[philB]

Originally Posted by hazmail

Here ya go- Steam & Engine of Australia - FAQ Derusting with Mollasis -
mix @ about 20:1 with warm water and leave it in for a week or two, you will be amazed. pete

Let me get this right Pete. You dissolve 1 litre of molasses in 20 litres of water. Put in your rusty pistol. Leave it for a week. After which time it ferments and removes the rust. You then filter the liquor and drink it, right ??.

[KcDano]

Yes, could be the wort for a new brew: Rusty Ale!

[Vodkaman]

Dan, where the hell are you going to get your hands on molasses?

Maybe the sell it on-line.

[hazmail]

Phil/Dave- You got it, I think they filter it and call it "BundyRum" here.
You can buy molasses at the places where 'horsie' people go to buy their tac etc, they mix it with their feed to fatten them or something- I'm thinking, not many horses in Malaysia though.
We used to mix it with sand as a binder, when, in a past life, I was working in a foundry, as an apprentice moulder, thats why I'm so fat now. It's a byproduct of sugar cane. pete

[KcDano]

Dave, here is one place you can buy it by the rail car:

Malt Products Corporation - Molasses, Malt Extract, Organic Malt, Agave Syrup, Specialty Sweeteners, Invert Syrups

Pete, I have been reading about molasses and have read several times that it is used for a binder in morter. I am going to a horse stable and inquiry about borrowing some of the molasses. I wonder if the sulfer content is a factor in the rust removal?

[Vodkaman]

Sorry, just a bad joke. Every historic based film of early America has molasses in it.

A binder, never heard of that one before. I guess that is why you hand carve, casting with RTV or PoP is too close to being a job.

[KcDano]

Yes, it was common especially around Mo. I have seen a few of the old sorhgum presses laying around.

[hazmail]

KC -As you have probably read, no one seems to know how it works, it certainly gets a bit woofy after a week or so, so maybe it is the sulfur, or maybe the yeast bugs farting in it, gives off sulphur gas. pete

[Vodkaman]

I found this:

Morris Register of Victoria - Dissolving Rust

interesting stuff.

Another thought, keep the molasses experiment well away from your brewing activities, preferrably the next state.

[KcDano]

The fact it is fermenting and which could possibly lend some efficacy to the process. The addition of yeast could be something to try. The froth most likely is a result of co2 if the stuff is actually fermenting from wild yeast. I have read chelation and ions are responsible for the action, however I will investigate further.