Cleaning Small Parts - machine restoration

[Matt@Nearfield]

Ladies and Gents,

So there a million videos and threads of people cleaning all the nuts, bolts, thingymabobs and doo-hickies of rust, solidified grease and 50yrs of crap . But what's your preferred method? But to make it slightly more usefull, your method vs time vs cost. And if you're really feeling usefull.. or just bored... what do you protect them with after?

I seem to have an aweful lot of sealy bags of bits to deal with and any / all help truly appreciated.

M.

 

[puddlejumper]

Loads of things for cleaning metal parts up, wire brush in the pillar drill, soaking in vinegar, soaking in EvapoRust, really deep rust or pitting can be sorted a flap disc in an angle grinder or for small parts try a Dremel (or similar type of machine).
I also use a polishing mop to clean up parts that are only lightly marked. Basically you need a selection of methods to deal with different issues.

 

[Matt@Nearfield]

Out interest do you put, say, a bolt in the chuck of the pillar drill and take the brush to it, or, use wire wheel and hold the bolt?.

 

[puddlejumper]

Out interest do you put, say, a bolt in the chuck of the pillar drill and take the brush to it, or, use wire wheel and hold the bolt?.

Either or to be honest, it really depends on how bad the rust imps. If it’s just surface rust I would tend to use the brush in the drill method as you can then brush the whole thing without having to reposition it in the drill

 

[Sideways]

Electrolysis with a laptop power supply and a £1 tub of stuff from the supermarket.
Put all the rusty bolts in a sieve and bung them in overnight.
Job done ...

 

[sams93]

I couldn't believe just how effective a warm ultrasonic cleaner bath is for both dirt and rust.

put all sorts in there with some degreasing solution and cleaned them up incredibly well.

For rusty parts put them in there with some 'Restore Rust Remover' solution and within about 20 minutes it had cleaned them up really well.

As it happened the heating function on the bath then broke so I returned it, however as and when I have to clean some more small parts I will most certainly buy another ultrasonic cleaner as it worked so well.

 

[puddlejumper]

Electrolysis with a laptop power supply and a £1 tub of stuff from the supermarket.
Put all the rusty bolts in a sieve and bung them in overnight.
Job done ...

So I’m guessing you put the negative terminal into the container and put the positive terminal onto the sieve (or vice versa?)
when you say £1 tub of stuff from the supermarket what stuff are you referring to??

 

[Sideways]

Look it up on youtube. There are lots of videos but I don't recall which way round it connects, I put labels on mine so I don't do it wrong. The "stuff" is a common cleaning chemical. Sold in powder form you just add a couple of tablespoons full to water to provide a medium for the electrolysis to work. Seriously just a pound or two for a kg at Tesco, enough for a lifetime.

You put a piece of scrap metal in the tub and connect one lead to that (maybe a "sacrificial anode") and connect all the good stuff to the other wire. Don't let the two touch in your tub of liquid or it won't work. Laptop power supplies are usually protected against an accidental short circuit, but try to avoid that.

 

[Sideways]

It fizzes and makes a great rusty froth sometimes. 20V is actually a little more than needed but works, 12V is enough. It's a good use for a surplus power supply.

 

[Inspector]

Sideways is referring to Washing Soda. Borax is a different chemical but it also works.

Pete

 

[pgrbff]

Light rust/oxidation will also be removed by ultrasonic cleaner. At not much more than £100 for a decent sized one it has to be more economical than cleaning lots of small fiddly bits by hand. Also, for grease removal, chemicals used are detergents rather than organic solvents.

 

[clogs]

just to say it will take several goes but eventually the Ultra sonic cleaner will take off even baked on oil.....
ie, m/cycle cylinder heads n barrels....kan't find my photo's at the mo....
just use the correct fluid.....
ps, as for carbs dont leave them in for hours they will turn black.....

 

[imageel]

As others have said Sodium Bicarbonate and a battery/charger and a plastic bucket will clean most stuff pretty quickly, it creates a foamy and dirty scum on the bucket but depending on how extensive the corrosion is , it can take less than 30mins to do its stuff.
I buy the stuff here -https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/dri-pak-soda-crystals--fine-1kg and regularly use it around the house since it's great for most household surfaces
Ed

 

[pgrbff]

As others have said Sodium Bicarbonate and a battery/charger and a plastic bucket will clean most stuff pretty quickly, it creates a foamy and dirty scum on the bucket but depending on how extensive the corrosion is , it can take less than 30mins to do its stuff.
I buy the stuff here -https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/dri-pak-soda-crystals--fine-1kg and regularly use it around the house since it's great for most household surfaces
Ed

Washing soda is Sodium Carbonate, Na2CO3, not Sodium bicaronate.

