(^110) themotorhood.com
STEP FOUR
This FE Holden front guard and
others just like it had been out
in the elements since 1981! The
underside was protected with thick
tar underseal, which explains the
slower-than-you’d-expect decay. It
was a prime candidate for showing
how effective the molasses bath is.
The tar and remaining paint aren’t
as easily removed.
STEP FIVE
We could fit two guards diagonally in the tank at the same time, one inverted and one the right way up. It’s
better not to have any excess grease or paint on the parts, as this process is only de-rusting chelating not
complete chemical stripping. Try to aim for complete immersion, as a tideline may eat into your parts if
you leave them unturned for weeks at a time.
STEP SIX
A week later, you will notice that the rust has
miraculously turned to jelly in rather the same
way as paint stripper turns paint to jelly! To
display the real-world results, the panel in the
photo above was taken directly out of the
tank with no washing whatsoever. The shiny
metal is just where the rusty gel had fallen
off during handling. A hose and scrubbing
or a pressure clean will remove the rusty gel
leaving shiny steel. We cleaned the worst off
then returned the panel to the tank, as a week
was only long enough for it to be half done!
We had to manually scrape off the underseal
tar, as otherwise the molasses wouldn’t touch
it or the rust trapped underneath it. The below
photo shows the inside straight out the bath
with no scrubbing at all.
STEP SEVEN
This is the way the panel
looked after two or three
weeks of soaking and
being taken out only once
a week and given a mild
scrub just out of curiosity
to see its progress. The
molasses chelating leaves
a thin protective phosphor
coating, so you don’t
have to do much more
than wash the part with
clean water to remove
the syrup. Scrubbing will
remove the phosphor
coating, and the metal will
rust instantly. That is why
we scrubbed only once a
week during the process;
that way, when the part
was removed from the
tank for the final time,
most of the phosphor
coating remained.
frankie
(Frankie)
#1