Electrolysis Rust Removal Tutorial 

Much helpful than other derusting videos

It's important to have good conductivity between the negative wire and the rusty item. The video shows bubbles on the hook but not many on the wrench probably because the rust on the wrench is preventing good conductivity with the hook. To improve the process scrape to bare metal where the negative current needs to flow. Also, on rusty pieces with two parts, like the wrench body and the movable jaw, current needs to flow to the movable jaw and may be inhibited by rust between the pieces. Either position a second negative wire or scrape some rust off to help improve conductivity between all the parts of the rusty item. Thanks for filming this!

A very kind gentleman heard about me derusting tools and left a massive cardboard box filled with a solid mass of rust. He didn't say who he was, but left a note saying he moved house over a year ago and had all his hand tools and drill bits in another cardboard box under his workbench. His son painted the garage where these tools were and to air it out he left a window above the workbench open. It stayed that way for close to a year and every time it rained it would trickle down a couple of power cables which ran from near the window and laid across this box. Everything in that box literally rusted together into one lump of tools and rust. I used a hammer to break them apart and over 2 weeks I derusted them in a large plastic bath. Everything ended up completely free of rust and had a deep black sheen to them. Everything which was originally chromed lost their shine and I assume the chrome as well. Here I am 7 years further on and every item is still rust free. Oh yes, after derusting I sprayed them with a coat of WD40. Sidenote, After cleaning everything I discovered 2 antique American square shaped shifters dated 1920. There was also a set square covered in paint and rust, it finished up minus both the paint and the rust. I'm positive there was no way they would have turned out looking so good if I hadn't used electrolysis.

I had always been hesitant to try this tool i saw this video. I never thought about using a battery charger. It worked exactly like this video. Thanks

Thank you for not wasting my time, I got every question answered very quickly!

Very good video, and it is totally correct. This process is like magic for old rusty items. I use it frequently.

Right about 03:30, my experience has been that using a drill, dremel too, or bench grinder/brush and a steel brush, rather than a hand brush will produce a nice sheen on even badly pitted steel. It’s still pitted, but has a nice sheen. Just as an experiment, after the steel brush, I quickly gave it a quick pickling bath to ‘reactivate’ the surface, and thoroughly drying it with a shop vac and a blow dryer, I hit it with a self-etching, pit-filling spray on primer, a light sanding of only the exposed surfaces with 400 grit sandpaper, quick wipedown with tackcloth, on more coat of really thin primer, and a final couple of coats of really tough bright aluminum finish spray paint, and it not only looked a thousand percent better, it held up amazingly well under occasional use. It was a pair of vice-grips, and with normal lubrication and usage, the small amount of overspray on the threads and moving surfaces fell away and didn’t cause a problem. It wasn’t necessary, I just wanted to see if it would work. Nowadays, you can get super tough clear coats that come in specialized rattle-cans that apply 2-part epoxy-based coatings that are orders of magnitude harder and tougher than anything previously available in a spray can that could be used in such situations. A can of that stuff costs about the same as a new pair of vice-grips at Walmart lol, but cheap entertainment for weirdos like me… I get away with all kinds of stuff under the “proof of concept experiment” excuse. He-he …

Amazing! Very well explained and simple to implement... Thanks a lot guys.

Incredible technique showcased in this rust restoration video! Truly inspiring and motivating me to kickstart my own channel. Big thanks for the valuable insight! 😊

this is the first time I see how to clean rust like this... wow, can you try this... the method shared is really good, friend

Very simple way to remove rust, thank you

I loved this video. To the point and very easy to follow. Usually I derust with my bench grinder, occasionally I use my angle grinder paired with my vice, but they are all out of operation while I build a new work bench, so I'll give this a shot. I'm considering using a 5 gallon bucket for larger items. Thanks for the lesson 👍👍👍

Washing soda Positive to sacrificial scrap Negative to item to be derusted To optimise- cut up scrap metal tin or sheet and surround the item to be derusted. More surface area = more ion transfer.

Incredibly straight-forward and simple thank you :)

Thanks this was very helpful, but I would have loved to have seen the sanding/refinishing portion of the process.

Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge

I have some rust stopper that adds a cool patina look. However it kind of needs some rust to attach to. Areas I've cleaned off doesn't have the same effect. After this process id imagine the piece would be very vulnerable to new rust. Besides oil, any suggestions on a good product to apply to prevent new rust from forming?

Great video, thank you! What kind of battery charger is that?

Thank you. Ash from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

나도 하나를 복원 중인데, 이 영상이 도움이 되었네요. 좋은영상 감사합니다. Good 🥰😍🤩🥰😍🤩

Great job. Congrats...

Very fast and efficient rust removal！

Awesome video. Watching the before and after while my grill grate derust outside in a bath 😁😁😁

Great video😊!

Thanks a lot for this excellent video. I have a battery charger AND BOOSTER (that can start a car with a flat battery), do you think t could be ok (I won't put the fault on you if it burns)? And baking soda? I haven't watched the full video yet 1:21, but you didn't give quantities, we can do around the same as we see.

Great tutorial!

The vinegar is interesting . Looks like cola / soda . Nicely demonstrated and Thanks .

The fact Electrolysis is the same term that's used for permanent hair removal is also used for rust removal is incredibly reassuring

Great Video

Very useful

Which one is best for rust removal sand blasting or electrolysis 🤔

Nicely done. Some of the comments are a little over-the-top, but great job. Thanks

Thank you very much. Excellent demonstration. I would like to ask a question. Can electrolysis derusting be used to remove light rust from chrome finish bathroom/kitchen baskets/containers?

Is any of the pitting due to the electrolytic process or is it entirely due to the rust? I wonder if glass bead blasting would do a better job...

Is better with magnesium crystals? I read the conductivity is incomparable have some expert confirm. Thanks

Can the water just be flowed down any outdoor drain?

How does this exactly work? With nickel electroplating, the material of the Anode part will go onto the Cathode part. In this case, than i would say that the material of the sacrifical part (anode), wil cover your part (cathode). Why is the rust dissapearing this way?

Thanks and thanks nice and succinct 😎

Very nice

Good performance 😮

Great video! Thank you for sharing! Do you think I can use a dead battery as a bridge to electrolysis from a charger?

Can any oil be used? Like cooking oil??

Thank you.

Can u put gears with synchros in them?

Did you add vinegar to water for the first bath, and did you add water to the second vinegar bath, did you do electroysis in the second bath or just bathing the piece to derust?

So the wrench is hung on metal hooks at each end of the wrench. What are the hooks hanging on? 1x1 metal or wood sticks?

All good 👌👍

Its Magic! after steel brush, steel wool, acid washing… fgs a 5m HCL acid aka Muriatic acid soak would do it all without all that work! Or a long soak in evaporust or citric acid or edta. Wish you’d shown it just after removing and a water rinse only. Ive done a lot and get the same result from a bristle brush wheel and orange oil! Make my own penetrant from atf and lighter fluid to soak in first, which is far better than wd or a-z brand stinky perfumed diesel! Dry ice and lasers are amazing but costly. Nice demo

O problema da Lava Jato não a perseguicão de alguns, foi a protecão de outros.

Need a swimming pool, truck load of vinegar, and 30 battery chargers… IM DIPPIN MY WHOLE TRUCK! 😂😂

Can baking soda be used instead of washing soda?

can i use baking soda or anything else?

It helps to place several sacrificial anodes around the item to be cleaned . The greatest current flows to the closest part of the item to the anode . By having more anodes you get better overall coverage and it works faster. Instead of oiling the tool after the derust process , you can spray it will a zinc rich coating. the surface of the steel is in perfect condition to take this kind of coating and it becomes very durable.

Can the Anode + be a Carbon electrode?

I am thinking this will work for bronze. What are you thinking?

Could stainless steel be used as the sacrificial piece I wonder?

How long do you let it do its thing

Great tutorial ! Do you know if you could just use Aircraft stripper to achieve the same result ?

You don't need the vinegar. Just keep using electrolysis, it will do a better job than using vinegars. It will remove all of the rust completely. I see in the video there is still some rust remaining. Acid will promotes rerusting eventually. Oil helps but when it drys up or is removed by use it will quickly rerust. Don't use vinegar.

