So...I took the manifold to a machine shop today to put it in a hot tank overnight. All of these other methods are interesting and certainly I might employ some of them for future endevours. I'll let ya'll know how she turns out!!! Thaks for all the tips!

Naw, it's quite a bit less alkaline and less concentrated than most industrial caustic sodas, so it's less hazardous. You still don't want to breathe the powder or get the solution on your skin; it'll give you a nice cough and/or rash.

How much did they charge ya for it?

The machine shop hot tank seemed to clean the manifold up pretty well anaad they only charge me 10 bucks for the job. I am intrigued by the cleaning by electralosyis method so I'm thankful so many responded to this posting. Now I am not afraid of any old parts I may find from the salvage yard!!!

$10 sounds good. I'm going to setup my electrolysis stuff for the manifolds and valve covers this week. I'll take some pics and tell you guys how it goes!

MJ

Ok guys finally got my de-rusting setup going. Put an exhauast manifold and air cleaner in for a start.

Its 25 gallons of water mixed with 2.5 cups of washing soda. I initally had my battery charger hooked up, but since it was a trickle charger, it was only giving 2amps to my tank--not enough to do a good job. So I took a computer psu that I had lying around, jumpered the power lead wire to a ground (to eliminate the switch you would normally have to use to activate the psu), connected some clips to it, and off I went. Fired up and started working...we'll see how it does!

Here are a few pics I took:



ELECTROLYSIS SETUP<==click here for bigger pics and descriptions

Forget chemicals. Pay someone to have the parts glass beaded.

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There is no problem that cannot be solved by the proper application of thermo nuclear weapons

Whatever works for ya. This took about a day, completely removed all the rust, and was ready to paint. Cost $10. For stuff that gets painted anyway, this works out well for me. Washing soda is hardly a "chemical" in the toxic sense...its pours down the drain just like soap. But I won't force you to use this

MJ

Besides, I'm sure media blasting is cheap and convenient for SOME areas of the country, but take the massive metropolis of Dallas, for example. I've had a HECK of a time trying to find anyone to perform the service (I even checked with the few powder coaters in the area). I found a couple of places, but they all involve a drive across town, and charge an arm and a leg to do it. I paid a guy $50 to sandblast my intake and exhaust manifolds, and that was AFTER I talked him down from $65!!! There's a machine shop with a hot tank 10 minutes away, and if they can give me the same results for even DOUBLE what you paid, I can live with that. Thanks to the board (again) — I wouldn't have thought of hot-tanking rusty parts before!

VM

Be warned that some places that advertise "hot tanking" really don't have that capability any more. Because of EPA requirements, most places now do nothing more than scrape the dirt off and bake the parts in an oven. That does not remove rust.

I dont know how it is in the US, but hot tanking in the traditional sense is perfectly legal here, as long as the byproducts are disposed of in accordance with regulations. I am sure cost is a deferrent factor with some shops and they simply choose not to do it; however I cannot imagine a city being able to function for long were this process "illegal". Some sections of heavy industry depend on using caustic soda as a cleaner.

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

This guy has been playing with "lye gravy" for rust removal for some time.
I found him on a antique tractor website.. www.ytmag.com

Here's a direct link to his website page with the lye gravy information....

http://www.fboerger.com/Restoration%20T ... 20Page.htm

Happy derusting.

OK glass beading is cheap for me because I can do it at my job. I'm not sure how things are today, but years ago when my uncle had a radiator shop He had a tank for boiling out cores. Maybe radiator shops still use these. The hot tank he had did a good job Might be worth calling a few radiator shops to see.

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There is no problem that cannot be solved by the proper application of thermo nuclear weapons

Hot tanking and descaling are two different processes. A rad shop uses a descaling process, which I believe uses a solution of phosphoric acid and water. A rad shop will not accept your greasy parts.

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.