Moisture Protection\Rust Blocking

[Saxon1974]

Hello all, I tried using the search engine but each search brought back 1000+ posts...

Im curious what you all recommend using for rust protection on mild steel that is affordable and easy to use.

I was initially using 3 in 1 oil but that seems to really attract dust and is messy to work with. Someone suggested using tuff cloth which seems to work great but they are a bit costly to use on an entire suit of 15th century plate armor. I go through an entire cloth each time I wipe it down.

What do some of you that have been at this a long time recommend? I live in Arizona so its pretty dry here which is nice.

Comments on this spray on rust blocker that Windlass sells?

http://www.museumreplicas.com/p-534-win ... ocker.aspx

I know about ren wax but that stuff is costly too, just trying to find something that works well and isn't that pricy.

Thanks for reading.

Stephen

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Wax impregnate it.


I use SC Johnson Paste Wax. The original formula in the squat, yellow, metal cylinder, that's used for wood floors. Usually have to go somewhere like a Home Depot now to find it, though Walmart used to carry it. Its rather cheap, maybe $5-8, and will go a very long way before you even need to start thinking about restocking.

Just rub a paper towel in it to get a smear of wax on it, heat the metal, and wipe it on. You don't need to heat the metal much, just enough to see the water evaporating. It'll be a line of water on the piece, right in front of your torch. You shouldn't need to heat the metal enough to scorch any leather straps you've got attached to the back of the piece, or the interior paint, but you don't want any foam in when you do this, because it will melt, and will make a stinky mess.

After you've kissed the entire surface with the torch, and you don't see any more evaporation happening, rub the waxy paper towel over the surface. It'll run like...well, wax. Just keep reapplying to dry areas as it cools.

Its pretty cool, you're actually evaporating water that is in the structure of the steel, and replacing it with wax. It gets drawn into the pore structure of the metal as it cools.

Once the piece is cool, just gently buff off the excess wax with a soft cloth, and you're good for a year or two of shelf life, or at least 3 to 6 months if its an armour piece seeing semi-regular use. Of course, it does have a small amount of acidity to it, but its effects wouldn't be evident on anything for a few hundred years, so its not a concern for me.


Edit: Forgot to mention, if you do protect it this way, you don't have to worry about getting your hands, your bags, or arming clothes oily every time you touch it. Its dry to the touch, and just feels like steel. I had a mild helmet that would get rusty handprints every time someone touched it. After wax impregnating it, people passed it around, handling it as much as they liked. 2 years, and still not a spot of rust on it.

If you want extra protection, though, you can put oil over the wax. Basically, a double-barrier to water. The wax in the pore structure of the steel, and the oil as a surface barrier. Reapply the wax once a year, rub an oily rag over your stuff once a week, after your practices.

[Dwarlock]

if you're not wanting to heat your metal with the wax (btw this really does work well) I've always used a thin coating of cheap motor oil. I would avoid most gun oils though they are too thin in my opinion, and I've had to scrub rust off of things I've protected that way.

[Nissan Maxima]

armor all

I'm not kidding.

[losthelm]

I like Ballistol its a great oil for the cost, cleans everything and prevents rust its even safe for leather straps.
If you shoot black powder you need this stuff.
The only draw back is it smells like ass

http://www.ragweedforge.com/SharpeningCatalog.html
last item on the page.

[Saxon1974]

Ok thanks for the all the tips I will have to check into those!

Not sure im ready to use a torch yet (Since I dont have one) though.

The one that is safe for straps sounds interesting because its always a pain not to get the straps oily.

Cheers

[Odd]

armor all

I'm not kidding.

Makes sense.. that shit is hell to get off glass.

[es02]

microcrystaline wax would be one way

personally i just wipe each piece down with lanolin and a rag

[Jeff J]

Interesting... Hot wax... hmmm...

I just tried Keegan's hot-wax technique with the Renaissance Wax (microcrystaline). Will see how that holds up.

[Bran MacNiell]

Turtle Wax's liquid wax, Ice.

http://www.turtlewax.com/main.taf?p=2,1,1,1

[Baron Alcyoneus]

You can get Boeing's T-9 at Sears, and I've thought about using some windshield wiper fluid with Rain-X after watching the water roll off the glass while driving down the road...

