Electrolysis cleaning of iron objects

[Don in SJ]

After reading Badger's and others postings on cleaning iron, I decided to give it a whirl. My first attempt at doing iron and found it to be quite different than doing a beach found Mercury dime.

After a bit of trial an error, I finally settled on the following procedure and equipment setup.
I liked the Folger Coffee can idea, but for my Iron Trivet the can was way too small to consider.

I wanted something that would not tip over, something that can hold an artifact that is up to 12-14 inches long and have ease of cleaning.

So, I went to the local Dollar store and bought a plastic rectangle shaped flower box.

A couple of questions I had, which I really did not see a direct answers for on the forum were, "does the Anode have to be close to equal in size to the item being cleaned?" And the second question was "does the electrolyte solution have to be changed during the process a lot or not at all?"

I came to the conclusion that the anode should be close to equal in size and that a sterling silver spoon is not quite as a good of an anode as what I eventually ended up using.

Also, after changing the electrolite solution several times and going through a bit of baking soda I finally decided to try to reuse the dirty stuff and yes, it was just as good, so the answer to the second question on changing the electrolite out was, no do not, it seems to work for a long time, seems like the dirtier it got the better.

Here was my setup for doing a medium sized Iron artifact

1 Cell Phone Charger - 9 Volts 265ma
2 Alligator Clips
1 Plastic Flower Rectangular Box 14"L x 6"W x 6" deep
1 Box of Baking Soda - Added enough till water felt slippery
1 Brass Brush - toothbrush style
1 Anode - I used a worn out Circular Saw Blade

When I first tried it, the action was slow, then I read where you should file down to bare metal at a inconspious area for better contact, once I did that it worked much faster.

I think the time to complete depends upon the object and how much rust is caked on, plus the strength of the milliamperes of your power supply. My first iron took almost 3 full days of cooking, but the second iron, which is bigger got done in a little over a day.

The rinse baths, which I used distilled water, went thru using both hot rinses followed by cold rinses, for about a day. I finished with a hot rinse, then removed the trivet and put under a hot lamp for a several hours to dry thoroughly.

While it was drying I experimented on two ways of preserving the trivet, since I had no microcystallaine wax to use it left me with three choices, no treatment at all, just a good thorough drying; or, spray the trivet with Acrylic Lacquer, Matte finish; or do what my wife suggested and that was to treat the trivet like you do with a brand new Cast Iron Pan.

I dismissed the idea of no treatment at all, due to all the nooks and crannies on the trivet, felt that it did need some type of protection. So, that left me with trying the pan and the baking method.

I took two other iron artifacts and treated one with the spray lacquer and the other I coated with Crisco Oil and baked in a portable over (outside) at 500 degrees for one hour.

After examining my two samples, they both looked similar in looks and feel. But, I noticed that the spray would be heavier and shinier where it would collect in low areas and that the oil was much more even in appearance. So, I decided to go ahead and "bake with oil" my trivet.

In a few more days, I will post a photo of both trivets and both irons and my experience with electrolysis on iron artifacts will be done for awhile, but is has been a nice new and exciting experience and another aspect of our hobby.

Thanks to Badger, Mirage, and Conservator and others for all the previous posts which have helped.

Don in South Jersey

[viper771]

Hey that looks pretty cool. Distilled water costs too much out here for me though I only use it on the good stuff. Looks like your artifact cleaned up really nice!

[Don in SJ]

Well, my "distilled" water is not exactly store bought. I have a high energy efficient home gas heating system, that extracts water from the air and then discharges it outside, well, in the winter that is not a good thing having all that water dumped outside so I have flexible tubing directing this condensed water into a big five gallon container, and have a endless supply of distilled water from it.

Don

[civilman1]

Very nice job Don...I pretty much use the same setup but I just picked up a few more pointer's.....Thank's

[ColonialDude]

Generally it is not recommended to clean anything as it loses value...but when it comes to iron relics this isn't always the case. Iron, if left untreated, will continue to corrode and flake off until the day there is nothing left. Electrolysis is an accepted method by collectors when it comes to iron relics...as long as you use the right preservation techniques after you have cleaned it. The "just cleaned" look is not very appealing when it comes to relics 100's of years old. I have a pretty lengthy process I use when it comes to the cleaning and preservation of iron relics...and it falls inline with the techniques curators at major museums use. It pays to know people in the business hah

Here are a few pieces I just completed...these pieces were LUMPS of rust. No better time than the winter to clean up your iron.

