Cleaning iron/steel

[PAshooter]

I've seen some before & after photos of BADLY corroded iron artifacts (you know, the kind in all my pics hehe), that cleaned up very nicely with no trace of the rusty corrosion blobs left except for clean pits. How is this done? I'm thinking electrolysis - perhaps for a lengthy amount of time and using a higher-amperage xformer?

My search online so far has been fruitless, so ANY guidance on this is much appreciated, as I have some barely-recognizable stuff that I would love to see cleaned up. I'm sure alot of you do as well!

Thanks

 

[Daniel A.]

Muriatic acid is what the steel industry uses you can buy weak solution at hardware stores. Dan

 

[GRAY GHOST]

hi pashooter, i'm sometimes asked, " how did you get that piece of iron looking that good?" so maybe i can impart some wisdom to you. first, tap the piece lightly with a small hammer to remove the major encrustations. if it's still ugly in form, i'll either steel brush or grind the piece down. next, wipe the piece down to remove the dust. spray the piece with a coat of polyurethane. let dry, then paint with a high quality paint. the idea is to stop the rusting process, restore the piece, and these steps do just that.

 

[tabdog]

Hay Shooter,

WARNING: DON"T DO THIS WITH AMUNITION.

It is a good idea to heat it in an oven for a while it remove all moisture.
It can continue to rust from the inside if this is not done. That will ruin
your efforts to preserve it later on.

You can use a hand wire brush, but it's a lot of work.

I use a wire brush on an electric 6" grinder.

HH,

 

[coinnut]

Hi, first it's important to know if the item is steel or iron. Most colonial iron objects look pretty good right from the ground, as opposed to the steel of the 1850's and up era. I've heard that some people just leave their iron on rock in their yard and let nature do most of the work, occasionally tapping it all over with a small hammer. A wire brush will help smooth it out. Some people even get a fire going and put it in, to get it hot and then oil dip it for that good color. Steel on the other hand is completely different. The rust is usually major and very internal, as well as external. If you remove the rust, which you must, you will probably lose a lot of the original look. I've had items disintegrate when cleaned! Don't have a good answer except the answer that was already given by the other guys. Tap it, brush it, get the dust off, heat dry it, and seal it. This won't get all the rust off, but it dries it out internally, and coats it, so that it doesn't let the enemy (oxygen) in. That's about all you can do. Hope this helps.

 

[PAshooter]

Good stuff, thanks all!