Quick electrolysis question

[LByles]

When a relic is cooking (bubbling/making current) but not quite “good enough” as other relics have done, would you add more water or more electrolyte? I know if the water level goes down, you can add more water without adding the electrolyte bc I read that won’t evaporate, just concentrates the solution. I’ve had some stuff I’ve cooked and it bubbled like crazy and cleaned up quickly. But some objects of the same size don’t cook as well? My anode is clean, I use distilled water and arm and hammer washing soda. Just curious. I notice some spots will clean easily on some objects and everything comes off uniformly. Others have “tough” spots that seem like the crud just won’t come off. Move the negative closer to those areas? I try to clip it to the cleanest spot possible and also rotate the object I’m cooking every now and then. Thanks!

 

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[Tomtom401]

I usually move the negative closer and will notice more bubbling.

 

[LByles]

I do keep the negative as close to the anode as possible and also flip. Still getting these stubborn spots

 

[Tomtom401]

Try soaking in some Evapo-Rust for a day.

 

[LByles]

Try soaking in some Evapo-Rust for a day.

I’ll have to look that up and try it. Currently working on an ax head with some thicker spots of crud.

 

[pa plateau hiker]

Deep pockets of crude will have to be dug out with a sharp point. I've had iron in the electrolysis solution for days and there will always be deep pockets of rust.

 

[LByles]

Deep pockets of crude will have to be dug out with a sharp point. I've had iron in the electrolysis solution for days and there will always be deep pockets of rust.

Ah ok. I’m fairly new to electrolysis and have been doing mostly things I’m not worried about messing up. But I’d like to try restoring this ax head and putting a handle on it. I’ve noticed the edge starts chipping away the longer it cooks. I took it out this morning and will try the sander on it this weekend to remove the bulk rust areas. But I wasn’t sure if there was some trick to removing it in the tank. Thanks!

 

[pa plateau hiker]

I have seen numerous photos of "finished" electrolysis iron posted here on Tnet and a lot of the iron still has pockets of rust. Even if you seal the finished iron from the elements, those pockets will eventually flake off and continue to rust.