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Electrolytic rust removal & Bluing too?
I've been reading up on a non abrasive way to remove light rust and came across a lot of articles on Electrolytic rust removal http://www.instructables.com/id/Elec...val-aka-Magic/
Electrolytic Rust Removal. Rust can be electrically etched off of iron or steel in a bath of mild alkali, such as Sodium Carbonate. Connect the rusty part to the negative terminal of a 12V battery or battery charger and a scrap piece of steel or iron to the positive terminal. Use one tablespoon of Sodium Carbonate per gallon of water. This technique has many advantages. First, the alkaline solution is much safer than some of the acids mentioned earlier. It is still a chemical, so rubber gloves and splash goggles are recommended. Another advantage of electrolytic rust removal is that it will have no effect on good metal, so you can leave the work in the bath for a long time and not damage the metal. There is no risk of hydrogen embrittlement nor of etching unrusted metal.
Electrolytic rust removal will leave a black oxide surface, which is the result of a process that doesn't remove any good metal at all. - http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/rust/rust.html
This method leaves black oxide in place of the old rust. Isn't this similar to the old rust then boil method of bluing? Has anyone used this method to blue a gun?
Electrolytic Rust Removal. Rust can be electrically etched off of iron or steel in a bath of mild alkali, such as Sodium Carbonate. Connect the rusty part to the negative terminal of a 12V battery or battery charger and a scrap piece of steel or iron to the positive terminal. Use one tablespoon of Sodium Carbonate per gallon of water. This technique has many advantages. First, the alkaline solution is much safer than some of the acids mentioned earlier. It is still a chemical, so rubber gloves and splash goggles are recommended. Another advantage of electrolytic rust removal is that it will have no effect on good metal, so you can leave the work in the bath for a long time and not damage the metal. There is no risk of hydrogen embrittlement nor of etching unrusted metal.
Electrolytic rust removal will leave a black oxide surface, which is the result of a process that doesn't remove any good metal at all. - http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/rust/rust.html
This method leaves black oxide in place of the old rust. Isn't this similar to the old rust then boil method of bluing? Has anyone used this method to blue a gun?
