Help with cleaning iron items

[KKinVA]

I spent 4 hours this afternoon digging in the woods. Found a couple old hoes and my first stirrup. Also what appears to be a wagon wheel hub band...maybe. i am not exactly sure....it still has 1 square nail still sticking through a hole. Also found shotgun shells, buckshot, and a few modern bullets. I found an older bullet that appears to be carved into an eagle or bird...face is carved with an eye on each side with a beak. Also some kind of bottle or jar lid with MENTHOLA visible on it...it is crushed. I found a button, but cannot make out any of the letters yet. I have it soaking in olive oil.
How do I clean the iron items and what do I put on them after they are cleaned to stop the rust?
Thanks,
Karen

 

[daryllpugh]

That's a nice carved bullet. It looks like it's a chess piece possibly? Nice finds.

 

[GRAY GHOST]

hi karen, it looks to be some interesting stuff you've found there. the carved piece is neat, resembling an owl. using safety glasses, if an iron piece is heavily encrusted, let it soak in water overnight and tap off the extra crud with a smalll hammer. let it dry, then wirebrush the piece. some use bri wax, clear polyurethane, or a good quality paint to stop the rusting process. any one of the three will preserve iron well.
i sure would like to see the button you found. good luck, and hh,

 

[relics4plus]

Hey Karen, neat finds!.
I clean my iron relics with a wire wheel attached to my bench grinder to get off all of the heavy crust then soak it for about 24 hours in vegtable oil. I also use the methods described by GRAYGHOST as well. The whole object is to stop the rust process. If you do nothing to seal the iron, within months the item could just flake away to nothing. So, it is best to clean and coat it with something.
HH
Jay

 

[KKinVA]

n/t