How to Clean Rust With a Battery Charger
- 1). Add water to the plastic container one gallon at a time, and use a permanent marker to mark a line for each gallon. This will make it easier to refill the container later if you continue to use it.
- 2). Stir one tablespoon of washing soda or lye into the water for each gallon added, making an electrolyte solution. These are harsh on the skin, so use the rubber gloves and eye protection to avoid injury.
- 3). Place the long flat piece or pieces of metal that you are using as the anode into the electrolyte solution. One end should stick out of the water. Use a squeeze clamp to secure it to the side of the plastic container. If you are using more than one piece of metal they can be connected with the 10 to 14 gauge wire. The wire is then connected to the battery charger as indicated in step 7.
- 4). Wrap a piece of the 10 to 14 gauge wire around each object that is to be cleaned. Leave enough wire so it sticks out of the water to connect to the battery charger.
- 5). Submerse the rusty metal object or objects into the water, making sure they DO NOT touch the anode metal.
- 6). Connect the wires protruding from the rusty metal objects to the black wire from the battery charger.
- 7). Connect the red wire from the battery charger to the anode.
- 8). Plug the battery charger into a GFI (ground fault interrupt) protected outlet and turn it on. Bubbles will start to rise off the metal objects and the anode, indicating the process has begun.
- 9). Leave the metal object in the solution for as long as needed to turn the rust black. You may need to remove the metal objects and clean them off with water and the metal brush to see how the process is progressing. If there is still rust, you can retun them to the solution for further electrolysis.
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