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Old 06-30-2016, 04:57 PM   #8
Cool Hand Lurker
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: So Minn
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Default Re: Electrolytic de-rusting - engine block ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by captndan View Post
I think the misunderstanding here is the word (derusting). Electrolysis does not derust anything. It does not remove rust. Electrolysis changes iron oxide (rust) to iron phosphate an inorganic and harmless material. Plating is adding something to something. Electrolysis is simply changing something that is already there. Sorry for the confusion.

Well it sure looks like the rust is gone and clean metal is remaining.

I did a flathead V8 a couple of years ago and it did clean out the inside of the block. I put it into a 55 gal. plastic barrel with rebar poked down all around the inside of the barrel. I hooked up a charger to a battery and took the leads from the battery to the rebar (+) and to the block (--) and left it for about two weeks. The outside of the block looked like new iron. The inside needed more treatment to get all the rust deposits out but a lot of patches looked like new iron too.

I used Vince's carbon rod idea instead of rebar on the next project and it worked very well.

Last edited by Cool Hand Lurker; 06-30-2016 at 04:58 PM. Reason: added paragraph
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