[sha-ul]

microcrystaline wax would be one way

personally i just wipe each piece down with lanolin and a rag

where did you find the lanolin?
other than hand cleaner, I'm not quite sure where to get it.

[Oskar der Drachen]

Instead of a torch, how about a cheap heat-gun? It gets hot enough to blister off paint, it should get hot enough to drive the water out.

Way easier to use than a torch, and without the fire hazard too!

I'm going to try the heated wax idea myself.

[Larmer]

Great ideas. I am going to have to try some of these once I get the current layer of rust off of my armour.

[Vitus von Atzinger]

I preferred the gooey green turtle wax back in the day.
I'm about to invest in some Ren wax.

For those of you who don't know about this product- you MUST have it if you have any non-stainless plate armour.

http://www.amazon.com/Chromax-bicycle-m ... B000RW7NAQ

I used to use it all the time. I just found it again after a ten-year search (the product changed names). I remember it taking off light patchy surface rust from polished pieces, leaving the finish completely clean like nothing happened.

I was also told about this crap recently by a bike restoration guy.

http://www.autosol.com/metal-care/

[Oskar der Drachen]

How many people simply paint thier armour?

The mostest and bestest one that I can think of is "The SCA's Middle Finger" our own Nissan Maxima.

I do as well, but then I have been in the unfortunate position of having to take extended breaks from active fighting, and it's the only way I have been able to keep my gear in realtively good repair.

There are a couple of good rust conversion primers out there that eat rust, and give a good painting base. You have to keep it painted though which might not appeal to all.

So then, who is painted out there? Pictures & methods?

[Keegan Ingrassia]

To all those trying my method, heat the metal, not the wax!

And, a little handheld propane torch is more than hot enough for this; don't need anything big. Honestly, you could use a candle to do this, it would just take a little longer. I did that on a couple pair of my mailling pliers, after I'd reshaped them. They kept getting rust on the areas where I'd ground them. Not anymore they don't. After 6 years of use, still haven't had to redo the wax.


To be honest, you'll see blacksmiths using my method, when they're working wrought iron. They'll finish their piece, warm it near the forge, and then rub a wax stick across the surface. Protects that black wrought-iron look.
I'd learned it from making metal sculptures. Wasn't until just a minute ago, that I remembered watching a couple blacksmiths and seeing them do the exact same thing.

[Oaken Rose]

I've tried Windlass Rustblocker. It helps, but it won't do the job alone. For a display piece on the wall it would be all you need. For wearing armor, what I did was a coat of rustblocker, and then spray it with WD-40 before donning it. I still got some rust, but I was wearing the armor outdoors 10 hours at a time, rain or shine. If I were to start from scratch, I'd probably try out this car wax idea people keep talking about.

[Konstantin the Red]

microcrystaline wax would be one way

personally i just wipe each piece down with lanolin and a rag

where did you find the lanolin?
other than hand cleaner, I'm not quite sure where to get it.

Try a big fancy health-foods store -- the kind where they have an extensive stock of remedies for this'n'that.

[Johann Lederer]

I just tried EVAPORUST...worked great on my helm and on maille. We shall see how it lasts in the weather...

[Baron Alcyoneus]

microcrystaline wax would be one way

personally i just wipe each piece down with lanolin and a rag

where did you find the lanolin?
other than hand cleaner, I'm not quite sure where to get it.

Try a big fancy health-foods store -- the kind where they have an extensive stock of remedies for this'n'that.

Get a sheep, squeeze it.

[sha-ul]

microcrystaline wax would be one way

personally i just wipe each piece down with lanolin and a rag

where did you find the lanolin?
other than hand cleaner, I'm not quite sure where to get it.

Try a big fancy health-foods store -- the kind where they have an extensive stock of remedies for this'n'that.

Get a sheep, squeeze it.

Can't, sold them a couple years ago.

[TakedaSanjuichiro]

If you don't have a torch an oven set to 125-175 works just as well, just a bit slower. That dry heat sucks the moisture out.

Any of the old fasion auto-waxes, paste wood floor wax, or beeswax works.

