Electrolysis

[adrianreeve]

I did all my donor stuff with electrolysis, using a cheap 12v car battery charger (it has to be a cheap one with no conditioning circuit in it, else it just kicks into maintenance mode), and a 1.5mm steel plate in the bucket as the electrode.

I left my front hubs in overnight, and the next morning, it was genuinely like someone had swapped them for new ones overnight. As Ash says though, you need to wash, dry thoroughly, and then paint straight away, don't even leave them a day, as they WILL rust.

Cheers

Adrian

[mark]

Originally Posted by londonsean69

I have a cheap and nasty Halfords charger, it's only for small cars, puts out about 4 amps (I think). It does the job perfectly on anything I have tried so far - Uprights, Hubs etc.

The voltage is usually just over 12V

It really doesn't matter what you use - it's magic

Sean

I totally agree it is magic

I used it on my sierra uprights and rear drum backplates, it worked an absolute treat

As geeman said it does take an age but if you just leave it going all day whilst your working in the garage, its doing the hard work for you.

Definately worth a try if you are toying with the idea.

I too used a very cheapy charger (£8) and it draws about 11 volts.

mark

[Matthew]

I used an ancient 12v charger, and it shows anything from 4 amps at the start to the needle just quivering after it's being going a while, never bothered to measure the voltage. Some really rusted parts I left in for a couple of days, twisting them to get all the rust exposed.

When it comes down to it you're going to be taking a lot longer to build the car than you will be de-rusting donor parts so he time taken doesn't really matter

Matt

[geeman]

i used an old car battery when i did my hub, at first it was drawing more than 10amps, but i think the batter ran flat pretty quickly so it probably stopped some time during the nught.

[ACE HIGH]

I don't like the idea of electrolysis to clean parts at all,it can lead to hydrogen embrittlement and what I will call"a highly active surface' that can rust and corrode real fast,and be a problem accepting paint,and bearing surfaces can be damaged also,electrolysis to colour parts is OK but something quite different.

However, a sandblaster ,even a simple vacuum type from China(about $70)works miracles,only catch you need the maximum size air compressor that will operate on single phase,around 12/15 cu ft per minute 100 psi plus,but worth buying if you can afford it,even better if the sand goes through an old pressure tank first rather than vacuum fed.Google the net for DIY.

Also there are 2 sandblast cabinets on the market,about $300 NZ,forget this one and a larger one about $700 NZ,you could easily make the portable unit and the cabinet.Dry sand is a must and take care of your lungs,no cheap "Michael Jackson"style masks,only the highest quality masks and helmets.

Sandblasting,works like a miracle,far better than any other way I am aware of and I highly recommend it as a great tool to have in a Clubman 7 build.You just would not believe what it will do for say a diff,engine or brake parts etc.David

[Sam]

I tried the electrolysis thing but found shot blasting much quicker and just as effective. It was alot of fun mind. Got bored with the battery charger so used TIG inverter and ramped it up to 300 amps. See pics sample took about 5 mins.

[RAYLEE29]

Im surprised you didnt blow yourself up at that many amps