One rusted C-Mon blackie, one rusted junker

[SavantStrike]

Got my first resto lot today, and looking at it, it's going to need some work. Two of the razors in the lot are just stained, but that's not the topic at hand. Two of the razors are rusted, and one is pretty darn bad (but the blade is so hopelessly broken I don't care. I'm really thinking of trying electrolytic rust removal, and am going to use the junker as a test. The other razor is a C-Mon blackie, and I have every intention of doing the same electrolytic treatment to it as I do to the junker, but its got to survive. I was planning on setting up something like the following.

Plastic or glass container
A nail as an anode
A 1000ma (1 amp) 12V DC power supply, maybe only a half amp one. This should keep the current low enough that I don't create a ton of heat and wreck the blade.
Water and baking soda (salt water is apparently not so great).
Put all of this on a GFI protected outlet (just in case), and have it going outside.

My one concern is that when the solution is fresh, the current between the rusting blade and the anode could be greater than an amp, resulting in a crispy fried power brick. Originally I was thinking of a resistor, but apparently the resistance between the electrode on the razor and the anode will change the more rust is in the water. I guess that means the current will start rapid and slowly decrease as more rust is removed, or perhaps I should consider using a variable resistor.

I'm also aware of the fact that this will only remove rust and will not remove pitting. I'll deal with the pitting another time, maybe a few months down the road . Meanwhile I should be left with a honable (albeit heavily pitted) blade. As soon as the blade leaves the soda bath it's going to take a Ballistol bath so it won't rust again. Has anybody else here ever done this? Any tips?

 

[Fnord5]

No, not yet

I have a boatload of DC power supplies from dead cellphones, battery chargers, fans, ect...

I never seem to throw them away.

I'll give it a shot on one that has deep pitting through almost the entire length of the bevel, and see what happens too.

 

[Fnord5]

Hmn, I have a 12VDC, 500ma
a 24VDC 400ma
and a 24VDC 1200ma.

I thought I had another 12 volt supply somewhere.

 

[SavantStrike]

Hmn, I have a 12VDC, 500ma
a 24VDC 400ma
and a 24VDC 1200ma.

I thought I had another 12 volt supply somewhere.

The 12's are always the hardest to find... It seems they get reclaimed to power things... they're so darn useful!

I'm half tempted to try the whole thing without a resistor. Since the resistance supposedly only goes up throughout the whole process, an initial reading with a multimeter should determine whether it's safe or not.

 

[Fnord5]

The 12's are always the hardest to find... It seems they get reclaimed to power things... they're so darn useful!

I'm half tempted to try the whole thing without a resistor. Since the resistance supposedly only goes up throughout the whole process, an initial reading with a multimeter should determine whether it's safe or not.

Safe? Mwah ha ha ha!

I just tossed mine in

The 12 volt supply was reading at 19.1V, and I figured that was better than 24 to start with.

Bubbles bubbles bubbles everywhere

After about 5 minutes, water is turning a bit brown, no heat, and the supply is not even warm to the touch.

 

[SavantStrike]

Safe? Mwah ha ha ha!

I just tossed mine in

The 12 volt supply was reading at 19.1V, and I figured that was better than 24 to start with.

Bubbles bubbles bubbles everywhere

After about 5 minutes, water is turning a bit brown, no heat, and the supply is not even warm to the touch.

That's actually encouraging. I'm having trouble parting with the only 12v I could find, but I think I've got a 14.5 or a 17.5 (can't remember off hand which it is) which I have no qualms about using.

 

[Fnord5]

That's actually encouraging. I'm having trouble parting with the only 12v I could find, but I think I've got a 14.5 or a 17.5 (can't remember off hand which it is) which I have no qualms about using.

I gotta say, this is working quite well. I might kick it up a notch with one of the 24v supply's.

It's pulling out the stains too, I just replaced the water/soda mix, didn't "need" it though.

 

[SavantStrike]

I gotta say, this is working quite well. I might kick it up a notch with one of the 24v supply's.

It's pulling out the stains too, I just replaced the water/soda mix, didn't "need" it though.

For real? I thought it wasn't supposed to remove stains. Hot dang!

 

[Fnord5]

Well, the dark stains I assume are actually rust/oxidization. I pulled it out and hit it with some sandpaper, 600 grit. Black slurry near instantly, and the dark spots were lots lighter.

I have another blade with minimal pitting that I want to try out, I might do that one later tonight.

Oh, and it does give off hydrogen gas too. not enough to explode, but enough to change the color of a lighters flame.

 

[davecmu]

This place rules. Next up - home chroming for razor restos!

 

[Fnord5]

This place rules. Next up - home chroming for razor restos!

I was just thinking of how I could electroplate it using the same or similar setup.

A nice copper wash would look pretty sleek, till it turned green.

