JimGGC
New Member
Hello everyone!
I have a couple of questions regarding electrolysis and the preservation of finds...
This is my second attempt at an electrolysis run. I've got a backlog of stuff that I've been putting off because my last attempts at cleaning went so badly, but I'm determined to do better this summer. I'm using a 24v 3amp laptop charger as my power supply.
1.
I'm having some trouble getting down to bare metal because of this hard black crust. It's like stone. It's very difficult to get off and electrolysis doesn't seem to get rid of it? Or does it? Is it just a case of leaving objects in for longer? I'm worried about overcooking and ruining things. I managed to get it off a Mills bomb spoon with a pick, copper scourer and lots of elbow grease but it's a difficult and time consuming process and easy to scratch things when going at it hard with the pick. Brass wire brushes do nothing to it. Is there an easier way to get rid of the crust?
Here you can see the crust between the segments of an F1 (totally empty and safe of course). It's had several days in the bath. I'd really like to get it finished and on my book shelf!
2.
My other question is about wax boiling.
It's my understanding that unless you remove all the rust from a find, it will always eventually come back. So if you have an object with an internal cavity like a cannon ball, barrel, etc and you run it through electrolysis and then wax boil it, won't it rust and slowly eat itself away on the inside where the electrolysis didn't get to it? And thus it's more a case of slowing the degredation of an object rather than stopping it completely?
It would be great if someone could give a rank amateur some advice.
Thanks,
Jim.
I have a couple of questions regarding electrolysis and the preservation of finds...
This is my second attempt at an electrolysis run. I've got a backlog of stuff that I've been putting off because my last attempts at cleaning went so badly, but I'm determined to do better this summer. I'm using a 24v 3amp laptop charger as my power supply.
1.
I'm having some trouble getting down to bare metal because of this hard black crust. It's like stone. It's very difficult to get off and electrolysis doesn't seem to get rid of it? Or does it? Is it just a case of leaving objects in for longer? I'm worried about overcooking and ruining things. I managed to get it off a Mills bomb spoon with a pick, copper scourer and lots of elbow grease but it's a difficult and time consuming process and easy to scratch things when going at it hard with the pick. Brass wire brushes do nothing to it. Is there an easier way to get rid of the crust?
Here you can see the crust between the segments of an F1 (totally empty and safe of course). It's had several days in the bath. I'd really like to get it finished and on my book shelf!
2.
My other question is about wax boiling.
It's my understanding that unless you remove all the rust from a find, it will always eventually come back. So if you have an object with an internal cavity like a cannon ball, barrel, etc and you run it through electrolysis and then wax boil it, won't it rust and slowly eat itself away on the inside where the electrolysis didn't get to it? And thus it's more a case of slowing the degredation of an object rather than stopping it completely?
It would be great if someone could give a rank amateur some advice.
Thanks,
Jim.