derusting with molasses

I've been using this molasses method for the last six years, and have derusted a lot of parts. I use one part molasses to ten parts water, and buy the molasses from feed shops (about 17 bucks for a 30 pound pail). My 4 foot long by two foot high and two foot deep tank takes two pails to fill. Got a bigger tank as well recently, but have not got it ready for use yet. It is big enough to do doors, fenders, hoods etc.

Here are some shots of the B pillars for my 33 coupe - before and after.

I know how it works for me, but I would be interested in hearing if others use this method and how it works for you.

try the photos again, I am not good a putting two up at once, so it might take two posts.

Before......

and after.....

Our much beloved D-Joe has a molasses tank ,too!Good to see the results,makes me wanna give it a try!

That is most impressive Steve
How are the hood panels making out, ya got them in the tank?

Kelly

yep, I have one side in the tank. I want to take comparison photos of the other rusty side, and will post on here. Anybody up in Kamloops use the molasses derusting method?

No body that I know of Steve,but I intend to soon.
I cant imagine a better way to do the same job.
Thanks for the insight.
I have seen a few parts that Davey has done and it is very impressive.

Kelly

ss34coupe,How long did you leave the door pillars soak in the molasses mix? Thanks, Brendan.

Ok... can you guys that have the tanks, please post a how to/ tech artical on how to make/use a molasases tank? I want to see how you made it/ what you used. cause I think what I have in mind is not exactly what you guys have built or use.... lets see what you got!

Some "Tank" idears...

From any size beer cooler. to A childs plastic sandbox with a lid. Some have used an old home oil tank, cut open (large enough to dip a door)

Over at Davey's we have a plastic cube that once held some sort of pulp mill chemical. It's about 4 - 5 ft square. I've had six '32 ford doors in it at one time. Derusting takes about a month. We put a stock heater in it for the winter to avoid the embarrasssing "roadster caught in an ice cube" thing from happening again.

might be a odd question but does the molasses water mix need to be heated to work

No, you don't need to heat it, and the other nice thing about this stuff is that it only goes after the rust, not the metal. You can leave the parts in there for years without fear of desolving parts.
John

tinmann said:

We put a stock heater in it for the winter to avoid the embarrasssing "roadster caught in an ice cube" thing from happening again.

Click to expand...

What do you mean by "again"??

I'll take some pictures of my tank this weekend and post them. It has a bunch of parts soaking in it now.

The general time frame for soaking parts like the B pillars is 3 weeks, although I have had a lot of parts go through that take less time, some as little as a week. Window moldings, for example, with a light coat of rust, don't take that long. But a firewall that is in the tank now only lost about two/thirds of its rust in two weeks, so I put it back in for another week.

The molasses does not have to be heated, although I do think it is more effective when the weather is warmer, as in summer time. I have not tried it in winter, but I guess it would freeze and not work at all.

Any type of steel metal tank will work (not an alloy) or plastic. Fiberglass would probably work as well. The tank should be covered, it makes the process work better, and keeps out animals like cats from drowning.

Will post more later with pictures about how it works from start to finish. Just be warned that it does require a lot of labour, you don't put the parts in and they come out nice and shiny. More later.

oooookay,.... we've used this derusting setup fer a few years now... it is called 'chelation'.... there is an enzyme of sorts in the mollases that attacks only rust.... it will 'not' hurt the ferrous (gray) metal,... altho the tinn guy sez it attacks pot metals..... we've tryed it from 6 to 1,... up to 10 to 1... our main tank is a 450 gal. container that held some ink or?? at one of the pulp mills..... right now there is a 37 ford hood an' side curtains in it... last year we had a lil' assembly line goin' when we pulled my "A" cowl an body parts out... 1 guy rinsing with a pressure washer,...(which removed almost all the rest o' the paint) tinn was metal prepping, another blowdrying,... an' the last guy shootin' some primer on the stuff ta keep the weather off!!....now,.. mollases seems to like attracting mold. we've tryed some fungicide in the tank with mixed success. we just scrape it off an' throw it on the compost heap... and yeah,... if ya don't use a trough heater in this area yer roadster can be froze up fer a spell!!!...... sooo,....... go to yer dictionary an' check out 'chelation',... or ,... 'to chelate'.... an' ya can lick yer pinkies when yer done!! oh yeah,..we don't know how long it lasts,... we've never poured it out!! the rusty sludge is in the bottom o' the tank!! (fiction an' fact from DJo's almanac)!!!

Oh , Davie ,I dont hate you cause your beautiful.

.............cornholers!!...............

Roomer has it that a gallon jug corked and with a small nail hole waited to the bottom of the tank will yield some fine shine. So say my PTP informant.LOL

here's what my tank looks like. Picked it up at a salvage place 6 years ago, and a lot of parts have gone through it. Have a bigger tank as well, but it is not yet ready for use.