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

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

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

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

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

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

Click to expand...

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

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.