Well bugger me,I've just done the same thing.Even bought the molasses from the horse feed shop

Since when do horses rust (or am I missing the point here)......

They rust on the inside terribly. That's why their owners feed them molasses.

That is why we in Holland say :"You should not look a given horse in the mouth !

How's your molasses experiment coming on, Dave?

I got fed up of faffing around with the little bucket and transferred everything (5L of molasses + 40L of water) to a water butt. The rusty bits are happily sitting in the mix right now, along with one of the back doors off the van.

Lifted one of the pieces out this morning, to have a look. It's coated with a sort of rusty sludge. I chucked it back in, and will leave everything there for several days more.

Same here.I find that it doesnt remove the rust,you have to wire brush it or use some emery cloth on it,but it comes of very easily.
I've got mine in a dust bin.

Definitely working! Just got the bits out and gave them a scrub! Chucked them back in to let chemistry do its job a little more. The battery trays are cleaning up amazingly well. I thought they were gonnas! The rust just fell off when I scrubbed them. Pics to follow!

The mouldy gunk forming on the surface is impressive too.

I'm interested to see the results of this experiment. Any thoughts on using the method with a battery charger and a bucket of ******?






Asterisks represent name of liquid I cannot remember.

Here's a video that shows how to remove rust with a battery and a solution of washing soda (not the same as baking soda, but available from cheapo places like Wilkinson, I'd imagine).


This one shows how to do it with baking soda and a battery charger:


I haven't tried these techniques cos I don't have a spare battery or battery charger at my disposal.


Here's another vid showing the molasses and water technique (no electricity). This takes longer (guy left his stuff in for 2 weeks, and he's in Oz, so the temperature will be higher, meaning that rate of reaction will be quicker):

I might have a crack at that. I have a shotblaster that DaveB gave me but our compressor is too small combined with the grit being too fine and its not quite man enough for anything more than a slight surface rust or scale. The idea of using electricity appeals to me as there's a danger element and. Reckon it should work quicker than just leaving them in molasses. Does anybody else's mind separate that word into 'mole arses'? Mine does.