 

[SavantStrike]

Well, the dark stains I assume are actually rust/oxidization. I pulled it out and hit it with some sandpaper, 600 grit. Black slurry near instantly, and the dark spots were lots lighter.

I have another blade with minimal pitting that I want to try out, I might do that one later tonight.

Oh, and it does give off hydrogen gas too. not enough to explode, but enough to change the color of a lighters flame.

Yeah maybe crack a window for it?

I wish I wasn't studying for finals right now. I'd be all over it....

 

[Fnord5]

Yeah maybe crack a window for it?

I wish I wasn't studying for finals right now. I'd be all over it....

I'm supposed to be in class right now

Needed to take a mental health day today.

Just pulled it out, very interesting.

The whole blade was dull grey, like it had been bead blasted, whatever rust there was, had turned black, and the old black rust had loosened up.

I just hit it with some 600 grit sandpaper again, and the dullness went away, as did most of the black (not in the bottom of the pits)

Actually, the parts that were dull grey shined up better than before it's bath with the 600 grit.
This is definitely something to keep your eye on, and not take a nap/go shopping while running.

Going to give a different one a go in it after I go shave, and hit a few antique stores. I might pick up a tray and make a better kit for doing this.

 

[SavantStrike]

I'm supposed to be in class right now

Needed to take a mental health day today.

Just pulled it out, very interesting.

The whole blade was dull grey, like it had been bead blasted, whatever rust there was, had turned black, and the old black rust had loosened up.

I just hit it with some 600 grit sandpaper again, and the dullness went away, as did most of the black (not in the bottom of the pits)

Actually, the parts that were dull grey shined up better than before it's bath with the 600 grit.
This is definitely something to keep your eye on, and not take a nap/go shopping while running.

Going to give a different one a go in it after I go shave, and hit a few antique stores. I might pick up a tray and make a better kit for doing this.

Everything I could read about electrolysis on the interweb said that some blackness would be left over, but it wouldn't be horribly difficult to remove. One tip I saw was to soak the blackened metal in cola and it would come right off. I'm not sure if I'd use soda or something else, maybe vinegar or something mildly caustic...

 

[Fnord5]

Everything I could read about electrolysis on the interweb said that some blackness would be left over, but it wouldn't be horribly difficult to remove. One tip I saw was to soak the blackened metal in cola and it would come right off. I'm not sure if I'd use soda or something else, maybe vinegar or something mildly caustic...

Actually, CocaCola is an old Jeepers trick for freeing up a seized engine.
Undo the sparkplugs, fill the engine up with coke, and let it sit overnight.

I think it's the phosphoric acid.

I may give it a go.

 

[SavantStrike]

Actually, CocaCola is an old Jeepers trick for freeing up a seized engine.
Undo the sparkplugs, fill the engine up with coke, and let it sit overnight.

I think it's the phosphoric acid.

I may give it a go.

I'm sure it works, it's just the idea of soaking a razor in coke that bothers me... It's SODA...

 

[Fnord5]

got my first resto lot today, and looking at it, it's going to need some work. Two of the razors in the lot are just stained, but that's not the topic at hand. Two of the razors are rusted, and one is pretty darn bad (but the blade is so hopelessly broken i don't care. I'm really thinking of trying electrolytic rust removal, and am going to use the junker as a test. The other razor is a c-mon blackie, and i have every intention of doing the same electrolytic treatment to it as i do to the junker, but its got to survive. I was planning on setting up something like the following.

Plastic or glass container
a nail as an anode
a 1000ma (1 amp) 12v dc power supply, maybe only a half amp one. This should keep the current low enough that i don't create a ton of heat and wreck the blade.
Water and baking soda (salt water is apparently not so great).
Put all of this on a gfi protected outlet (just in case), and have it going outside.

My one concern is that when the solution is fresh, the current between the rusting blade and the anode could be greater than an amp, resulting in a crispy fried power brick. Originally i was thinking of a resistor, but apparently the resistance between the electrode on the razor and the anode will change the more rust is in the water. I guess that means the current will start rapid and slowly decrease as more rust is removed, or perhaps i should consider using a variable resistor.

I'm also aware of the fact that this will only remove rust and will not remove pitting. I'll deal with the pitting another time, maybe a few months down the road . Meanwhile i should be left with a honable (albeit heavily pitted) blade. As soon as the blade leaves the soda bath it's going to take a ballistol bath so it won't rust again. Has anybody else here ever done this? Any tips?

lol

 

[SavantStrike]

lol

That's different. It's baking soda. I wouldn't eat it, and in fact if I did it would give me bad gas/a ruptured stomach (in large enough quantities). Soda that comes in a can/bottle is something that might be directly consumed, and if it's enough to remove black stains from a piece of metal, I don't want to know about it.

 

[AaronX]

might I suggest you actually use washing soda or borax rather than baking soda.

 

[Fnord5]

Interesting. I'll give it a go.