electrolysis question

[GSJake]

I'm going to be attempting electrolysis to remove the rust in my gas tank. And before i do this i want to know if it will damage the paint at all??

[ccoale]

I'm going to be attempting electrolysis to remove the rust in my gas tank. And before i do this i want to know if it will damage the paint at all??

no damage to paint unless you ding it up taking the tank off or drop it or something like that.....cc

[TheCafeKid]

Tho i wonder what would happen if you were to accidently reverse the polarity?

[yhprum]

I think you have to have a straight like between the electrode and the rusty material. That might be difficult inside a fuel tank without touching the tank and shorting it out.
You have other options that wont hurt the paint.
1.) Put some nuts and bolts inside the tank after closing it up and removing fuel valves ect.
2.) wrap in a sleeping bag.
3.) Put tank in clothes dryer (when Sig other is out) Pack it tightly with towels and blankets so it doesnt thrash around insidee the dryer.
4.) Make sure dryer is on cold, let it run for awhile. the rust will be mechanically removed.
Go to your farm supply store and buy "milk stone remover" used for cleaning calcium out of milk pipes on dairy farms.It a phosphoric acid that wont remove steel
Or Google Molassis Rust removal if you have time.
All methods will work for you! and be careful.

[KRISTI'SGS550]

I think you have to have a straight like between the electrode and the rusty material. That might be difficult inside a fuel tank without touching the tank and shorting it out.
You have other options that wont hurt the paint.
1.) Put some nuts and bolts inside the tank after closing it up and removing fuel valves ect.
2.) wrap in a sleeping bag.
3.) Put tank in clothes dryer (when Sig other is out) Pack it tightly with towels and blankets so it doesnt thrash around insidee the dryer.
4.) Make sure dryer is on cold, let it run for awhile. the rust will be mechanically removed.
Go to your farm supply store and buy "milk stone remover" used for cleaning calcium out of milk pipes on dairy farms.It a phosphoric acid that wont remove steel
Or Google Molassis Rust removal if you have time.
All methods will work for you! and be careful.

Wow, those are some great ideas. And most of them I have never heard before. I am so glad this forum is here, so we can hear everyone else's answers and opinions.

Thank you yhprum for your great ideas.

Cory

With the milk stone remover, how is this with paint? Is it a "be careful with paint thing" as well?

[ccoale]

Tho i wonder what would happen if you were to accidently reverse the polarity?

reversing the polarity won't cause any problems, it just may not work as well. and it really isn't that difficult to make it work. you definately don't want to put your fingers in the water with the charger hooked up and running. you will get a little "charge" yourself. like i said earlier in this thread, it works great if there is more or less a film of rust. if you have very many flakes or can hear it rustling around in the tank, don't bother......cc

[hampshirehog]

I guess you've got bigger clothes driers in the US. I use a cement mixer - works a treat (all that noise doesn't half annoy the neigbours though).

[DanTheMan]

And I had this twisted idea that this was about electrolysis for hair removal from unwanted places, with pictures...............:-Dj/k:-D

[yhprum]

I think you would want to watch the paint!
Polarity does matter. Try something that is rusty in a bucket, when you hook up the leads you will immediately see the direction of the current. If you hook it up backwards, you deposit the junk on your scrap bar to the inside of your tank!
If you google electrolytic rust removal, there is also a lot of material there to read!
Muriatic Acid will eat the steel and paint. Beware.
Cement Mixer! Great idea.
Regards
Steve

[psyguy]

yeah, i once filled a 6-wheeler rotating cement truck with like a hundred rusted gs tanks all at once! all carefully wrapped up in luxurious down feathers sleeping bags, and also added like a zillion new pirelli tennis balls for added cushioning
worked like a charm for me and my gs mates but it did turn out a bit expensive

sorry, just had to put a funny? spin on the topic :twisted:

[TheCafeKid]

I think you would want to watch the paint!
Polarity does matter. Try something that is rusty in a bucket, when you hook up the leads you will immediately see the direction of the current. If you hook it up backwards, you deposit the junk on your scrap bar to the inside of your tank!
If you google electrolytic rust removal, there is also a lot of material there to read!
Muriatic Acid will eat the steel and paint. Beware.
Cement Mixer! Great idea.
Regards
Steve

That was kinda my thought on the polarity. More to the point of, if you reversed the poles, would it remove the paint? Seems to make sense in a way. Rust i would think, would be slightly more attached to the metal than paint. Might be a good experiment to see if you can get the paint off a crappy tank??