Molasses and water rust remover....totally awesome.

[deek]

I stumbled across a fantastic way to get rid of rust with a mixture of 1part feed molasses and 9 parts water.  You mix up the molasses and water in big rubbermaid tub and soak the parts right in it.  It removes the the rust by a process called chelation, whereby, the scavengers in the molasses just want the oxide.  The process doesn't harm good metal at all.  In fact, aussie hot rod builders dip whole car bodies in it to avoid using sandblasting or other approaches that could damage the metal.  I've been cleaning up terrible looking rusted parts this way for about a year and a half and I' m still using the same batch of molasses and water.  It's a bit slow (an engine block takes 2 to 3 weeks) but it unbelievable to me how well it works.  



This is an engine block that had been sitting in a field on Saltspring for years.  This was how it looked the day I put in the solution.

[deek]

This is what it looked like when I took it out three weeks later after just hosing it off.



I don't know why more people don't use this method. It's perfectly safe. You can even spread the old molasses on a garden afterwards. My batch is getting stinky after a year and a half, but if you've got a bunch of old parts that came a with a car and you don't want to chuck them out, try this. It won't work through paint or grease, which can be good or bad dependinding on what you're trying to clean. It's not caustic or acid, but I have read that you shouldn't use it one pot metal. It seems to do a fantastic job on cast iron and brass stuff.

[tony]

Deek , how much does that molasses cost per gallon or whatever , and can you buy it at Buckerfields or locally? I've seen a dozen or so videos of it being used (You Tube)and I think quite a few of them were from Oz.

[deek]

I bought a 2 gallon pail of it at buckerfields for under $20 ($14, I think). That was enough to make 20 gallons of the solution. Some parts come out looked absolutely brand new. It will free-up rusted mechanisms on cable operated parts, rusty hinges., even old crescent wrenches and vises that are rusted frozen. The parts need to soaked right it, though. You can't just brush it on a rusty car.

[Volktales]

Terry (Stude) showed me his molasses trick last year, and it was quite amazing. I have been thinking about trying it out too, but have not got around to it yet. Wasn't it one part molasses to ten parts water??? Interesting three cylinder two-stroke engine. Looks kinda like Don's Saab...

[deek]

I used 1 part molasses to 9 parts water, but I'm sure either way would work fine. I have added additional water now and then to make sure the item soaking is completely covered. It even freed up some seized rods on a DKW crank that had sat outside for years. I wouldn't use that crank, but you get the idea. You pretty much need to treat the item with a rust inhibitor as soon as its rinsed off or paint it.