Would be good for bringing up a dead battery too.
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Heavy Metal. Rust Removal and plating
- Thread starter Jim
- Start date
Would be good for bringing up a dead battery too.
Dead battery! 
When I was a tadpole baby sailor, we had a battery shop. They'd take those bullet proof heavy plated batterys in and recondition them. I went out, day before yesterday, to start my point operated 1947 8N Ford tractor and the battery was dead. Bummer! Battery was a 12 volt, Interstate, group 26. I took it back to the place I got it and told them it gave up and I wanted an adjustment! ( Cullum Auto Parts, been doing business there for 30 years) Ok, Not a problem - till they looked at the date! 2013. They said, this battery is 8 years old! I said, So is that silver paint pen your using that marked that $50 buck battery 8 years ago. 
I didn't get no adjustment, 
cost me $149 bucks for a Die Hard silver, group 26. 
I thought Die Hard went out of business a few years back?
I said, You ain't heard the last of this. Three time as much it ought to last three times as long! I'll be back in 24 years! 
I'll be 97. They gona have to carry it in! They'll screw you if you let them get away with it!
We now return you to your regular programing!
When I was a tadpole baby sailor, we had a battery shop. They'd take those bullet proof heavy plated batterys in and recondition them. I went out, day before yesterday, to start my point operated 1947 8N Ford tractor and the battery was dead. Bummer! Battery was a 12 volt, Interstate, group 26. I took it back to the place I got it and told them it gave up and I wanted an adjustment! ( Cullum Auto Parts, been doing business there for 30 years) Ok, Not a problem - till they looked at the date! 2013. They said, this battery is 8 years old! I said, So is that silver paint pen your using that marked that $50 buck battery 8 years ago. I didn't get no adjustment, cost me $149 bucks for a Die Hard silver, group 26. I thought Die Hard went out of business a few years back? I said, You ain't heard the last of this. Three time as much it ought to last three times as long! I'll be back in 24 years! I'll be 97. They gona have to carry it in! They'll screw you if you let them get away with it! We now return you to your regular programing!
If a battery has been flattened overnight, you know a light left on, door open etc. It won't have enough voltage for an automatic charger to start in and it will not recover it. But an hour on an old timey non automatic charger will bring the voltage up enough that your automatic charger will finish the job. That full discharge pulls some life out of any battery, but once fully recharged it will often go back on the job for a long time afterwards.
Dad gum, Gary. I got two cuttings of hay so far. Need rain. Looking like the third cut will be little to none. I can forget the fourth and squares at $10 bucks a bale for prime hay at the feed store. I'd done better this year to just of cut what came off and put the grand in fertilizer the first of the year in 100 bales of hay.
Yep, the battery tried to turn it but. I figure the sediment got up to the plates and grounded them out. It was time.
Yep, the battery tried to turn it but. I figure the sediment got up to the plates and grounded them out. It was time.
Guess the horses will get to keep their worms this fall.
We got nothing in the barn yet but just got an inch of rain and more on the way so we'll have a 4th cutting.
We got nothing in the barn yet but just got an inch of rain and more on the way so we'll have a 4th cutting.
My pons don't have worms. There on a schedule. I have two overweight and one of those is lame on both fronts. But today doing better on the right. Impact from hard ground or Laminitis. I cut her back to hay only. Their as bad as kids!
I just have a small meadow fenced off for hay. I got 500 squares in the barn. Damn tough on old man! 
Starting to sound like Mayberry RFD rather than metal plating 101!
Since I started zinc plating a while ago I have always found it difficult to plate inside of nuts and the inner hex of cap screws as well as getting a bright plate out of the tank. I have a very basic set up.
While plating some 6mm cap screws the other day I had a thought about the process and the attraction of the zinc ions to the cathode. It is similar to what happens in an X ray tube, where the current determines the amount of electrons accelerated to the anode and the velocity they move at is dependent on the voltage across the anode and cathode.
I thought that if the ions were travelling faster they may deviate less from a direct line.
As an experiment I adjusted the voltage up and wound the current down and it did appear to work. I still needed the recess to be in line with the anode. I set the current so that the work was only just starting to bubble.
I have only done a handful of cap screws but the results were promising, Not sure if this is real or just a coincidence. I am interested in what others do to plate into recesses.
While plating some 6mm cap screws the other day I had a thought about the process and the attraction of the zinc ions to the cathode. It is similar to what happens in an X ray tube, where the current determines the amount of electrons accelerated to the anode and the velocity they move at is dependent on the voltage across the anode and cathode.
