Thread: Well, that went well, not!

All this talk of clean parts has got me excited, and i got SWMBO to get me some washing soda on her way home today. I stuck one of the Leblonds cast iron guards in a ice cream tub, oil, grease and all, with a single anode and hooked up my charger. I added soda till i had only 200mA, i wanted to start slow as there is also a brazed repair on the guard.
Very quickly some murky black stuff started to gather around the anode, i guess this is the oil and scum. I only let it run for 30 min or so, i will give it some more tomorrow.

If you enjoy watching grass grow, then you'll love watching the electrolysis process in action, it's very slow.

I reckon it's going to take a few more days, we'll soon see.

Things are certainly happening, lots of bubbles, scum and strips of loose paint afloat.

A few more snaps

Ken

Mmmmm, soupy......

I seem to have a lot more orange froth on the top of mine than you Ken, but no orange rust was on the part. After 7 hours at 1A the anodes are covered in orange rust though. The grease and oil has mostly come off, just a few spots where it is thicker to go. As for the brazing, it has gone black but doesn't seem to be being eaten and a quick hit with a wire brush cleans the black off and reveals clean bright bronze. I just threw a really gunky bolt in and will leave it overnight to see how it goes.

Ueeeeeeeeee,

What did you use as an electrolyte, and what are you using to power up the system? 6V or 12v charger?

I've had to reduce my voltage to 6v in an effort to stop the Arlec tripping out. On 12v, the current draw is about 6A, way too much.

Ken

Hi Ken,
Just washing soda at this stage, i have to get some caustic to try. I am using a 12v charger. I hooked it up with no soda then added soda till i have about 1A. My charger is only a cheapy and is rated to 2A. I should duck out and check the bolt.....

Here is a pic of the orange scum and one of the bolts after about 2 hours in the tub next to another uncleaned one. They are 2 of the bolts that hold the Leblonds head on, they are 5/8 i think. Hmmm.....orange scum pic seems to be corrupt....i'll try again tomorrow.

IMAG1212 (Large).jpg

Today I decided to take the bed out of the electrolyte, for a squize. It's been in there for a few days, and looks as though it could have done with several more days.

80% of the outside paint had dissolved leaving the red paint inside the bed, almost untouched.

Rather than struggle to put the bed back in the bath, I decided to attack it with a wire brush in the angle grinder. A lot of the outside paint almost blew off, so it was an easy job.

My big problem now is how to suspend the bed so I can get some under coat on after masking. I intend undercoating all of the bed, inside and out, apply several layers of top coat, then redo the red paint inside with a brush.

A few more crook pics.

I finished the day getting a couple of layers of undercoat on, so it's time for a glass of medicine.

For the top coats, I'll have to think up a way of cradling the bed so I can rotate it. Any ideas?


Another lousy picture, bloody ipod cameras, no control over settings.

Ken

Hi Ken,
Its a shame it didn't get more off. I think you would have needed to drop a couple of anodes in between the ways to get the inside stripped. I think i may know the other problem. I *think* the best thing to have is a much stronger solution of electrolyte and to control the current electrically. The site Mike linked to earlier in the thread states a 10-1 ratio of water to soda by weight.
I have now ditched the battery charger and gone to a 5A switchmode driver. It seems to be limited to about 6A, i added a bit more soda (maybe 200g in my 50l) and have a current up at about 5.8A.......things are cookin!

As for the painting, why not hang the bed from the webbing which will be red?

Hi Ueee,

That certainly looks like it's cooking away nicely. I reckon you're right about the red paint inside the bed. Maybe a couple of strategically placed electrodes inside the bed, would have achieved better results. You are right about suspending the bed from the central ribs. That's about the only place that won't get the green top coat.

Glad I'm not doing this for a living, it's a pr*ck of a job.

Good luck with your restoration project.

Ken

Whats it weigh?
How about a tripod and hang it vertically?

Hi Stu.

To be honest, I don't know. I can just lift it so I'm guessing 50KG. Perhaps Pipeclay will know.

Ken

A kids swing would hold 50kgs.
Not sure I'd be game to use the hills hoist while it would likely hold it, the price for failure is a little high.
If you have 3off 8" lenghts of 2 by 4, a lashed up tripod should do.
A plank between to ladders?
Anything that will hold you up will hold it up.
Vertical will be a little harder to spray the outside but it should be easier to set up and easier to spray the inside.

Stuart

I have a huge tum tree in my back yard, with a branch hanging over the outside area where I work. I just don't know if it will support the weight of the bed.

Suppose I could throw a rope up and over it, and hang off it to find out.

The things we do in the nature of engineering.

Ken