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Some of you have probably used this technique, but there may be a lot of people who have never heard of using a molasses bath to remove rust from fall off parts. I have used this method to clean up most of the front suspension parts from my '71 Cutlass "S" and if you are not in a hurry it saves a lot of elbow grease.
I used a 20 gallon tote which held parts up to the control arms and bumper brackets. The mixture is 1 part molasses to 9 or 10 parts water. Mix it up in the tote, drop in the rusty parts and let them soak for 10 days - two weeks.
When you pull them out they will have a coating of the dissolved rust which will wash off. I used a stainless pot scrubber to clean them up. Most parts will immediately develop a fine surface oxidation which will come off by buffing with a wire wheel. From there I hit hem with a degreaser and they were ready to paint.
I would think molasses would be more expensive than using industrial chemicals. You would need a lot of molasses to fill a pot big enough to put those parts in.
Ag grade molasses is pretty cheap at a feed store. I think it contains a fair amount of phosphorus / phosphoric acid, so sounds like another way to achieve the same results as other phosphoric acid based rust removal options.
Coca-Cola will do the same thing as it is full of phosphoric acid. Local fast food restaurants as well as food supply warehouses get this in undiluted containers. It's worth a shot to ask but then again cost might be an issue. Just throwing it out there.
I get the same results using apple cider vinegar and its supper cheap by the gallon. A friend uses a kiddy pool and does door panels. I have used it for lots of different parts
It is pretty cheap when you consider the mix is one gallon to 10 gallons of water. It should be agricultural food grade molasses, the kind that is mixed in cattle or horse grain for food. The hot rod crowd has been using this for years. Go on the HAMB (Hokey *** Message Board) website and search for molasses derusting. The only problem is as it gets older in the tote, it developes bacteria and smells something awful.
Feed stores are the best source for cheap Ag grade molasses in bulk. Buying it at the grocery store is expensive and most of them only sell it by the pint. If the feed store doesn't have it, they will usually know where you can get it locally. Amazon is another option.
I mixed up a 10 gallon batch and over a period of about 6 months, I de-rusted and cleaned up both left and right A-frames, spindals, rotors and calipers, the front and rear bumper brackets plus numerous linkage rods, shims, nuts and bolts. My experience with this car has been that if it isn't rusted, it's going to be rusted and broken. I'm just trying to get the car stabilized, cleaned up and running again. It's been parked for over 25 years.
Like I said before, if you're not in a hurry and don't want a toxic mess to get rid of when you are done, this is a method to clean up your parts with no big investment. The down-side is; don't do this anywhere inside and wear gloves. It will stink up the place and stink up your skin.
Buying it at the grocery store is expensive and most of them only sell it by the pint. The down-side is; don't do this anywhere inside and wear gloves. It will stink up the place and stink up your skin.
This stuff is bio-degradable after you get through with it, it can be poured on your yard for fertilizer.
What about simple green .
When I was younger "one of my first jobs" I worked on a portable hammer mill grinding feed on farms . We used molasses that stuff tasted awful . I'm pretty sure it's different from the stuff you buy at the super market.
Railguy
