My mother acquired a rusty antique Salter iron number 3 and asked me if I could restore it. I had seen videos of rust removal using electrolysis and I was keen to try it myself. After a little bit off researching I decided on using the most common method using washing soda and a low dc current. Unfortunately I didn't have a decent size of metal for a sacrificial electrode and had to use some small steel bolts that I had on hand. This was not very effective because of the small surface area these tended to oxidise very quickly and reducing the current flow. For the power source I used a bench top power supply set to 6VDC.
I managed to get some rust off using the electrolysis and a clean up with some steel wool left a pretty decent result. To get it even more polished I used a brass wire brush in a cordless drill for the large surfaces and small wire brushes in a rotary tool to get into the nook and crannies. Overall I am pleased with the result. If I try electrolysis another time I will use larger electrodes to speed up the process.
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AuthorGeorge Timmermans, Research Toolmaker, Software Engineer and Tinkerer Archives
April 2023
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