Nice, maybe you can switch the anode and cathode after cleaning to give it a nice clean shine?

A lot of rust can be removed by simply immersing the spanner in vinegar overnight. If I was to do both which would I do first?

Would this procedure work on chrome plated metal?

Background music was awesome ❤

After all that you should nickel plate it with almost the same process :)

Do not have any chrome, copper, or stainless steel touching the solution as it makes toxic fumes and toxic solution.

When I used electrolysis for the first time it worked really well. When I tried it for the second time with another object. I changed the water, added new soda and brushed the anode clean. I turned it on and works good at the beginning. but as time goes on it stops working good and there isn't any foam stuff forming on top. The water only turns slightly brown and there are almost no bubbles after a few hours. The item still has a lot of rust on it after it has been in the electrolysis bath for almost 2 days. What am I doing wrong?

Great video. Going to do it myself

I would secure that a little better. Just one little bump and the anode and cathode will contact each other and POW!

Thanks.

What type of metal did you use for the positive connection? Was it steel, iron or does it not matter what type of metal you use?

love your welded together "scarp" metal :)))

Wondering how long it took. Would have been quicker if you turned the wrench so the wider area was facing the cathode.

So could you just use a 12 V battery?

If i want to de-rust a steel motorcycle gas tank (just the inside) can I just use the gas tank as the soaking tank and just hook the negative lead to the tank itself? (And insert the steel sacrificial anode into the tank without it touching the walls)?

Can i use baking soda?

How much amper the charger should have? Mine is 2am 12v , nothing is happening 😢

Vinegar not needed & eats at the iron making iron acetate. The electrolysis will remove all the iron oxide eventually.

Now you have to nickel plating ;)

Tell me why the water turns green And where should i dump the water

I wonder what type of tarp is strong enough to build a basin big enough for my car,LOL!

This is great video, and after watching this... I decide to just buy new Spencer....

Hi bro!! Can i use 12v 2amp mobile charge to this process? What is more important in this process? Voltage or amp?

Can I use a 12V power adapter instead? I do not have a battery charger. What kind of metal can i use for the sacrificial one? :) Galvanized, etc ? Which ones are allowed? Thanks

I was thinking about applying this to Oil and Gas downhole tools which have suffered corrosion but to be honest. Just save time and money, strip it down, wire brush and WD40. I really wanted to find a benefit from this. With an adjustable screw driver, the only good thing you may be able to do is free the securing bolt for the lower jaw, when that is free you can disassemble it in minutes. Seriously not finding any reason to go through this process.

A bath with oxalic acid will give high iron parts a really nice surface finish but it may need to sit for a few days.

The electrons in the iron is re electrifying

Thanks for the safety tips at the start!

Can also use only 5vlt

What is the ratio?

What happens if you sandblast after electrosys

Hello! Can you please help me? I recently have acquired some old antique parts and tools that I need to remove the rust from using electrolysis. Unfortunately my old style battery charger just died and I went to purchase a new one. Apparently they make these new battery chargers “idiot proof“ because when I plugged it in they work nothing like the old ones as now they have incorporated a bunch of silly safety measures I guess to keep some numbskull from blowing himself up or electrocuting himself! 🙄 On the old style battery chargers you could take the positive and negative connectors scrape them together and they would spark but you can’t do these with the new ones. Can you recommend a type of charger like the old chargers I can use? Thank you!

If you put vinegar and brush it you can skip the electrolosys .. Use salt and up the voltage

Baking soda or washing soda is diferent?

Table salt is much better than washing soda faster and stronger, but its problem is that it makes the wires heat up quickly

Someone tell my fast can I used boraw

before I throw this amount of money and work at it, it would need to be more than a $2 tool to make it worth derusting. But for an example, you did a great job.

Cool 😎

Oh you bets believe I was movin my body while watching this 🕺🏽

Negative goes to the part your trying to derust positive goes the the sacrificial steel

When finished why not use linseed oil that goes through polymerization for e the non moving parts to better protect it and so it won't feel oily after it cures?