Thread: Molasses 101

Tagged out of curiosity. Cool experiment.

i think lose or no cap is best. just needs to be submerged in the solution thats it. its a very very simple process. ive seen whole cars dipped. what amazes me is that as well as it works its not harmful to us or the earth in any way. and as far as razorshine goes im in lol . reflux is the only way to go with this type of still you can get up to about 98% pure shine. here in ks we can make 2 gallons of hard stuff per year, for self consumption that is not to sell. worst part about this method is the waiting time. a month is a long time to wait when you are watching paint dry lol.

Originally Posted by hellrazor308

here in ks we can make 2 gallons of hard stuff per year, for self consumption that is not to sell. worst part about this method is the waiting time. a month is a long time to wait when you are watching paint dry lol.

Seems to me that the worst part is that you can only make two gallons! They have been making rum for hundreds of years with the leavings of the sugar making process, so why not some razorshine? When I lived in the hills of Tennessee I knew several people who went way over the two gallon limit and made a tidy living from the "excess". As long as they kept their runs within reason and didn't poison anybody, the law left them alone. Actually some of the badge toters were good customers. A friend of mine used to sell "hot Cokes" in his little general store. These were Coca-Colas that had been doctored with moonshine and had been recapped and stored in the farthest reaches of his old slide-top soda cooler and known only to his most "discrete" customers. One day the county sheriff came into the store and reached way into the back of the cooler and snagged a "hot Coke". He popped the cap, tipped his head way back as he took several long swallows, let out a sigh of satisfaction and walked out of the store without paying for his drink. My friend said he was happy to see him go and didn't even ask for the nickel deposit on the bottle.

Regards - Walt

great story walt i know there are plenty who make a good living off shine, my family made a good living off boot leg fish caught out of the kansas river in big nets. my grandfather and uncles have seen the inside of our county jail more than once lol and a hot coke sounds good right about now.

I was curious about how this works. Turns out the molasses mix makes an acid, so basically its similar in principle to most other rust removers like naval jelly and vinegar. I'm assuming that its more gentle, or something in the mix makes it work better since Glen is vouching for it, and I haven't seen him give bad advice.

Something I've wanted to try is using electrolysis for rust removal. Looks dead simple and is supposed to give great results. Unfortunately (or fortunately, I suppose) I haven't had anything rusty enough to try it on. If anyone wants to take a shot, heres a tutorial...

Surplusrifle Forum • View topic - How to make and use an electrolysis tank *PICS*

Originally Posted by Pete_S

Something I've wanted to try is using electrolysis for rust removal. Looks dead simple and is supposed to give great results. Unfortunately (or fortunately, I suppose) I haven't had anything rusty enough to try it on. If anyone wants to take a shot, heres a tutorial...

Surplusrifle Forum • View topic - How to make and use an electrolysis tank *PICS*

I don't think I have any blades kicking around at the moment that are rusty enough to give this a good test, but I do have a couple on their way that will do the trick nicely. I think I'll rig something like this up and give it a shot.

Thanks for the link!

Originally Posted by Cangooner

I think I'll rig something like this up and give it a shot.

I was wondering what might happen if both of these ideas were combined. Maybe take something that is rusty and submerge half of it in the water and baking soda and apply the electrolysis for a set period of time. Then try a 1:10 molasses solution and give the second half of the object an equal amount of time exposed to the electric charge. It would be interesting to see if there was a noticeable difference.

Regards - Walt

Originally Posted by hellrazor308

i think lose or no cap is best. just needs to be submerged in the solution thats it. its a very very simple process. ive seen whole cars dipped. what amazes me is that as well as it works its not harmful to us or the earth in any way. and as far as razorshine goes im in lol . reflux is the only way to go with this type of still you can get up to about 98% pure shine. here in ks we can make 2 gallons of hard stuff per year, for self consumption that is not to sell. worst part about this method is the waiting time. a month is a long time to wait when you are watching paint dry lol.

For long term experiment an air lock is a good thing.
Alcohol will build up to a point then the next natural reaction is to vinegar
if you let in any air.

Originally Posted by Walt

I was wondering what might happen if both of these ideas were combined. Maybe take something that is rusty and submerge half of it in the water and baking soda and apply the electrolysis for a set period of time. Then try a 1:10 molasses solution and give the second half of the object an equal amount of time exposed to the electric charge. It would be interesting to see if there was a noticeable difference.

Regards - Walt

You might try the opposite, molasses than electrolysis. If the molasses leaves anything on the metal it'll pull it off.

I'm going to go ahead and dip some junk blades in some salt water and maybe vinegar and try the electrolysis myself. I've been wanting to test it. I'm hoping in particular that it will pull the paint off some wrought iron I want stripped, but I kind of doubt that will work. Anyway, I'll post the results. If Cangooner has started a thread by then I'll put them in that.

Originally Posted by Pete_S

If Cangooner has started a thread by then I'll put them in that.

I'll definitely start a thread if and when I actually do this. Right now I'm waiting for the rusty blades to arrive.

On a side note, I've read in a couple of places that washing soda may be a better electrolyte as it is less corrosive. Just an FYI for anyone else thinking of trying this. OK Time to stop hijacking the molasses thread!