The Armour Archive

I'm interested to know what modern types of paint / primer are best to use on mild steel and also which oils would be best to prevent rust and not mess with the metal. any input would be greatly appreciated!

Ballistol works well as a general lubricant and won't bother leather straps.

For paint/primer I like tractor/implement enamels.
The trick with these is to make sure the metal is clean and fallow the directions.
Light even coats.

I protect my mild steel with AD2000 anti-rust lubricant.

There is also AD2000. http://www.brenkir.com/product/-ad3000- ... -lubricant

You'll find it at car parts stores. designed to prevent rust on the undercarriage. I sprayed my helm and other gear with it (and rubbed it on, let it dry, wiped off excess) and had no rust whatsoever after a full season in the Pacific Northwest, including a ton of sweat and some rain. It penetrates and inhibits any existing rust as well as preventing it. Once it has sat for like 30 min and you wipe away the excess, it is not greasy at all.

And should your mild get some rust on it, Rust Reformer will passivate that rust. It needs light rusting to make it work. Goes on a very icky shade of pale green, reacts to black as it dries, makes a good primer for a coat of Rust-Oleum spray paint, which brand has been a go-to for decades. Even more thorough is Rust Reformer + primer + spray paint. Follow Rust Reformer's directions exactly, so you don't react the entire canful by mistake. Very good for inside a helmet, lasts.

Moving to the oil end of things, the above suggestions are great ones, but any oil at all is better than none. Particularly if teamed with a high polish; smoother metal has less micro-surface area for rust to get a toehold. Just a light spray if you get that kind, or a wipe with a lightly oily rag which you can keep in your armor bag for the purpose.

Evapo-Rust removes rust, non-toxic to humans and is will not corrode other materials. It's a chelating agent that binds only with iron oxide. It looks like yellow water so I am sure it would stain materials that would absorb water. Soak overnight and rust is GONE! You can keep using the same fluid over and over until all of the chelating agent is used up (but the fluid gets pretty yucky). About $10 per gallon from your local auto parts store.

I paint my metal with Rust-Oleum. Comes in silver, too.

If you're also looking at a spray-on rust prevention agent, consider Fluid-Film. It's a lanolin-based anti-corrosion agent instead of an oil. Seems to have a bit better "staying" power than oil (but it gets all over everything and stains just like oil does). I have been using it on my mild steel and mail. It does have a different smell, like a perfume-free hand lotion (but stronger).

For preventative, there is an authentic option: use olive oil... Is there ANYTHING it can't do????

Glen: Sucks as a "personal lubricant". starts out ok, but just no.

RoundTop wrote:Glen: Sucks as a "personal lubricant". starts out ok, but just no.

TMI dude....

Steerpike wrote:

RoundTop wrote:Glen: Sucks as a "personal lubricant". starts out ok, but just no.

TMI dude....

Blame Glen K. He challenged for anything Olive Oil can't do. Challenge was accepted and won. The additional squick factor was a happy coincidence.

Glen K wrote:For preventative, there is an authentic option: use olive oil... Is there ANYTHING it can't do????

My experience has been that olive oil (same with vegetable oil and corn oil) just got sticky and never fully dried out when I put them on things. Maybe you've had different results, but my experience has been that linseed (flax) oil is a better option. Wipe on several thin coats, allowing each to dry before applying the next.

Carnauba based wax for hardwood floors is also good for preventing rust on steel. The directions for use on wood are usually printed on the can it comes in, and the same works well on metal - especially when the metal is slightly warm.

Or Lanolin. Also has the nifty feature of not spontaneously combusting like olive and linseed oils can. We has a member some years back that lost his house when the oils on his armour combusted and burnt down his house.

I've also used Fluid Film a lanolin based anti-rust lubricant. Though I don't get much rust. The only mild steel I have is my helm and it's blackend with linseed oil.
http://www.theruststore.com/Fluid-Film-C67.aspx

I use a linseed oil and beeswax blend, seems to work really nice BUT you really have to work it in. Does produce a nice finish.

I'm not sure if the stuff that has been listed is already in it but what about baby oil?

It's mineral oil. Doesn't suck as personal lubricant. Removes easily with soap and water.

Yes... I was forgetting auto wax. Another go-to for exterior shininess as well as bouncing the raindrops. Better than spray clear-coat as it doesn't chip through differential stiffness like some keep-it-shinies we've tried. It's softer than the metal and so conforms with it when dented, though as such it's more prone to getting wiped away in a skidding impact, but less so than an even softer more fluid oil. Reapplication is simple and swift, though.

So baby oil is fine then ?

Yes. Any oil is simply a barrier to air and water in this use. Put it in a cloth, wipe it all over the metal.

Most of my black powder firearms are coated in a mixture of rendered bear oil, beeswax and lanolin.

RoundTop wrote:Glen: Sucks as a "personal lubricant". starts out ok, but just no.

Maybe that's your fault...

Animal fat does work well too, but as I said I'm suggesting period solutions. There's plenty of modern items that can do a great job, heck, just wet down a rag with 3-in-1 and wipe it down.

Crusaderfacex, have you picked up on the trick of painting the interior of all your mild steel armor to cut your routine maintenance in half? If you eventually see a rust patch in there, you can rescue that with Rust Reformer too.

Unless you're fighting in salt air, mild steel is okay material without too terribly demanding maintenance. We've gotten used to materials and durable coatings that are, well, miraculous compared to what the medievals had -- but still, the old stuff carries on and does all right. Hey, if you're doing your fighting in the Principality of the Sun, rusting is only a small problem. Trimaris, okay, there you've got a lot more.

Primvs Pavlvs wrote:Most of my black powder firearms are coated in a mixture of rendered bear oil, beeswax and lanolin.

and man juice

RoundTop wrote:Glen: Sucks as a "personal lubricant". starts out ok, but just no.

Popeye never complained...

I'm going to put in a word for 'Fluid Film' as well, though for collectors displaying pieces, I use good old fashioned Simoniz car wax. Olive oil turns into a yellow plasticy (emphasize 'icky') film, and at the very least would need to be mixed with other substances to yield something acceptable. Oh, and it's lousy for frying food, too. You'd better keep the temperature really low.

Any vegetable oil will smoke if you get it hot enough. Olive oil does fine for frying, particularly if you're not leaving the burner on High. It may be your rangetop is at fault by running too hot.

You want frying that's hard to avoid burning it, try frying in butter. Best you have all your prepwork ducks right in a row, or you're cooking à beurre noir whether you wanted to or not.

Olive oil has a better margin of error.

It's mineral oil. Doesn't suck as personal lubricant

degrades rubber.

And from an authentic nerdy point of view there is no evidence the inside of armour was ever painted with anything for any reason.

There are a few period ms that deal with painting on iron but the most easily available is thr treatise 'On Diverse Art's by Theophilus, pb Dover Books and dirt cheap.

I use ordinary modern oil paint. Needs good prep and sensible drying conditions but apart from the occasional addition of accelerators for the drying, as long as you choose period correct colours then it works fine. The Dover book by Daniel V Thompson on medieval painting techniques will let you know about use of pigments in the period, its a fantastic book.

I used to use olive oil as that's what was available at the time and is clearly documented as such, as well as the carrier for abrasives for polishing but I find it dries dark and is a bit sticky even after months and is hell to clean off once semi dry. Ballistol is great and I'm now also using a car wax for most of my bits, a lot easier.