I thought that if the ions were travelling faster they may deviate less from a direct line.
As an experiment I adjusted the voltage up and wound the current down and it did appear to work. I still needed the recess to be in line with the anode. I set the current so that the work was only just starting to bubble.
I have only done a handful of cap screws but the results were promising, Not sure if this is real or just a coincidence. I am interested in what others do to plate into recesses.
I plate the Allen Screw then wipe the inside of the Hex with a cotton bud dipped in black paint.
I have a lot of plating to do. In the past I have bead blasted the parts and this is tedious. Today I thought I would try using citric acid.
I mixed a solution of 40g of citric acid to 1 L of water. I put this in a glass jar and put in some pretty rusty small parts. I then put the jar in a ultrasonic bath with water in the bath to transfer the energy, he bath also warms the solution.
I was stunned at the results only the very worst parts will be bead blasted from now on.
Taking a punt I also bought some Caswell brightner ( their new formula) to try, as polishing the parts post plating is time consuming. I have a home brew solution in my bath and the new solution did not work like the old stuff did.
I think it is helping the parts only need a light rub with 0000 steel wool to come up shiny.
I have a couple of sets of spokes and nipples plus a whole bike load of fastners to do so you can see why I want to streamline things.
I mixed a solution of 40g of citric acid to 1 L of water. I put this in a glass jar and put in some pretty rusty small parts. I then put the jar in a ultrasonic bath with water in the bath to transfer the energy, he bath also warms the solution.
I was stunned at the results only the very worst parts will be bead blasted from now on.
Taking a punt I also bought some Caswell brightner ( their new formula) to try, as polishing the parts post plating is time consuming. I have a home brew solution in my bath and the new solution did not work like the old stuff did.
I think it is helping the parts only need a light rub with 0000 steel wool to come up shiny.
I have a couple of sets of spokes and nipples plus a whole bike load of fastners to do so you can see why I want to streamline things.
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Can you post before and after pics of the bits you cleaned?
Will do, no picks of this lot but plenty more to do.
Although I have mainly used vinegar in gas tanks, I have used Molasses to de rust a firearm.
I have seen people who restore old cars with huge molasses tanks where they leave the item there for a week (or more?)
The gun barrel took I recall 4 days.
to play with the molasses. I diluted it with water and took some rusty washers.
It will remove the rust but of course, with removing the rust, you will then see the pitting.
Its not like any rust removal makes it brand new again, Rust when removed has removed part of the original metal.
Surface rust (dusty rust I call it) is often the easy thing to deal with, especially tanks I feel so long it does not end up in a leak.
Most of the gun barrels I have removed dusty rust from, I just soaked in kroil then used scotchbright or a stainless steel wool pad cause kroil is safer on gun blue.
When at a gun show, my favorite line when seeing rust I can clear out of an old C&R gun is to talk them down when i throw a light in there and show its rusty.
Here are some before and after images of the process using citric acid in a ultrasonic cleaner. Some scotchbright wheel cleaning was done on the seat strap
flanges and the rear brake wing nut was not put in the citric it s ali and I want to test on some scrap first.
I included an image of my calorifier set up for the ultrasonic cleaner. Some of the items in the last image were bead blasted.
I have always had trouble getting a good finish on springs like side stand springs so I made a spring stretcher its as rough as guts and it needs to be sturdy to take the force required to expand the spring. With this gadget good results can be had.
flanges and the rear brake wing nut was not put in the citric it s ali and I want to test on some scrap first.
I included an image of my calorifier set up for the ultrasonic cleaner. Some of the items in the last image were bead blasted.
I have always had trouble getting a good finish on springs like side stand springs so I made a spring stretcher its as rough as guts and it needs to be sturdy to take the force required to expand the spring. With this gadget good results can be had.
@Jim, just saw your post and went back to read the comments. I think I will invest in a power supply, then figure out what I can use it for later.
I like the idea of being able to plate bits, mainly for rust prevention. I’ll look into this further this winter. For now, the brake bits will get Tremclad and / or POR15. Thx for the heads up.
Impressive results. Looks better than the bits I’ve done with ultrasonic w/degreaser, elbow grease, Evaporust and repeat. How long in the ultrasonic cleaner? I’d like to try this.
I just looked on Amazon and they sell citric acid in powder form. I think that’s what you have used. In powder form are there differences in strength or concentration?
I just looked on Amazon Canada and this machine is mid $200’s Cdn plus taxes. Stuff is do much cheaper in th US
