Parts de-rusting idea number 3,000,639

[RedMF40]

This idea for de-rusting metal parts involves a cement mixer, some sand and pea gravel and maybe a little water. You probably know where I’m going with this.

After soaking some heavily-rusted parts in a vinegar bath for about a week, most of the rust is pretty well dissolved. Just remains a thin surface layer that can be wire-wheeled off if I had about 300 hours to kill. My objective is to get the parts to where they can be painted.

I thought about those rock tumblers that people use to polish rocks. Why not apply the same thinking to metal parts? Put a mix of sand and rocks and water together, toss the parts into the cement mixer, and go have a sandwich. Or maybe check in next day. Or the day after.

I know there is probably something I’m not taking into account, so let me know why this idea will or won’t work if you don’t mind. Will it set the whole mixer to vibrating horribly—sending people fleeing in terror? I’m aware the operation will make a racket, but I can just leave it alone in my workshop—maybe it’ll convince the critters who live there that’s it’s time to move to a quieter neighborhood.

Since I know that I’m just one of many crackpots dreaming up labor-saving ideas, I’m sure that someone—somewhere—has tried this.

I welcome any thoughts before I go out and buy a second-hand cement mixer.

Gerrit

 

[Mule Meat]

I am thinking that a bunch of metal parts in a cement mixer would destroy the drum. Be it Metal or Poly.

 

[RedMF40]

I am thinking that a bunch of metal parts in a cement mixer would destroy the drum. Be it Metal or Poly.

Steel isn't thick enough?

 

[Factotum]

Interesting idea. It might round off edges that shouldn't be rounded off though.

 

[Loosehandle]

This idea for de-rusting metal parts involves a cement mixer, some sand and pea gravel and maybe a little water. You probably know where I’m going with this.

View attachment 6861After soaking some heavily-rusted parts in a vinegar bath for about a week, most of the rust is pretty well dissolved. Just remains a thin surface layer that can be wire-wheeled off if I had about 300 hours to kill. My objective is to get the parts to where they can be painted.

I thought about those rock tumblers that people use to polish rocks. Why not apply the same thinking to metal parts? Put a mix of sand and rocks and water together, toss the parts into the cement mixer, and go have a sandwich. Or maybe check in next day. Or the day after.

I know there is probably something I’m not taking into account, so let me know why this idea will or won’t work if you don’t mind. Will it set the whole mixer to vibrating horribly—sending people fleeing in terror? I’m aware the operation will make a racket, but I can just leave it alone in my workshop—maybe it’ll convince the critters who live there that’s it’s time to move to a quieter neighborhood.

Since I know that I’m just one of many crackpots dreaming up labor-saving ideas, I’m sure that someone—somewhere—has tried this.

I welcome any thoughts before I go out and buy a second-hand cement mixer.

Gerrit

I do something similar but with hardware I manufacture. My tumbler is like a giant rock tumbler made from a large gravity wagon tire and a couple disc blades clamped on where the rim would be. A couple pieces of angle iron bolted inside to stir things up .

 

[showcrop]

This idea has come up before. It seems that it would work fairly fast, and it certainly won't hurt the mixer since steel is softer than rock. After most of it is clean you will still have rust in the pits so you will want to kill that rust with phosphoric acid.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

This idea for de-rusting metal parts involves a cement mixer, some sand and pea gravel and maybe a little water. You probably know where I’m going with this.

View attachment 6861After soaking some heavily-rusted parts in a vinegar bath for about a week, most of the rust is pretty well dissolved. Just remains a thin surface layer that can be wire-wheeled off if I had about 300 hours to kill. My objective is to get the parts to where they can be painted.

I thought about those rock tumblers that people use to polish rocks. Why not apply the same thinking to metal parts? Put a mix of sand and rocks and water together, toss the parts into the cement mixer, and go have a sandwich. Or maybe check in next day. Or the day after.

I know there is probably something I’m not taking into account, so let me know why this idea will or won’t work if you don’t mind. Will it set the whole mixer to vibrating horribly—sending people fleeing in terror? I’m aware the operation will make a racket, but I can just leave it alone in my workshop—maybe it’ll convince the critters who live there that’s it’s time to move to a quieter neighborhood.

Since I know that I’m just one of many crackpots dreaming up labor-saving ideas, I’m sure that someone—somewhere—has tried this.

I welcome any thoughts before I go out and buy a second-hand cement mixer.

Gerrit

A tractor rim may not fit in a cement mixer.
I wouldn't want to put a carb in a mixer.
My last pic is this the rim in the second pic.
I used black rustoleum paint
before using Flex seal as recommended by my tire shop to fill in the hole.
Then I put in a tube and it has worked for years.

 

[RedMF40]

This idea has come up before. It seems that it would work fairly fast, and it certainly won't hurt the mixer since steel is softer than rock. After most of it is clean you will still have rust in the pits so you will want to kill that rust with phosphoric acid.

I'm sure I'm not the first one to think of it. Wonder how it worked out for others? Media blasting is the obvious choice but I'm not going to get into that. Compressor isn't big enough and I don't want the extra equipment around. I could actually use the cement mixer for its intended purpose when I'm not cleaning parts.

 

[treeman53]

Industrial tumble blasters work on that concept.

 

[Charles in Aus.]

A similar use for fuel tanks .
I strapped the tank from a 1952 TED Ferguson to a concrete mixer and put a few lead sinkers into it along with a length of light chain .
Wrapped in a blanket so it wouldn't be damaged and rotated for two hours . Inside looked very clean , none of the previous rust and scale . The TED tank has two sections and a baffle , where the chain couldn't reach the sinkers did .
Yes the noise is horrendous.

 

[RedMF40]

A similar use for fuel tanks .
I strapped the tank from a 1952 TED Ferguson to a concrete mixer and put a few lead sinkers into it along with a length of light chain .
Wrapped in a blanket so it wouldn't be damaged and rotated for two hours . Inside looked very clean , none of the previous rust and scale . The TED tank has two sections and a baffle , where the chain couldn't reach the sinkers did .
Yes the noise is horrendous.

Good idea. That mixer must have some weight to not be thrown off-balance by the tank. Not your light homeowner model.

 

[504]

You can’t spin the mixer too fast because the items in it have to fall

 

[Hemmjo]

I have done this with a cement mixer that fits the 3-point and PTO on my tractor. I did remove the paddles used for concrete and replaced them with much smaller “agitators” made from 1” angle iron.

The parts should not be banging and clanging together. There just needs to be constant motion between the parts and the media.

While sand and rocks will work, something like coal slag is sharper and works faster.