There's been a few offers of complete chassis's for sale recently, and now an armoto flatpack chassis which is unused and no longer needed AND has been stored for 6 months...

All of these offers have included the usual "There is some light surface rust which isn't a problem if you're having it blasted/powder coated" etc....

I've heard about the electrolysis method for de-rusting (although I do need to do some more research since I'm not 100% on exactly how it works) but I dont think this will be very good for chassis tubes & rails due to their size.

Am I right in thinking I'll only need to de-rust the area's where I'll be welding i.e. the ends of the tubes and anywhere else the tubes will meet?

If it's as easy as this, will a wire brush and some sand paper be enough to remove the rust?

I've only had my welder a week and I'm still practising, so still getting the hang of it...

Thanks in advance, paul w!

yeah, just rub the ends with fine sand paper, or wire brush. no need for electrolysis for light surface rust like that. while you're welding the whole thing up, the surfaces will rust again anyways.

cant see why electrolysis wouldn't work.

I bet it would, Kiddies paddling pool and move the anode around a bit

^ just a bit extreme for a little surface rust

I agree with liam.mccaffrey but wait till after xmas to buy the pool /plastic sheet lined hole in the ground! as will be cheaper in the sales (woolworth may have a pool cheap before it closes

i semi seriously thought about this a while ago - the consensus was are you 100% sure your chassis is water tight. If its not you'll introduce water into the chassis tubes that over time will rust.

I think for small components with lots of nooks and cranny's, electrolysis is the way forward since it makes life so much easier. But for a straight uniform flat surface (as with box section), a wire wheel in a grinder will make life easier, especially if I just touch up the ends and other points where tubes will meet with welding

Thanks for the tips

Fill a swimming pool with molasses in a 10:1 mix. leave item in it for 48 hours. Done. No power supply, no caustic soda. Just molasses, water and time....

I know everyone here loves electrolysis but molasses rules

Otherwise try Deox gel from bilt + hamber...

For flat surfaces like box section, some sand paper will do fine. Ok, it's a bit of effort, but since when did exercise hurt anyone that much?

I'd go for a wire brush in an angry grinder, followed by preparation with something like POR-15's Metal Ready, which converts any remaining rust to something else (phosphate?).

The only down-side to Metal Ready is that you have to rinse everything down afterwards - try not to get the water into the tubes, or do it on a hot summer's day (like I did), or warm the chassis up afterwards.