On Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:10:17 -0500, Bob Engelhardt
wrote:

Ed Huntress wrote:
Have you tried plain washing soda with the carbon wand? ...

I'm generally skeptical when I see formulas like Ted's.

Yeah, me too. But I have the ingredients, and a triple-beam balance,
so I just used his formula as-is.

Ed's Red is
another one. My suspicion is that the formula (ingredients used and
proportions) is sufficient, but not necessary. I.e., it works, but it
might work in much different proportions as well. I wonder how much
experimentation went into it. Or, was just a bunch of stuff thrown
together, TLAR fashion. (TLAR - That Looks About Right.)

I'm especially skeptical of Ted's because I have done _some_
electrolytic derusting using just TSP. Very little & no comparative
tests, but it worked well enough with just TSP that I probably wouldn't
bother trying anything else. I reported it on RCM; here is thread:
http://tinyurl.com/7y3wqgn

Bob

Next time I do some de-rusting I'll try simpler formulas -- if I
remember. That's becoming increasingly problematic. d8-)

I also intend to try some dilute sulphuric acid. I don't expect to be
able to electropolish, but I'd like to see if I can eliminate that
black oxide that the other formulas often leave behind.

--
Ed Huntress