Did a search on cleaning rust off of metal and found the product above. Read a few reviews that said this stuff rocked and it is environmentally friendly so I thought I would give it a try.
I have not fought in the SCA since Pennsic in 2007; my maille avintail got really wet last time I wore it and was getting rusty on the field and I basically have had it in storage since then and for over a year it was in a storage place or a garage. Needless to say when I took my helmet out of the bag the maille was pure orange in color. A real test for any product that claims to remove rust.
So I went to tractor supply yesterday and got a gallon of evapo-rust; cost about $20. Put may aventail in a bucket and pored half the container in to cover it. Instructions said 30 minutes would take off light rust but for hardcore stuff let it sit over night. I checked after a couple of hours and I was amazed to see 95% of the rust was gone.
I let the bad areas soak overnight and now the maille is clean. I toweled it off and let it air-dry the rest of the way and no flash rusting occurred. It is dry and sitting in the basement now; looks as good as new. I have to give this product a big thumbs up.
Next I am going to blacken the maille before putting it back on the helm.
