Check out this electrolytic rust removal!

[ChrisL]

Some of you may be watching this B&B thread with interest

Electrolytic rust removal with inexpensive ingredients. Aaron has said that even in light pitting, it appears the process reverses some of the rust back to steel and in a way, regenerates the blade??!

I'm tracking that thread!

Chris L

[Philadelph]

I recall reading somewhere that when this happens and steel is "regenerated" it just turns black and becomes those black stains that are impossible to remove. I'd almost rather have pitting left over than those black stains. I'll keep watching that thread though.

[mparker762]

I recall reading somewhere that when this happens and steel is "regenerated" it just turns black and becomes those black stains that are impossible to remove. I'd almost rather have pitting left over than those black stains. I'll keep watching that thread though.

Probably wustite (FeO). Red rust is Fe2O3, and there's another blue/black form Fe3O4 (magnetite) that is pretty common. Wustite powder is explosive, and magnetite powder is one of the key ingredients in thermite.

Even if you manage to completely strip out the oxygen, the rust is less dense than the original steel (which is why it bubbles and flakes), and converting it back to iron won't restore the original density - it just gets porous which means it's very soft and prone to rusting again at the slightest provocation.

[ByronTodd]

Thank you for that explanation.

[joke1176]

yeah, there's no such thing as metal regeneration. Since it's an inanimate object, no healing.

Still, it works good.