Elecrolysis.
There are many good YouTube videos on this and a good site that I posted the link for in a previous post. I ain't no science teacher, so don't be expectin' them types of details.
I used: 5 gallon bucket, 6 rebar stakes, wire, wire nuts, a bolt, eye bolt, piece of wood,and battery charger.
I cut the rebar to length, as I didn't want them above the top of the bucket. Next, I drilled a hole for each of the 6 rebar. This was a couple inches from the top of the bucket. I tried to keep them equidistant, but eyeballed it so it ain't perfect. I used copper wire, since it will be above the water line. To ensure good contact, I wrapped the wire around the rebar 3-4 times. Leaving about 1.5 inch tails that I fed thru the drill holes.
After having wrapped the wire around the rebar and putting the tail thru the hole, I joined them together with wire and wire nuts.
DO NOT join them all together! Leave a gap. I added the bolt to have a good contact.
Notice the gap^^^^^. This is the
POSITIVE post.
A scrap piece of wood with eye bolt to suspend the object on and to make a NEGATIVE post.
I use thin metal wire to the object to the eye bolt, as I read that copper can dissolve. It is important to have good contact between the object and wire. You may need to use a wire brush to improve conductivity.
I drilled a small hole about an inch from the eye bolt and pass the wire thru it, then wrap the wire a couple times around the bolt. This hole helps keep the wood from wanting to rotateas the weight is centered.
Next, add water and arm & hammer WASHING soda,
not baking soda! This has do with chemistry- blah blah blah.
I put in ~ 4 gallons of water a table spoon of washing soda/gallon.
This is what it looks like running:
Remember the POSITIVE goes to rebar and NEGATIVE to the object!
Not all battery chargers work the same. I was in Lowe's and saw the cheapest one they had for $20 and it believe it work fine. If the charger use works and everything is connected with good conduct, you should know it is working fine in <60 seconds. You will see bubbling, like if you had a glass of sprite.
The rebar acts like a magnet to rust, but pulls in a "straight" line, this is why multiple rebar helps. I rotate the object a bit because my rebar are not equidistant. This process may take several days. Twice a day, I pull the item and it wipe down and put it back in. I put in a vise and it removed the old paint as well. The original paint came off easily with a wire wheel.
When emptying the water, it will be full of rust, etc. The rebar will need a quick wire brushing because rust is attracted to it.
Disclaimer: water and electricity. Make good choices and not hurt yourself or someone else.