Decrudding w/TSP--necessary to disassemble?

Hi all, new to the group.

I've acquired a 1923 11" that's caked with crud and many layers of paint. I'm attempting the TSP solution as directed by a South Bend archive site, but I've run into the following quandary.

The apron is not disassemble-able. It's off the carriage, but some of the shafts have wedges in them, etc.

So a few questions:

1. Is it kosher to submerge the apron into a TSP bath with some parts attached?

2. Is heat necessary for the TSP to do its thing? I was doing great with a hot bath, but my hotplate/stirrer is kind-of old and I don't feel comfortable leaving it overnight, etc.

3. Why are my parts not rusting? Is air necessary for rust to form?

Thanks all, I really derive a great deal from this forum.

Allan

Hello-
I didn't use anything like TSP to clean my 1948 'A'. It was filthy and really caked up. What I did do was take it apart into main subassemblies then attacked it with a small 1400 psi pressure washer after spraying it with non solvent based locally available cleaners. I did this against some local advice that said water would get in the wrong places. I went ahead anyway, kept blasting until almost all crud was gone then dried with compressed air, then WD40 on it all. This allowed me to further disassemble and clean each subassembly part by part. Then you can see what you are doing. Worked great for me, but this is a very dry climate so I had zero rust problems.
Hope this helps-T.

What Tman said! I've done the same thing several times, minus the pressure washer, with good results. One tip, do this during a sunny day. Even in winter this will help evaporate the water before you get rust.

Ted