Thread: DAM Rust....

I would be using electrolysis for all of your hand tools. It may take time but the results will be excellent.

Look it up here on the forum or on the web. It is cheap and it works really, really well.
You could use it on the bigger items just as well if you can find a suitable holding tank.

You can get phosphoric acid , I believe, in any number of concoctions under various brand names at the big hardware store - hence it comes in small bottles and is quite expensive.

For phosphoric acid, I bought a 4l container of Ranex Rustbuster at Bunnings a couple of months ago, its about 35% phosphoric acid.

The suggestion above about electrolysis could be worth a shot, although if I remember correctly once you take something out of the bath, it should be oiled/painted or whatever right away, as the clean metal is very susceptible to starting to rust again.

Sorry to hear about your loss, it looks like you had a nice set up, I was thinking at the time how many home shops would be gone and you are one of them.
As said above I have heard the electrolysis is the way to go, and there is plenty of info out their on the internet about it.
Let us know how you go with whatever you try, it maybe useful for someone down the track in your situation.

Dave
PS
I hope you insurance covered it.

Hi Nurgle,
I sympathise with you as I also have had my workshop shop go under in the Mackay floods in 2008.
Unless people experience it,by and large they do not understand how corrosive the flood waters are.

I have had good results from a home brew of auto trans oil and acetone mixed equally. For a bit better penetrating action, I threw in a half a cup of methyl salicitate which you can still buy at the chemists.If you are spraying it on with a squirty bottle get a decent one like an Inox bottle as the cheapies do not have the valve thingy that will stand up against the acetone.
This brew unlocks frozen tools in a a day or two. Heavy duty Lanotec spray is also good but has a heavy duty price.

Next best was 3 in 1 lithium oil in a spray can but I can't get it any more for some reason.

Grahame

Thanks to all for the info, much appreciated...

(Still in Shock... 40 years a photographer, and not a photo to show for it, 10,000 books/mags are papermache in the shed, still dont have the heart to go in and start throwing them out. my grandfathers Popular mechanics from 1914, Electrical Experiment from 1917, Flight magazine from 1909. etc. many are now growing mushrooms, etc.)

re rust; Local Bunnings, ipswich does not have Phosphoric, except for small bottles of Naval Jelly... will try in town.

(The Looters cleared out all the good stuff & tools I had... I even had to Grab a solid Brass Bar, 1mx10mmx200mm of one 'helper' who was " going to throw it out" [read 'loot it'] and every time I turned around another items was 'gone' could not keep my eyes on the house, Large shed, tool shed and under the house. etc. I even had to go through the mud heap out the front to rescue hammers & Screwdrivers.!!!! and one @#$% took a set of keys, and came back when I was in hospital and cleaned everything but the mud out.!)

Dad used to have a large tub of phosphoric and even left parts int o soak, and I can remember the knitting machines always being RUST Free, even when they stood idle for decades... will keep hunting.

But may give up and send the lot to the tip and start again.. But am still stunned that Solid Stainless bars are spot rusting all over... I will try and post pics...

Regards, Sandy

For a good cheap rust remover mix up a solution of molasses and water.
You need 1 litre of mollasses to 10 litres of water.
Just leave them to soak for days/ weeks / months.
It will only eat the rust.
It actually makes phosporic acid in the solution.
You can buy molasses at a farm supply or feed store. You want horse feed molasses.
When they come out use CRC 5-56 or lanolin to oil them.
Dave

Hello all,

I am still a very raw beginner so please be gentle if the wiser minds on here know better than my suggestion. What I'm suggesting here worked for me, YMMV.

I had a milling bed with serious rust on it and a mate of mine gave me an idea that if I didn't know him I would have told him he was barking mad.

Soak it in diesel for a couple of days and then use a wire brush. I thought seeing as how I'm going to do this I might as well try something else too. I had a micrometer which would not move because of the rust and I should have thrown it out years ago, anyway I threw it in the diesel too.

A couple of days later and you could move the mic enough to get it apart to finish the job properly and the mill bed came up a treat after the wire brush, even the gib screws (unfortunately not all of them) had been freed up so they could be adjusted. The mic has pitting over alot of the working areas so is really only useful as a rough measurement but still a lot better than it was, you can nearly read most of the conversion chart engraved on it. I used a combination of a wire wheel on the die grinder and a hand brush for the hard to get to/delicate sections.

Sorry I didn't get any before and after photos but trust me these were heavily rusted and should have been thrown them out a long time ago.

Easier than electrolosis, safer than chemicals and cheaper than just about anything else (not 100% sure with the price of diesel at the moment ) so definitely worth a try. I now keep a couple of litres of diesel in the shed just in case.

HTH
Cheers,
RossA

Originally Posted by Nurgle

Thanks to all for the info, much appreciated...

(Still in Shock... 40 years a photographer, and not a photo to show for it, 10,000 books/mags are papermache in the shed, still dont have the heart to go in and start throwing them out. my grandfathers Popular mechanics from 1914, Electrical Experiment from 1917, Flight magazine from 1909. etc. many are now growing mushrooms, etc.)

re rust; Local Bunnings, ipswich does not have Phosphoric, except for small bottles of Naval Jelly... will try in town.