If I de-blacken the helm I am working on, tis what I am gonna do... But then I would miss the bacony-smell... mmmmm

-Takeda

[schreiber]

I used a product called Fluid Film in the past, which was a spray-on-wipe-off-excess type of thing. It doesn't smell bad, and if you're not fighting in it it basically won't rust ever.

I've used motor oil before, it's not bad but upkeep is pretty regular.

I'm on paste wax now. Actually what I do is every year I hit the small rust spots with a wire wheel if it really needs it, then 320 and 400 sandpaper, then I buff the whole piece with a sisal wheel and emery compound. The compound leaves a little bit of a waxy surface, and I paste wax on top of that.

I like the paste wax because I just gob it on the leather, too.

I only have to put it on once a year, but there's always one or two spots I need to attend to in the spring. I figure mild steel has a lifespan, and that long before the time light rust kills the piece, I'll have moved on to other needs or desires. I've been fighting in my current helm for 8 years and it gets attacked occasionally, but it still looks good.

[Gwydion Caithnes]

Our household uses WD-40 pretty exclusively. A spray and a quick wipe after using your armor, and you're good to go. I've cleaned my armor, tossed it in the bag, and left it for more than a month without checking, and not had any rust problems. I also keep a microfiber rag soaked with WD-40 in a plastic bag in my armor bag - then you don't even need to carry around a bottle of the stuff.

[Konstantin the Red]

I figure mild steel has a lifespan, and that long before the time light rust kills the piece, I'll have moved on to other needs or desires.

Or an afterlife.

[Aussie Yeoman]

Keegan,

I went ot my local hardware store. Not only did they not know what Paste Wax was, but they only had some beeswax paste and carnauba wax. Would either of those work just as well?

Cheers,

Dave

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Hmm...theoretically, yes. The compound itself isn't crucial, only that it be hydrophobic, and repel water. As long as it is able to remain in the microcrystalline structure of the steel, taking up the space that the water would normally occupy, it should retard the rate of oxidation.

Me, I'd try the beeswax paste. Is the carnauba wax in flake form? The paste will be much less of a headache, in terms of application, than the flakes.

As for the SC Johnson Paste Wax... The first product, short yellow cylinder.


Edit: Whoops, SC Johnson only appears to ship in the US. Sorry, mate. At any rate, a quick google will turn up a dozen different places to order it, that aren't manufacturer direct.

[Aussie Yeoman]

I should have mentioned that...the carnauba wax was in paste form.

Dave

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Whelp, still can't go wrong with beeswax. Its been used for centuries as a waterproofing agent. If price is an issue, however, any wax will work, as they're all hydrophobic.

[armsandarmor]

+1 for ren wax, its what i use. Found it online somewhere for reasonable. Its a microcrystaline wax. I also tried aerospace wax and nautical wax (since tey both protect against salt water). any more I paint all the insides with black rustoleum, then wax over that as well. Vaseline might work, but i havent tried that yet. I used to use motor oil but it only seems to wrok for about 6 months then rust starts growing in places again.

[Konstantin the Red]

I went ot my local hardware store. Not only did they not know what Paste Wax was, but they only had some beeswax paste and carnauba wax. Would either of those work just as well?

I too would say yes, to both of them. Possibly preferring the carnauba; it makes good auto wax and auto wax is what a lot of us use. Sticks to the metal, easy to get and to use. Do you remember what else was included in the "beeswax paste?" I've never seen it in paste form; sounds like it would be intended for waterproofing boots and shoes, and hence something like Sno-Seal, which is primarily if not entirely a mixture of beeswax, some petroleum oils/solvents and silicone.

[Aussie Yeoman]

Hi Konstantin,

I already bought the beeswax, so, that's what I'm stuck with.

It says on the tin that it's pure beeswax, for furniture and whitewood. However, when I dabbed it on the hot steel it smelled of honey and kerosene, so I'd say you're exaclty right.

Now my gauntlets look a little cloudy. Can I buff the excess off or leave it?

Dave

[Konstantin the Red]

Buff, or use a shoeshine brush. These encourage the wax to lie nice and flat, which makes it shine.