I had before pics...but who knows what happened to them!?

I will be cleaning another batch of relics soon...and I will show everyone before and after pics if they wish.

I don't use laquer as I am not a fan of the finish it leaves...and good luck getting it off without doing damage to the relic...not to mention collectors aren't big on laquer coated relics, thus the value is decreased yet again. The stuff I use won't come off on it's own, but can be removed with no risk to the relic.

P.S....you need to get every spec of rust off, or it will spread like the plague eventually.

If anyone wishes to know my method, let me know.

Wess

[aa battery]

Ok don i will be sending you my stuff

[dirtydude]

Generally it is not recommended to clean anything as it loses value...but when it comes to iron relics this isn't always the case. Iron, if left untreated, will continue to corrode and flake off until the day there is nothing left. Electrolysis is an accepted method by collectors when it comes to iron relics...as long as you use the right preservation techniques after you have cleaned it. The "just cleaned" look is not very appealing when it comes to relics 100's of years old. I have a pretty lengthy process I use when it comes to the cleaning and preservation of iron relics...and it falls inline with the techniques curators at major museums use. It pays to know people in the business hah

Here are a few pieces I just completed...these pieces were LUMPS of rust. No better time than the winter to clean up your iron.

I had before pics...but who knows what happened to them!?

I will be cleaning another batch of relics soon...and I will show everyone before and after pics if they wish.

I don't use laquer as I am not a fan of the finish it leaves...and good luck getting it off without doing damage to the relic...not to mention collectors aren't big on laquer coated relics, thus the value is decreased yet again. The stuff I use won't come off on it's own, but can be removed with no risk to the relic.

P.S....you need to get every spec of rust off, or it will spread like the plague eventually.

If anyone wishes to know my method, let me know.

Wess

I sent you a pm.

[Eddy1H]

Nice job on cleaning your Irin, I have expermented with cleaning and I have had good results, but not quite as good as yours turned out,,
Very nice finished product

Eddy

[THEDUKE]

good job, that cleaned that up real good

[SomeGuy]

Generally it is not recommended to clean anything as it loses value...but when it comes to iron relics this isn't always the case. Iron, if left untreated, will continue to corrode and flake off until the day there is nothing left. Electrolysis is an accepted method by collectors when it comes to iron relics...as long as you use the right preservation techniques after you have cleaned it. The "just cleaned" look is not very appealing when it comes to relics 100's of years old. I have a pretty lengthy process I use when it comes to the cleaning and preservation of iron relics...and it falls inline with the techniques curators at major museums use. It pays to know people in the business hah

Here are a few pieces I just completed...these pieces were LUMPS of rust. No better time than the winter to clean up your iron.

I had before pics...but who knows what happened to them!?

I will be cleaning another batch of relics soon...and I will show everyone before and after pics if they wish.

I think a lot of us would enjoy and benefit from a detailed description of your cleaning and preservation techniques.

I don't use laquer as I am not a fan of the finish it leaves...and good luck getting it off without doing damage to the relic...not to mention collectors aren't big on lacquer coated relics, thus the value is decreased yet again. The stuff I use won't come off on it's own, but can be removed with no risk to the relic.

Cellulose lacquer is easily removed with lacquer thinner, which will not harm bare metal, but cellulose lacquer or lacquer thinner will cause any paint on the item to peel. Acrylic lacquer will probably require paint stripper or heat.


P.S....you need to get every spec of rust off, or it will spread like the plague eventually.

If anyone wishes to know my method, let me know.

Wess

[Bigcypresshunter]

Jyes, Red is the correct color for DC positive...Black is DC negative.

Why do you use a saw blade for the anode? I thought it had to be Stainless Steel. I am cleaning an item now and my baking soda/water solution is turning black.

[Don in SJ]

Why do you use a saw blade for the anode? I thought it had to be Stainless Steel. I am cleaning an item now and my baking soda/water solution is turning black.

The trivets and irons I did were large and the only large steel items I had that I could afford to ruin were OLD saw blades I have. They worked GREAT........

Don