try, 1 gallon jug make 16 gallons.
Might be worth to try: The Ultimate HOMEMADE Rust Remover (Better than EvapoRust) Evapo-Rust Vs. Backyard Ballistics - Which One Is Better? - Rust Remover
Evaporust would work rather slowly but surely. It is certainly safe on vitreous enamels and many delicate parts. There are quite a number of other similar rust/oxidation removal products which work on the chelation/complexing principle on the market. Their formulations would of course, differ. In general, all are relatively more costly than acids, regardless of brand. For the murky spent liquid, the suspended solids would take a very long time to settle out. If you leave it undisturbed for some months, the suspended solids would eventually settle out and leave behind a clear liquid. You can't expect to easily filter out those sub-micron sized or colloidal solids by simply passing the spent liquid through a regular filter paper or cloth. They can only be removed using a high speed centrifuge or pressurized/forced-filtration through an ultra-fine sintered ceramic porous medium.
Thanks @Dean D yes at almost £20 a litre it’s not cheap.. i realise that cost does reduce if you buy 5 litres but at the time it just wasnt possible.. im not sure i will be using it regularly .. sadly that brand doesn’t show on a search i did but will continue looking Thanks @Piotrek they are interesting videos and have to be worth trying at some point.. i admit i am worried that my expensive darkened evaporust solution is u/s after only one use.. part of the reason for buying an expensive product was the promise of multiple uses :/ the other and main reason i bought it was the evidence that it doesn’t attack plated and enamel surfaces.. I would have to try the backyard formula on some scrap items before using it on something.. it is always encouraging to see things like this though Thanks @MYN i read your trial of the wd40 agent with interest .. i did look at getting some but i think it was the availability that made me go for the evaporust i had thought about a homemade centrifuge but i have too many projects already :-)
@podbros I used that WD-40 product simply because of its availability in my location. Not so much on the price. Evaporust is not quite available in my area, except via postal order. The local ACE Hardware outlets don't carry it. I'm quite certain that such chelating rust removers are rather new and a lot less well-known to the local populace. I don't see that many guys around here who would even bother removing rust chemically except for a handful hobbyist. (Not inclusive of those involved in industrial pickling of course).
- where can I read about it? I do not believe in Evaporust or any other similar chemicals multiple use. Filtered on not most likely chemical reactions that work on rust can not be reversed. Approx. 2 years ago I cleaned Petromax enamelled red top using mild citric acid solution. It was nice and clean after that, several chips but nothing serious. Some time ago I noticed that enamel chips out everywhere from that top. It deteriorated much worse during these two years after my "restoration" then during approx. 80 years before while being dirty. Now I am more careful with enamelled or plated parts made of steel. Better leave it dirty and bit rusty, then just clean and leave without protection. Plenty of popular chemicals are not available in Poland, which pis... me off mightily, so I have to look for less popular/obvious solutions. Sooner or later I will have to learn nickel plating most likely, which seems to be so easy process on YouTube I wonder how long these Evaporust treated parts will stay rust free? How to protect them after such a treatment using something heat resistant?
Hi @Piotrek the thread is in the Fettling Forum @MYN is the man here is a screenshot of the thread page so you can type in the search (sorry i havent learned how to do the link with a phone) Cheers edit : hmm.. interesting/worrying what you said about your petromax hood? :/
@Piotrek , It was in this thread: WD-40 Speciallist Rust Removal Soak. The product is just one of the many chelating type rust removers on the market. It might not not be available in your location but there are always others which might perform similarly or better. On the other hand, I've tested acids on vitreous enamels. Almost all common acids are harmful on such enamels. These vitreous enamels for metals aren't exactly like the glazes on pottery and other ceramics. They are much inferior in chemical resistance in comparison. Some things to bear in mind before any work is done: 1. Old vitreous enamels on lantern hoods had been subjected to numerous heat-cool cycles. Therefore, they tend to have a lot of micro-fissures or cracks invisible to the naked eye. Rust could form under the enamels in such cases, or effectively, the enamels had already been compromised. Whatever acid treatment would just accelerate the destruction and popping /flaking off of the said enamels. Treatments would involve the undesired soaking-in of chemical solutions into and under the enamels. Subsequent drying might lift and weaken the compromised enamels. If not 100 percent dried inside-out prior usage, then the sudden heating of the hood during operation might lift the enamels in a mildly 'explosive' manner. 2. Preferably, it should only be attempted when you're in a situation where there isn't much left to lose.(As for my case on the Coleman 237 hood in that thread).
Just an interesting footnote.. i thought i would try some of the old evaporust on a stove part and when i lifted up the jar from a corner it had settled out a bit! not sure if the grey layer has a mixture of oil and water but i’m about to find out.. Well, most of the darker evaporust poured out leaving this thicker stuff which does start to move when you stir it now an interesting smell.. slightly yeasty?? p.s.the original parts i did, gallery etc, still look great !
My first car was a Bedford H.A. van which used the Vauxhall Viva engine. As the mileage increased, so did the pressure in the crankcase from “blow-by” gases, which were redirected into the air filter to try and re-burn them and cut down pollution... in cooler weather or before the engine warmed up these gases would cool in the pipes, forming a grey sludge, not unlike this grey evaporust sediment.. the smell reminded me of working on the engine all those yrs ago
