# Another successful electrolytic derusting project!



## seaco

Err, OK so I took a chance and bought an old KURT 6" vice and if you know anything about vices you'll know KURT are bloody expensive I could never justify buying a new one but this one came up on Ebay and I thought I'd take a punt...

This is how I picked it up...













So into the electrolytic bath it goes, I never tried to clean it off at all just bared a little metal for a contact point...





And after 24hrs... the rust that's left just wipes off and the black which is carbon I think needs a bit of elbow grease to remove but you can see the base metal just under it, it's the best way I've found for removing rust. I am going to leave it another day to see if it can get any better...





They say the the process works on line of sight i.e. that the sacrificial anodes you use need to be able to see the areas of the rust you need to remove but in my experience and definitely in this case a lot of the rust couldn't be seen by the anodes and it still removed it all over it has even removed the rust from underneath the vice. All I had was two metal plates about 8"x4" one at each end...


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## Random Orbital Bob

Be nice to see that when its finished being cleaned up. Nice one.


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## wallace

I read some where that steel items can only be left in for so long before the steel itself gets affected. Cast items can be left indeffinately without any harm. I love using this process, much less work than a wire wheel


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## seaco

Ok so I've moved on managed to get it all apart, cleaned and got it primed ready for a top coat...


As it came apart




Basic cleaning...




Proper cleaning and primed...


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## Spindle

seaco":63dhflx6 said:


> They say the the process works on line of sight i.e. that the sacrificial anodes you use need to be able to see the areas of the rust you need to remove but in my experience and definitely in this case a lot of the rust couldn't be seen by the anodes and it still removed it all over it has even removed the rust from underneath the vice. All I had was two metal plates about 8"x4" one at each end...



Hi

Don't you just love electrolysis  

You're correct that the electrodes do not need to be line of sight, electrons / ions will flow through the electrolyte no matter what. What does make a difference to the speed of the process is the proximity of the electrode to the parent metal, (the closer the better), but don't get hung up on line of sight. Also be aware that the closer the electrodes are the more current that will be drawn with the potential to overload whatever supply you are using.

Regards Mick


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## AndyT

That's a real 'back from the dead' rescue job there!


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## porker

Nice vice. That's come up really well. Would love a Kurt but silly money usually. Are you going to make some new jaws for it?


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## Myfordman

Which primer do you recommend lee?
Presumably it is some sort of etch based primer to adhere to the cast iron.

I've got a job I'm working on which will be a mix of various steels (black, bright and weld) which I will need to prime but would like to choose something compatible with CI which from what I read, is quite difficult to prime well.

TIA

MM


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## seaco

porker":33bb6sxo said:


> Nice vice. That's come up really well. Would love a Kurt but silly money usually. Are you going to make some new jaws for it?


Hi

Yes they are bloody expensive that's why I decided to take a punt on this one, I was going to buy some Kurt jaws but they are silly also so yes I'll make them...




Myfordman":33bb6sxo said:


> Which primer do you recommend lee?
> Presumably it is some sort of etch based primer to adhere to the cast iron.
> 
> I've got a job I'm working on which will be a mix of various steels (black, bright and weld) which I will need to prime but would like to choose something compatible with CI which from what I read, is quite difficult to prime well.
> 
> TIA
> 
> MM


Hi

To be honest this is the first time I've tried this primer it's Hammerite it appears to be water based so we will see, i used a spray etch primer on my alloy wheels about three years ago and they are holding out very well but I've run out of that and I'm fairly rural where I am so can't just pop to the shops to get more, sorry I can't be more helpful...


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## Myfordman

Ok Thanks Lee.

Interesting that even Hammerite have succumbed to water based products. I wonder if that means you will need to select the top coat carefully?


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## Random Orbital Bob

Brilliant. What an amazing difference. How did you do the final clean ie after the electrolysis bath?


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## seaco

Myfordman":3flhbpp6 said:


> Ok Thanks Lee.
> 
> Interesting that even Hammerite have succumbed to water based products. I wonder if that means you will need to select the top coat carefully?



No I don't think so in my experience the water based products I've used in the past are fairly inert and don't seem to react with anything we will see, I have to find some nice blue paint now, maybe engine enamel...


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## Myfordman

Hi lee, I've just been searching online for Hammerite primer and found a water based 'special metals' primer but that states non-ferrous use only. I guess inside the workshop is not a very hostile environment to get paint to stay on.

MM


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## seaco

Myfordman":28zvcitk said:


> Hi lee, I've just been searching online for Hammerite primer and found a water based 'special metals' primer but that states non-ferrous use only. I guess inside the workshop is not a very hostile environment to get paint to stay on.
> 
> MM



Oh sh*t yeah your right but as you've said it's not very hostile area but it will need to withstand cutting oils etc. The primer seems to be gripping well on the tests I've done on it but that's never the same as real world usage as you know. "Note to self read the bloody label in future!"


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## seaco

Random Orbital Bob":311kc64m said:


> Brilliant. What an amazing difference. How did you do the final clean ie after the electrolysis bath?



Hi Bob

I just used a couple of different wire brushes on my battery drill the black comes off easily, it's lovely to see the base metal start to shine through as I've said it's the best way I've found to remove rust as it gets to places you just couldn't reach any other way in fact when it came out of the bath I put a wrench on the lead screw and it just turned no effort I then removed the wrench and undid it by hand!


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## seaco

OK so DON'T use Hammerite Special Primer on cast iron, I had to get it all off today right bloody job still it's done now, new etch primer and top coat...


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## Myfordman

Which etch primer did you use Lee?


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## seaco

Myfordman":1z1mwwo1 said:


> Which etch primer did you use Lee?



This one!


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## seaco

Just jaws and a handle to make now!


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## Berncarpenter

WOW vice has come up great and love the mill , boy would i like one of them . 

Cheers Bern :mrgreen:


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## seaco

Berncarpenter":y1qnapj0 said:


> WOW vice has come up great and love the mill , boy would i like one of them .
> 
> Cheers Bern :mrgreen:



Thanks Bern... :wink:


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## paul-c

:shock: wow :shock:
if ever there was a post that made you think i would love to be able to do that , well this is it , thanks for sharing that and showing what amazing results can be acheived.
cheers paul-c


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## seaco

Cheers Paul it's good to share...


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## Random Orbital Bob

+1. That was a resurrection and a half there matey. Job very well done. Thanks for the posts.


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## mikec

+1

That is a really professional looking restoration, well done. =D> =D> =D> =D>


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## seaco

And finally including new labels very kindly sent to me from Kurt free of charge...


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## Harbo

Very nice restoration - I see there's one on the bay with £571 postage!! 

Rod


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## seaco

Made the jaws today... Finished at last!


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## woodpig

Spindle":3bh0r070 said:


> seaco":3bh0r070 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Don't you just love electrolysis
> 
> You're correct that the electrodes do not need to be line of sight, electrons / ions will flow through the electrolyte no matter what. What does make a difference to the speed of the process is the proximity of the electrode to the parent metal, (the closer the better), but don't get hung up on line of sight. Also be aware that the closer the electrodes are the more current that will be drawn with the potential to overload whatever supply you are using.
> 
> Regards Mick
Click to expand...


Quite right Mick, made me laugh when someone on another site said this, it's an electrical process, not an optical one!

Nice job on the vice Lee. I've used the process myself a few times but would never have expected your vice to turn out so well!


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## Bradshaw Joinery

That is fantastic work!


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