 

[aet1]

If it's gunge form years of oil / grease rather than rust the clock chap Steve on "The Repair Shop" uses an ammonia based stuff he pops the parts in, my son uses ammonia in water in a hot tub for cleaning stuff in his jewellery workshop.

 

[imageel]

Washing soda is Sodium Carbonate, Na2CO3, not Sodium bicaronate.

Apologies typo on my part!!

 

[Fergie 307]

For really stubborn old oil and grease just chuck the parts in a jam jar or similar with some cellulose thinners, give it an occasional shake. After 24 hours it will dissolve even the baked on varnish you get on carbs etc. Then drain and into a jar of your choice of cleaner, I use Coleman fuel which is basically highly refined petrol. 20mins in the ultrasound bath and you are done. I suspect the stuff Steve Fletcher uses is a product called Horolene, or his own similar recipe. It's an ammonia based cleaner sold for clock parts. Very good, but also very expensive and horrible stuff to use, mainly owing to the eyewateringly strong smell. Many clock makers make their own version. I use it a lot as it is particularly good for cleaning brass clock parts. For brass you can also use clear vinegar. Add about a tablespoon full
of salt per litre and heat gently till the salt dissolves entirely. Tarnished brass or copper will clean up almost instantly dipped in this mixture. Not good for steel as the salt will corrode it. For rust I use phosphoric acid. You can also use citric acid, although it doesn't work as quickly, it will remove it effectively. Vinegar will work as will lemon juice, or any acid really, but it's very slow. Whatever process you use I would always give the parts a final clean in Isopropyl Alcohol. Gets rid of any residue of the previously used cleaners, and leaves your parts nice and clean. Have to say if we are talking regular nuts, bolts and washers I normally just replace them with stainless.

 

[mwinfrance]

"Washing soda is Sodium Carbonate, Na2CO3, not Sodium bicaronate."
Was going to post that too a few days ago on another thread, "bicarb" wont do a thing..Washing Soda used to be sold as Flash ( by a wee Scots woman..t'was not NS before her SNP gig ) in the TV ads..In France it can be found under the name of St Marc or "Lessive de Soude"..if you have a wood burner you can gather up the ashes ( try to use only the white or grey powder ) put them into a glass jar ( don't leave it anywhere kids or animals can get at it ) and top it up with the same volume of tap water.Leave to "stew" for about a week, then pour off the liquid, keep it and the solids.The liquid will work as a liquid cleaner, and can be used for the electrolysis method ( it will get warm when the thing is working ) .The solids ( left at the bottom of the jar ) will make an abrasive cleaner degreaser.A car or motorcycle battery charger works great, but bear in mind the electrolysis method will gas, and the gas is inflammable.

 

[deema]

The nice thing about electrolytic rust removal is that you can’t get it wrong. You can leave the stuff in the water for as long as you like. Once the rust, and it only removes rust, has been devoured, the process stops. @Sideways and I have cleaned a lot of nut a bolts this way. It’s usually me that has the tank jobs the negative is attached to the parts and the positive to a piece(s) of steel (not stainless). We usually have pieces in all corners to give the parts a blast from all sides. I usually make a basket out of ungalvenised chicken wire to pop the nuts and bolts in. Washing soda is popped into the water, in reality it’s anything that helps the electrons move around the water easier. The parts need to be freeish of oil and grease as it’s stops the water making contact with the parts. It’s only what the water touches that gets treated.

I’ve used vinegar that works well, but is slower and you can’t pop them in over a few days without any worries, the acid eats everything not just the rust. Evaporust works very well, but it’s expensive.

 

[mwinfrance]

While I think of it..you don't want the + and the - to touch directly, so ..use a piece of steel for the + like deema says, but make it a loose fitting "sleeve" from a piece of say 30 mm diameter plastic pipe* ( drill holes all around the pipe from top to bottom to let the liquid get to the steel ) the plastic pipe will keep the - things from direct contact with the + steel , but will allow the liquid which gets to the steel via the holes to work. Remember to disconnect the electricity ( pull the plug ) at the wall , before fishing things out.

* or any plastic pipe with some holes made in the side that is large enough for the steel to sit in the middle of.