Electrolytic Rust removal

[crokett]

We were given a wagon and the inside is rusty. Wondering if I can fill it with the solution, add the anode then clamp a lead directly to the wagon? Or do I need to put the wagon in another container?

[Joe Lyddon]

David,

Sounds OK to me...

You would have a Suspended cathode (Negative) in the wagon (collecting all of the rust)... and the wagon, the work piece, would be the Anode (Positive).

Just be sure you don't have any holes in it!

Make sure the Anode, to the wagon, connects to a non-painted clean metal connection.

You might be able to use an old 2x4 wood scrap placed in the wagon to hold the Cathode!

Just be careful about the cathode not falling into the wagon and making contact with it.

Sounds like it should work to me...

http://woodworkstuff.net/RustRemoval.html

Good luck... let us know how it turns out... OK?

[cwsmith]

Should work just fine, as joe described. The larger the "anode", the better the rust collection will be (more surface area to attract the iron oxide).

I used this method a couple of years ago to clean up some old rusty hand tools that I inherited. Still had to do some clean-up afterwards, but I was happy with the process. I used a battery charger for the electrical source and an old lawn mower blade that I cut in half and placed on both sides of the plastic pail, hanging the tools in the middle. It worked quite nicely.

For your wagon, I'd place something similar down the middle of the wagon and support the ends on a couple of bricks or stones. The wood might be a little bouyant and have a tendency to float and knock the anode off.

CWS

[crokett]

Thanks fellas. Wasn't sure if the workpiece needed to be suspended or not. I didn't think so, but...

CW, I use the same method - plastic pail with an old mower blade that I cut in half. I took a scrap of 14/2 wire stripped a 1" gap in the middle then bolted each end to each half of the mower blade. Then I connect the charger lead to the wire in the middle. Putting the mower blade on a 2x in the middle of the wagon is a great idea.

[pierhogunn]

why not copper plate the inside of the wagon while you are at it? polish it up and laquer is and viola a really, really neat looking thing for your little girl to put her stuff in, btw, no recent pictures of your sprog, your slipping man

[crokett]

why not copper plate the inside of the wagon while you are at it? polish it up and laquer is and viola a really, really neat looking thing for your little girl to put her stuff in

I think just priming and repainting red is enough. Heck - getting the rust off is more than most folks would do. I think that will be a nice project to do this weekend if it rains and I can;t be outside. I can let the thing sit on the porch and derust.

[Joe Lyddon]

MIght not hurt to put some plastic sheeting under the wagon to protect whatever it's on... just in case a hole is opened as a result of removing rust... causing it to leak.