Well, after a good bit of wrestling in the electrolytic bath, the japanning
on an old rusty #7 finally threw in the towel.    Over the years, I have
cleaned  many metal parts using electrolysis (including all of the sheet
metal from a 1959 Farmall Cub Lo-Boy).   Most metal parts give up their rust
in a couple of hours and their paint within twenty-four hours at most.
However, the japan finish on a Stanley plane is a tough nut to crack (even a
very rusty plane).   It took two days in the bath before it started to
blister and three days before it started to peel.

If anyone wants to refinish a user-grade plane, electrolysis the only way to
go.   No toxic chemicals are needed to neutralize the rust and strip the
paint, and the process leaves the substrate in an unmarred condition.


Mark

P.S.  I hope that talking about using electricity to restore old tools is
not banned on this group.    Some people seem to be a little to "everything
has to be human powered" religious.