Washing Soda In Electrolyte Bath-removal Of Paint And Grease?

The older brake fluid I know would remove paint from almost anything, Cars, engine, brake booster, It could make a mess of a car if not washed off real quick. I use to use it to clean paint off of small parts , then just wash in hot soapy water and it was ready to repaint. Of course that was old brake fluid, Have not messed with any of the new silicone stuff or even done anything with brakes in many years.
 
In the past I have used caustic soda but cleaning large parts requires a large bath and a lot of caustic. More recently it was suggested to me by a chemist to mix the caustic with wallpaper paste and apply with a stiff brush and stippling. Worked for me, but not quite as well as a long soak in the caustic bath. Of course this won't remove rust, you will need the electrolysis or mild acid (phosphoric is usual) for that.
 
I have been using an electrolysis soaking using washing soda and a battery charger for my restoration of my 1943 Heavy 10.
Thoro said:
I have had great success with an electrolysis setup removing paint, grease and grime. I have noticed that some paints tend to not want to release as well as others, but my 1942 heavy 10, the paint would come off in sheets when I restored it. It's not the be all end all for paint removal, nor is it elbow grease free, but it sure makes a big dents in the removal process. I found that what paint was still clinging on after a 24 hour soak would mostly wire brush off in the wash tub during the rinsing step.
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I too had paint coming off in sheets. This is my set up with the bed in the tank, couple of days and flipped it over to get the other half. There were at least three layers of paint on this machine and nearly all of it came off with the rinsing hose and a wire brush. I used and old piece of chain and a steel fence post for anodes.

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electroloysis tank.jpg u
 
catskinner said:
I have been using an electrolysis soaking using washing soda and a battery charger for my restoration of my 1943 Heavy 10.
I too had paint coming off in sheets. This is my set up with the bed in the tank, couple of days and flipped it over to get the other half. There were at least three layers of paint on this machine and nearly all of it came off with the rinsing hose and a wire brush. I used and old piece of chain and a steel fence post for anodes.
I think I will try that, what was the amps output on your battery charger , I've seen one at Harbor Freight that puts out 6 amps.
I recently tried Citristrip Gel for the tail stock. I let it seat overnight wrapped in plastic , next day all the paint came right off with some wire
brushing.

Thanks........Razinman
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pjf134 said:
It does take off rust and paint very well, but only works when the metal rods are in sight of part to be cleaned. The rods will have crap on it from the part so clean off when needed. The pic shows only one rod , but more should be added to cover more of the part to clean better. The part is the gearbox and you can see the rust come off. This was my first time using this method and won't be my last.
Paul
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I used Citristrip gel it worked quite well , let it seat overnight and wire brushed the paint away.
 
The 6 amp charger does very well, just be sure to hook the pos. to the sacrificial anode and the parts to the neg.
 
I wanted to clean a stubborn greasy spot on my 1946 9" model C. Still has the factory paint. Didn't intend take off any paint just that stubborn greasy spot. But dangit if the bare metal wasn't showing in the first wipe. This is the OReilly brand of Carb cleaner in the Aerosol can. Might consider this. Doesn't touch the rust but the greasy grime and paint are no match.
 
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