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



## razinman (May 18, 2015)

Hello TO ALL
                    I've been busy with spring (here in NY) and haven't had much time for renovation of
 the SB (Thread" SB  in waiting for 6 months"). However , I started again cleaning up the tailstock,
 have it all apart. I've used oven cleaner(spray and liquid), paint striper, acetone, mineral spirits, etc.
 It cleans up most of the grease and some of the paint  , BUT not to the degree that I find satisfactory.
         I've seen articles on using washing soda in an water bath with a  battery chargers' electrodes to
 remove the rust(not in my situation), but can this set up be used for removal of grease and paint?
It seems the  paint is baked on and only comes off with a small chisel scrapping it away or perhaps
go the way of a wire wheel on a  flexible shaft.

   Thanks for any help............. Razinman


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## barnett (May 18, 2015)

I have used electrolysis for several years to remove rust, I have had it remove paint on some parts, but in my experience it doesn't work well on paint.
Tom


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## razinman (May 18, 2015)

Hi Tom,
                      Thanks for the response,  I've been reading a lot at different forums, and getting mixed responses. Maybe leaving on the stripper
for a longer time may help. I'll keep experimenting .

       Razinman


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## pjf134 (May 19, 2015)

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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## razinman (May 19, 2015)

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


 Hi Paul,
                I've heard that they use alot of pieces of re-bar in the tank and throw it away when done., thanks for your advice I'm trying citristrip right now
and leaving it overnight to see how it goes.

             Regards.............Razinman


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## tertiaryjim (May 20, 2015)

Tried electrolysis on some parts. It didn't get all the paint but most of it.
Had gotten some pieces of expanded metal that I cut and bent to fit the bottom and sides of the container as an anode.
I would always consider it as a good way to save a lot of work removing paint.


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## mattthemuppet2 (May 20, 2015)

as above, it won't remove really well bonded paint but it does blow off most of it. You don't need to throw away the rebar, just scrub the rusty crap off with a wire brush before each use.


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## Alan Douglas (May 20, 2015)

It's my understanding that "washing soda" is called that because it acts like weak lye and reacts with organic greases and oils to form a water-soluble soap, the same idea as making soap from lye and animal fat.  Presumably washing soda would also react with oil paints (and lye is used as a paint stripper).


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## Earl (May 21, 2015)

Some second hand information -   i.e.  I have not tried this myself ....    I have heard that if you use carbon rods instead of iron/steel,  you will not get the brown crud that ends up on the top of the water.  Has anyone tried this?   I am looking for a source for carbon rods but don't have anything to "de-rust" at this time.   That brown crud is nasty stuff.   I dumped some (spilled on the way outside) on my garage floor a couple of years ago and didn't wash it off right away.  Scrubbing doesn't remove it,   CLR doesn't touch it,  pressure washing doesn't get it, mild muriatic acid sorta worked but I didn't want to severely etch the concrete so I quit.  It has mostly worn off but I can still see where it was.

Most powdered laundry soap contains washing soda.   I have used that when I was out of washing soda.    Doesn't take much - a few tablespoons in a 5 gal bucket about half full is the concentration that I use (soda or laundry soap).   Adding more (a couple of cups) doesn't improve the performance in my experience.

 I have heard others talk about having success removing paint but no luck for me.


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## Thoro (May 21, 2015)

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.

Something else to note.  A friend of mine swears by washing soda dissolved in water with no electricity to clean parts and remove paint.  I have not tried it, as I usually want the rust removing factor too, but it may be worth a try.  He says just soak the parts in the solution.  Can't hurt I guess, if not, ZAP it!

P.S. I can not stand paint stripper.  It is nasty caustic messy junk that only ends up infuriating me.  I'd rather go at something with a knotted wire wheel and deal with the wire shards ,dust and wearing a respirator than paint stripper, if the piece being stripped allows.


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## acourtjester (May 22, 2015)

you will find that brake fluid  will remove paint if left on  for hours and is not caustic.


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## kvt (May 22, 2015)

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.


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## taxodium (May 22, 2015)

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.


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## catskinner (May 22, 2015)

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.


  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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 u


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## razinman (May 22, 2015)

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
> ...


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## razinman (May 22, 2015)

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


I used Citristrip gel it worked quite well , let it seat overnight  and wire brushed the paint away.


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## catskinner (May 23, 2015)

The 6 amp charger does very well, just be sure to hook the pos. to the sacrificial anode and the parts to the neg.


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## Jim1946 SB9" (May 23, 2015)

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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## Alan Douglas (May 23, 2015)

The grease (or whatever it was) had probably softened the paint already.


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## razinman (May 23, 2015)

catskinner said:


> The 6 amp charger does very well, just be sure to hook the pos. to the sacrificial anode and the parts to the neg.
> Thanks cat, I will give it a try............Razinman


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## spongerich (May 23, 2015)

Earl said:


> Some second hand information -   i.e.  I have not tried this myself ....    I have heard that if you use carbon rods instead of iron/steel,  you will not get the brown crud that ends up on the top of the water.



Graphite rules.  
Once you go black, you'll never go back.  ;-)

No brown sludge and no stopping to clean off or replace crusty anodes since they stay 100% free of any accumulation.
They also last a long time.
About the only downside is that they leave a black film that's just a little worse than you get with iron or steel anodes, but it comes off pretty easily with some Scotchbrite and water.

A couple 1 x 10" graphite rods  or 2 x 1 x 10 plates will do a dozen vises.
If you search eBay for graphite plate / rod you'll find plenty of them and they're pretty cheap.


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## catskinner (May 26, 2015)

I pulled a few parts out of the tank today and pressure washed them off. Here is a link to a video of washing them with a hose after pulling them from the dip. You can see how the paint came off in sheets.
https://www.facebook.com/jim.joyce.39/videos/984812134862642/?l=64922752618798927

BTW this tank has been in constant use for 2 months.


And here a few pics of the parts after pressure washing them.


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## razinman (May 28, 2015)

Hi ALL,
                   Thanks for all your input, I will try a couple of the suggestions and will post some pics in the near future of the what I have done so far(not to much !)


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## razinman (May 28, 2015)

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.
> 
> Something else to note.  A friend of mine swears by washing soda dissolved in water with no electricity to clean parts and remove paint.  I have not tried it, as I usually want the rust removing factor too, but it may be worth a try.  He says just soak the parts in the solution.  Can't hurt I guess, if not, ZAP it!
> 
> ...


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## Analogr (Jun 22, 2015)

I took the bed of my Heavy 10 to the local diesel truck machine shop. They put it in their cleaning tank and it came out spotless and paint free even in the X braces. No other place local had a tank big enough.


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## razinman (Jun 22, 2015)

Interesting solution, up to now I'm doing ok with Citristrip, I will consider it when I get to the BIG PARTS.

    Thanks


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## catskinner (Jun 23, 2015)

I had to use Citristrip on the motor housing and it did not do nearly as well as the electrolysis. When I did my bed I put one end in and then turned it end for end in the tank, it did very well.


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## Primitive_Pete (Nov 24, 2015)

I use a piece of sheet metal lining the inside of a bucket, Lots of surface area stripped my SB 9 with it hardly any scrubbing. I use a 25 amp forklift battery charger water gets warm pretty quickly and the paint comes off in sheets.


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