Cleaning up log chains.

[JDseller]

I have 10-15 log chains that get used to tie down things being hauled or just needing a pull. I have them hanging on a rack that keeps them sorted. The problem I have been having the last 4-5 years it the darn liquid calcium that the state is using to keep the roads clear. It just rusts the chains terrible. Not big flaking rust but makes them real nasty to handle.

I had a guy that delivered some things a while back that had painted all of his chains. He said that he just would spray paint them when he bought them. Yes they get chipped where you hook them but the rest was real clean and rust free. So I wanted to do it to mine.

I started out with one and just washed it off in some paint thinner. Then I painted it with spray paint. It looked good for about a week them the paint fell off. I looked and the rust under that paint did not let the paint bond to the steel.

I was wondering about using Electrolysis to clean them up. Would it work?? I was thinking about using a twenty gallon kitchen garbage can. Put a steel plate with a wire in the bottom. Then make a rack to hold the chain in loops across the inside of the can. Would this clean them back to bare steel??

If I can get them relatively rust free I am going to try dip painting them. I just want them so you can handle them without looking like you fell in a rusty barrel.
 

[BCnT]

have you got some clean ground thats a lil sandy???
hook em on the back of your 4 wheeler and drag em around till theyre shiny...then paint...gravel road will work too.
 

[RickieBlue]

I think if I had that problem I would shorten a 55 gallon drum to about 24 inches and weld the head back on after welding about 4 pieces of angle iron in it...cut a 12 inch hole in the center of the head, mount it to a rear wheel on the tractor, add a couple scoops of crushed stone..throw a couple chains in her and go and work a field or go for a ride.
 

[BigMarv1085]

Thats what I do is just drag them in a plow field
 

[casecollectorsc]

When I was in the Army we cleaned chains by dragging them down a gravel road. Hook about 10 to a wrecker, lift them up and drop in 5 gallons thinner, lift out to dry and drop in 5 gallons of paint, lift out to dry. Course if they are 20 footers probably only 4 or so in 5 gallons.
 

[Lou from Wi.]

Put them in a cement mixer with sand or sandblaster sand, turn it on and let em go.Cleans em like new.LOU
 

[Cal Innes]

As already mentioned, I use a cement mixer with a mix of dry gravel and sand. Works slick! I have an old electric mixer and I can set it to working and walk away and do other things while they are getting cleaned up.... maybe an hour depending on how rough the chains are.
Cal
 

[gene bender]

Just dragem down s grsbrl road that will shinem up
 

[showcrop]

Take two 5 gallon buckets. put a chain in one then a gallon of phosphoric acid then add water until the chain is covered. leave it in for an hour. then fill the other bucket with water, transfer the chain to it, leave it in for an hour while second chain is in acid bath. remove first chain to dry. It is now coated in black iron phosphate. you can top-coat if you want or leave them, but they are now protected.
 

[Gene Dotson]

I once found a chail with my chisel plow shank. Don't know how long it was dragging there, but was cleaned up nice and shiny. No telling how long it had been buried, but had a nice chain.

Hace hearc of fastening the chain to a moldboard plow and letting the dirt clean them.

Gene
 

[RBnSC]

What we do is let the machines leak a little oil and over grease them. That way every time you use them on the lowboy they get a fresh coat. Down south we don't have a problem with calcium in fact I never heard of loading tires with calcium until I read about it here on this forum. But I did have a job taking out a Marina with about 3600ft. of 7ft wide floating dock. We would haul 3 30ft sections at a time on our trailers. Now that caused some rust problems.
Ron
 

[S.Crum]

The cement mixer idea works pretty good as several have said here. Cleans up the hardened on stuff inside the barrel of the mixer that was left by the last guy that borrowed the mixer too.
 

[Allan in NE]

You're makin' this harder than it is. :>)

Hook 'em to your favorite tractor and go for a mile ride down a gravel road draggin' the chains.

Allan
 

[Royse]

JD, I've never tried electrolysis on chains, but I don't think it would work well.
From my limited experience with it, electrolysis works essentially in "line of sight"
so I don't believe it would clean all the way around and through.
 

[Dachshund]

I just cleaned one awhile back by putting it in a plastic bucket with Muratic (hydrochloric) acid and water. You need to rinse, then blow dry, then oil or paint.