Canadian Airgun Forum

I already know the basics but never attempted it yet (will try today).

Can you do a long piece in two steps? I mean if you have a 20'' barrel for example, but your electrolyte bucket is not deep enough to dip the entire part, can you do one end, then flip over and do the other end in a second step?

Can you re-use the electrolyte a few times? If so, I guess you need to filter it?

I'll be using a 5 gallons bucket and a 12 volts, 6 amp battery charger. I have plenty of ''sacrificial steel'' to use as an anode, but does the size/surface area of the anode matters? I heard the anode should be of about the same mass (or a bit more) as the part you're working on. Would love to hear about first-hand experience .

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If everything's so lovely yeah, then why don't I, why don't I, why don't I, why don't I feel lovely?

If you do it in two steps as you describe, you will inevitably have a line/mark at water level, both times... so two very ugly marks

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Springers, lead... and time!

guessing you've seen this video before airmec ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_6PgjBH5EU&t=7s

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"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle"

I have done it a few times but never on a barrel, you could not have any electrodes past the end of the barrels. After pressure cleaning parts look amazing.

I've done some research on this but have never tried it. My understanding is, the more sacrificial metal the better as this is needed for the rust to adhere too? Also, 24V seems to work best as well. An old arc welder would sure come in handy as a power source.

This seems to be used for extreme cases of buildup pitted rust.....How bad is the rust you're trying to remove?

Cleaning vinegar not pickling/eating vinegar works too. Evapo-rust is another for rusted metal. I have used both with good results.....

I have a 1/2 dozen old gopher traps that need to be cleaned of rust, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

I'm watching this thread!

Thanks for the feedback guys!

@ Ace, yes I saw that a few years ago. Cool video, but wouldn't want that guy to ''work'' on my airguns .

Thanks for the tips Robert & oldfart .

Woodwelder, my parts were surface rusted to the point of almost not having any original bluing left, and there's some pitting visible. I've tried 7% white vinegar, it works well but you really need to neutralize the acidic effect of it afterward, otherwise the parts will start to rust again pretty fast. I used sodium bicarbonate dissolved in water, and oiled immediately after drying the parts. Not my favorite way of de-rusting though.

So everything is set-up, bubbles appeared almost immediately after plugging the charger, it seems to work well. The charger's initial output was 3 amps on 12 volts, and I expect the amps to get lower as rust is removed. Will update as soon as there's results to show.

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If everything's so lovely yeah, then why don't I, why don't I, why don't I, why don't I feel lovely?

should have taken some before pics...

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"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle"

Definitely shoulda .

Parts turned out good, but some spots still need care. After the cycle there was some kind of black oxyde on the surfaces, that went away easily with fine steel wool and a brass brush. I'm real glad to say that the barrel's bore is now free of rust, that was a concern .

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If everything's so lovely yeah, then why don't I, why don't I, why don't I, why don't I feel lovely?

I think it turned out great. The gray/black layer of oxidant is normal.

I wonder if putting it in again (with fresh washing soda) would clean deep into the slight pitting and would it come out just as blackened as the first time?

I have refurbished a couple of old Beaver tablesaws from the 40's where the table top was a rusted mess. I worked them to a beautiful shiny finish but was unable to remove a handful of tiny pits without getting crazy and removing more metal to do so. WD40 is a joke but, it does come in handy as a lubricant while using #0000 steelwool to polish.

Decades ago(1970's), there was a de-rusting solution available at Cdn. Tire, paste it on and it dissolved rust, then left a hard white oxide-type coating, that was supposed to be paint-ready.
Can't remember what it was called. The coating actually came off, with 'something applied' memory is weak on that.

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Best Wishes
Daryl

Thanks! I’ll give it another go this friday, with fresh water and washing soda. Now that most of the rust is gone, I hope to get the steel really clean. Also need to clean the sacrificial steel plate I used, even though it's not that badly rusted. I don't mind too much about the pitting, it's not very deep. Before I re-blue the gun, I'll sand with wet/dry 400 grit sandpaper and live with the results!

In the pics you see the ''worst'' places with pitting, it ain't that bad. The barrel/breech block junction had a good amount of rust and it's all gone now, real glad about that. Also the lettering turned out real nice and clear.

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If everything's so lovely yeah, then why don't I, why don't I, why don't I, why don't I feel lovely?

I seem to have some vague memory of that, but nowadays I use a rust converting product in a spray can, works really well. It converts the rust to a purple-ish color and it's completely neutralyzed, and is kind of a paintable primer too. My gun won't be painted though, it'll be rust-blued .

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If everything's so lovely yeah, then why don't I, why don't I, why don't I, why don't I feel lovely?

Sounds good! Yes, it's time for a beer. 3:20 here. 6:20 Ont. Later, parts further EAST.

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Best Wishes
Daryl

So I did another de-rusting cycle, no more rust left, just some minor pitting.

I've realized that last time my ''washing soda'' wasn't that good. It worked, but wasn't at it peak efficiency. Thing is, I didn't find real washing soda in stores here, so I had to convert baking soda and it wasn't quite well converted. This time I baked longer and with a higher temp - 2 hours @ 410°F. This converted baking soda to a more alcaline state (pH around 11). Just one thing to say, DON'T BREATHE THE DUST OR GET IT ON YOUR HANDS OR IN YOUR EYES, IT'S CAUSTIC AND IRRITANT.

Anyways, I'm very satisfied to see how it turned out, and will use that process again for sure. I still have a few old tools that need some good cleaning, also now I know it works well for rusted barrel bores.

You can see in the pics the rust foam in the bucket is very thick, and see how the sacrificial steel plate got heavily rusted, wasn't like that last time!

Good day everyone!

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If everything's so lovely yeah, then why don't I, why don't I, why don't I, why don't I feel lovely?

I think "washing Soda" is an American marketing product?

I believe the Canadian equivalent is "Arm & Hammer" super washing soda or "Borax" washing booster? My wife uses Borax now and then, I will ask her.

Again, I think your parts turned out great. The minor pitting left can only be removed mechanically using "elbow grease" and multi grits of sandpaper and steel wool.

What a transformation! I'm extremely pleased and am going to give it a try myself. My gopher traps have been sitting a few years and the thought of sanding them drives me to work on something else. LOL

Well done sir!