Molasses to Remove Rust

[basstrix]

After watching the video in this thread Rust Removal I researched a little more and decided to set up my own vat. I used a 55 gallon poly drum and ended up with a 9:1 mixture of tap water and feed grade molasses. I loaded the drum with a rusty set of headers I'm planning to use soon along with a 3514v intake with rusted surfaces. The molasses cost me $23 at the local tack & feed store. The parts soaked for 2 weeks but based on how clean they were, I'm sure they could have been pulled sooner.

Here are a couple of before/after pictures.









Edit (1/16/17): Adding 3 videos. First one was done just prior to the original post in Oct of 2015. The latter 2 were done to observe the possible adverse effect of molasses on painted surfaces.

[video=youtube]

 

[nailpounder]

now thats intersting to say the least

 

[Luke]

I have seen whole flat head engines and boxes soaked in this stuff to un seize them. As it only attacks rust I have always wondered about hardened surfaces on gears cranks etc. Anyway it works great on sheet metal too.

 

[4Vforever]

Use to use the molasses method back when I was doing engines years ago. The best part is it gets rid of all crap from the water jackets in the block and heads and the parts use to come out looking like new. When I first heard about it, I thought the guy who told me was telling me crap. One day I had to deliver or pick up something from his place and he showed me his set up and how parts came out, needless to say that convinced me.

 

[DK73]

Wow that is so awesome News! That's why a Molasses tanks are so clean on the inside. Back when I was a Farmer wee had a big steel container. It was Like New [WINKING FACE] Regards Lars DK73

Sendt fra min D2005 med Tapatalk

 

[Luke]

Use to use the molasses method back when I was doing engines years ago. The best part is it gets rid of all crap from the water jackets in the block and heads and the parts use to come out looking like new. When I first heard about it, I thought the guy who told me was telling me crap. One day I had to deliver or pick up something from his place and he showed me his set up and how parts came out, needless to say that convinced me.

Jason how did it effect face or case hardened parts. I guess if say a crank journal had no rust then its fine but have often wondered how much if any material it removes from critical surfaces

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

They always are tying to come up with something new but this does work better than most.

I see you purchased one of the Harbor Freight blast cabinets. I did also and have a couple suggestions. First off it takes a while to assemble and you need a helper to hold all the nuts while you tighten fasteners. Make sure every little crack is sealed up the dust finds it quick. Look for a shop vac at goodwill to hook up to get the dust out. The hose that hooks to the gun and goes into the hopper to pick up the material is too flimsy, clear, and will collapse under the suction. Go to parts store and get a piece of reinforced rubber hose like for trans cooler that will fit the pick up tube and replace it. Also the gloves or the upper part of the glove did not last long. There are lots of different lengths and diameters on eBay I have got to order a new pair soon. If the material stops flowing put your finger over the nozzle and pull the trigger and make the air go down the suction tube to blow out obstruction. Get you an old sive at goodwill to filter your glass beads or sand or whatever you use. Get you several 5 gallon buckets with lids to store your different materials in. My 80 gallon two stage compressor catches up using the small cabinet and cuts off while using it.

If you are going to blast to remove paint it takes too long. I use liquid paint stripper to get the paint off then blast only the rust. Since you have the tank you will use the cabinet for quick jobs and smaller items.

I use the walnut hulls to blast inner fender plastic parts and things like the honey comb tail light panels. I wash all the road tar and stuff off the inner panels blast them with low pressure with the walnut hulls and them spray them with a semi gloss clear and they look new.

If you blast something that is big and flat you car warp it easily with about any material you use just go easy.

The molasses tank along with a pressure washer is a big labor and head ache saver for sure. Getting all the old paint and rust off the parts before you restore is a big plus.

 

[basstrix]

Thanks David, I appreciate the tips. I put that thing together over the course of a few evenings and this past weekend. It's a PITA, for sure! It's together now but I'm still waiting to add a couple of items before I try it out. I sealed all of the joints with silicone and added a baffle to cover the vacuum port (saw that on a youtube video I watched). I need some fittings to properly install the regulator/filter/separator I bought and I'll be adding a self coiling hose with an air gun for the inside.

Great info on the walnut media for plastics. I've done a ton of bead blasting with an industrial machine so I hope I'm not going to be totally frustrated with this thing. One thing I recall is that rust contaminated the beads pretty badly (another reason I'm happy the molasses works)...I saw where someone said to put some magnets on a screen below the support screen to catch rust...I'm going to try that and see how it works.

Thanks again for the blaster tips,

BT

 

[4Vforever]

Use to use the molasses method back when I was doing engines years ago. The best part is it gets rid of all crap from the water jackets in the block and heads and the parts use to come out looking like new. When I first heard about it, I thought the guy who told me was telling me crap. One day I had to deliver or pick up something from his place and he showed me his set up and how parts came out, needless to say that convinced me.

Jason how did it effect face or case hardened parts. I guess if say a crank journal had no rust then its fine but have often wondered how much if any material it removes from critical surfaces

Luke everything seemed to be fine. I don't think it would have no or very little impact on case hardened parts at all. I've thrown in parts, everything from crusty old bits to pieces that were in really good condition and never had any dramas, like cranks that only needed linishing. All parts would measure precisely as they did before hand as I had the same thought in the back of my mind, because I was told it made no difference by the guy who told me about it and he was exactly correct. One thing he said to me when I asked about if it took any material from parts was, it's full of enzymes just like the expensive washing powder and that's what eats the crud off the material, it has no effect on the material itself.

Before I learnt of this method, I use to use chlorine to eat out the crap in the water passages in cast iron heads and blocks. It was a pain in the ar$€ to set up but got the job done, needless to say, just dropping in the whole bare block and heads in the 44 was heaps easier, plus the castings would look like new after it was all cleaned up. Also with molasses you can do alloys without any dramas, unlike chlorine with aluminium which apparently aren't compatible (don't know, never tried)

 

[Luke]

thanks.

 

[69 Rustang]

9:1 ratio, if it is as written in the original post it says molasses and water so it would be 9 parts molasses 1 part water. But is it the other way around? 9 parts water 1 part molasses?

 

[basstrix]

9:1 ratio, if it is as written in the original post it says molasses and water so it would be 9 parts molasses 1 part water. But is it the other way around? 9 parts water 1 part molasses?

I updated my post so as not to confuse anyone, but technically, it just states 9:1 and then states molasses and water. It does not assign the values to either ingredient. It's so obvious to me that I never even thought about it.

 

[69 Rustang]

Thanks for clarifying, I figure that was what you meant but appreciate the update.

 

[basstrix]

I updated the first post on this thread with some videos to go along with the pictures. Occasionally, there has been discussion about using molasses and often the statement is made that it doesn't damage paint. I've commented, on occasion, that I've had a different experience. It just so happens that one of those conversations took place this morning and had planned to empty my vat today...so I took a couple of short videos.

The purpose of the videos is NOT to discredit anyone, but IS to inform folks that there is a potential for damage to painted surfaces. By no means is this mixture a means to strip paint, but it most certainly does have an adverse affect on the integrity of the paint.