Rust removal with Electrolysis(pics inside)

Well here is my experience with this little experiment.
I read about this online and so I decided to try it before I buy expensive rust removal chemicals. Overall I am happy with the results.


  1. Well what I purchased was a 10 gallon tube from BigLots(most stores have these) for about $4. You need to make sure you use a plastic tube/bucket.
  2. I did read that people say to use Arm & Hammer: Washing Soda but I just used Arm & Hammer: Baking Soda.
  3. I also read online that you are supposed to use hot water but I just used water straight from the hose outside.
  4. Next you have to have a donor piece of metal to put in the take of water. (make sure they do not touch)
  5. This part gets a little confusing but I'll try to explain the best I can. Well I for me I had to have a battery involved because my battery charger is an automatic one. My charger does not turn on unless it is hooked up to a battery(safety feature). If you have a older charger that does not have that feature just hook your cables up directly to the metal in the tube. Also do not plug in your charger until everything is connected.
  6. You will hook up the ground/negative cable to the piece of metal that you want to remove the rust from(you can submerge the ground cable).
  7. Next hook up the power/positive cable to the donor piece of metal(the cable must be out of the water). I just used a pipe that was taller then the tube. From here just turn on your charger and wait. It took me like 1 day total to get where I am.
  8. I unplugged everything about half way in to turn the metal around so that the other side will get cleaned too. I also added more baking soda.
  9. Once you are done or think you are ready just unplug everything and pull out your items. The water will smell like pennies in my opinion. It does not stain your hands. I just poured the old water out on the curb.
  10. Once I poured out all the dirty water I just grabbed my water hose and sprayed everything down and scrubbed it with a old toilet brush to remove any excess deposits.
  11. The surface will have a black color but from what I understand it is a black oxide residue that is left after the electrolysis. From what I understand it can come off if you scrub it long enough but it does not have to be removed.
  12. I did not want to have surface rust on it in a few days(if it even would with the black oxide) so I decided to throw a coat of primer on all of it for now. I will sand the rotors before I use them.

Well I hope some of the information will help you guys out.
I am not responsible if you get hurt doing this. lol. :violent1:

Now here are the pictures that everyone was wait for:

Here is what I used:



LBP brake spindle/rotor/upper control arm:


Water(1:00PM-11/3/12):


Everything all connected(1:04PM-11/3/12):


Here are different times I took pictures of it:

(2:41PM-11/3/12):


(4:05PM-11/3/12):


(5:33PM-11/3/12):


(2:04PM-11/4/12):


Water outside in the sun with rusty foam take out:


Some of the sediment left after pouring out the water:



Control arm/spindle out of water:



Next to spindle/control arm that has not been treated:



I threw a coat of primer so I did not get any surface rust on it:




Thanks for looking!

Here is the video that helped me threw it all:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4yYF8gSHdA"]Rust removal by Electrolysis - Removing rust from a Briggs and Stratton engine shroud - YouTube[/ame]