(The Looters cleared out all the good stuff & tools I had... I even had to Grab a solid Brass Bar, 1mx10mmx200mm of one 'helper' who was " going to throw it out" [read 'loot it'] and every time I turned around another items was 'gone' could not keep my eyes on the house, Large shed, tool shed and under the house. etc. I even had to go through the mud heap out the front to rescue hammers & Screwdrivers.!!!! and one @#$% took a set of keys, and came back when I was in hospital and cleaned everything but the mud out.!)

Dad used to have a large tub of phosphoric and even left parts int o soak, and I can remember the knitting machines always being RUST Free, even when they stood idle for decades... will keep hunting.

But may give up and send the lot to the tip and start again.. But am still stunned that Solid Stainless bars are spot rusting all over... I will try and post pics...

Regards, Sandy

No wonder your in shock,
This is a really sad story and I am sorry to hear about. The scum looters should be hung for doing stuff like this in a time of crisses.
I watched almost all of it on the TV down hear and still remember waking up and seeing it all.
Tools can be replaced, but things like the photo's and magazines cant.

We where talking about rusty files in another thread and white vinegar can be used as well. It's cheap and easy to get do I would give it a go first as you may have some in the cupboard. (just remember to tell your wife or she might get made if there is no vinegar for fish and chips, LOL)

Dave

Originally Posted by RossA

Hello all,

I am still a very raw beginner so please be gentle if the wiser minds on here know better than my suggestion. What I'm suggesting here worked for me, YMMV.

I had a milling bed with serious rust on it and a mate of mine gave me an idea that if I didn't know him I would have told him he was barking mad.

Soak it in diesel for a couple of days and then use a wire brush. I thought seeing as how I'm going to do this I might as well try something else too. I had a micrometer which would not move because of the rust and I should have thrown it out years ago, anyway I threw it in the diesel too.

A couple of days later and you could move the mic enough to get it apart to finish the job properly and the mill bed came up a treat after the wire brush, even the gib screws (unfortunately not all of them) had been freed up so they could be adjusted. The mic has pitting over alot of the working areas so is really only useful as a rough measurement but still a lot better than it was, you can nearly read most of the conversion chart engraved on it. I used a combination of a wire wheel on the die grinder and a hand brush for the hard to get to/delicate sections.

Sorry I didn't get any before and after photos but trust me these were heavily rusted and should have been thrown them out a long time ago.

Easier than electrolosis, safer than chemicals and cheaper than just about anything else (not 100% sure with the price of diesel at the moment ) so definitely worth a try. I now keep a couple of litres of diesel in the shed just in case.

HTH
Cheers,
RossA

Hi and welcome,
I wouldn't worry about being new, we can all learn off each other from our past experiences, just like you wrote above.

Dave

Sorry to hear your story. Spent a fair bit of time in Darwin straight after cyclone Tracy as a chippy. We had Tee shirts with "Shoota Loota" printed on them. Im sure you can relate to that. Just a bit worried about some of these rust cures, particularly for any woodworking equipment. Electro would be the go and spray coat with Inox. Its good stuff on wood tools or any tools for that matter. Just a thought; Your loss has been bad luck, but at least your still sniffing the breeze.

Originally Posted by Nurgle

Thanks to all for the info, much appreciated...

(Still in Shock... 40 years a photographer, and not a photo to show for it, 10,000 books/mags are papermache in the shed, still dont have the heart to go in and start throwing them out. my grandfathers Popular mechanics from 1914, Electrical Experiment from 1917, Flight magazine from 1909. etc. many are now growing mushrooms, etc.)

re rust; Local Bunnings, ipswich does not have Phosphoric, except for small bottles of Naval Jelly... will try in town.

(The Looters cleared out all the good stuff & tools I had... I even had to Grab a solid Brass Bar, 1mx10mmx200mm of one 'helper' who was " going to throw it out" [read 'loot it'] and every time I turned around another items was 'gone' could not keep my eyes on the house, Large shed, tool shed and under the house. etc. I even had to go through the mud heap out the front to rescue hammers & Screwdrivers.!!!! and one @#$% took a set of keys, and came back when I was in hospital and cleaned everything but the mud out.!)

Dad used to have a large tub of phosphoric and even left parts int o soak, and I can remember the knitting machines always being RUST Free, even when they stood idle for decades... will keep hunting.

But may give up and send the lot to the tip and start again.. But am still stunned that Solid Stainless bars are spot rusting all over... I will try and post pics...

Regards, Sandy

That is a truly awful experience.

I guess there are all too many stories like yours. i don't think us lucky b's that have not experienced such a thing will ever understand.

Looters should be made to experience intense pain for a long time.

Im sorry to hear of your misfortune Sandy you have my deepest sympathy

I cant give you any good advice of your rust problem other than maybe trying a rust converter or a good course wire wheel. Its interesting your stainless has become contaminated I wonder if a good course polish to cut that top layer off will fix it or if its chemistry has changed

Im in Ipswich if you need help just PM me

Diesel has become my default cleaner/penetrant/lubricant. Doesn't stink like kero, and it's mild on hands while you do dishes (you know you're soaking in it!).

Dave