The Armour Archive

There are a lot of posts on how to remove light rust but how do you remove HEAVY rust?

I just found a 32 lb mill ball at the local scrapyard which will make one ginormous (sp? ) ball stake but it has fairly heavy rust i would like to take off before finding the least pitted half and grinding, sanding that into shape.

I have read from numerous sources that vinegar will remove rust but causes some type of chemical reaction that will cause the item to rust again much quicker.

naval jelly works wonders

angle grinder

scotchbrite wheels remove rust and leave a smooth surface depends on how bad the rust is.

The wire brush on the buffing motor works too.
Mutratic acid (sp) "swimming pool acid" at the hardware store does a good job.
Dilute 4 to one with water and let it soak overnight.

Rinse and repeat if necessary.

Hal

Ps: Be sure to use your safety equipment.

I have had to clean rust off of many helmets, other armor, and knives. Sometimes mine...some times as a favor.

I use oil and auto-body (wet/dry) sandpaper of nothing more coarse than 600. Using increasingly fine (800, 1000, 1500) grades of paper, one may be able to clean just about anything off and bring the surface to a reasonable polish. A brass brush works good on heavy spots and always lubricate the item and the abrasive to minimize the removal of material other than rust.

You must be careful about taking too much material off of the item. Don't try to sand away pits, only the rust. You can dig to the china side of your item in almost no time.

If you do intend to use any acid, cover your eyes and make sure you are in a well ventilated area, dammit. It won't take much time to harm you, then suddenly you can't smell anything or even catch your breath for a month, or worse.

Falcone

There was a really cool thread a while back about removing rust with an electrical process. Kind of reverse plating or something. I'll see if I can find it, but if anyone else has it handy, please post.

Garth

Nothing like Muriatic Acid.

I have wonderous results by using this.
"Gempler's Rust Remover"
http://www.gemplers.com/a/shop/product. ... 7814261911

it is not an acid so the only safty equipment i had to use were household rummer gloves (like you might wear to do dishes in) and a pair of generic safty goggles (for splash protection).

I went through most of the Baronial loaner armour (most of it being mild steel) and after one application usually lasting one day all the rust was removed and the surface was left ready for polishing or priming or what ever one might want to do with it.
And to boot it is safe for the environment disposal is easy no special requirments.

I can't recommend it highly enough.

Malcolm

For a 32 lb ball, I don't think you need to be really dainty with it. Grind it right down.... I f we were talking about some armor then you might want something subtle, but for something that big? Nah.

My chemistry teacher told me that if you put a rusted metal in a solution containing ions of a more oxydable metal, the oxygen molecules will break the links with Iron and link with the metal in the solution. This way, all rust will disapear without losing material like a grinder does.

As an exemple you put your ball in a CuSO4 solution (it looks like windex). Rust is Fe2O3 so the O2- atoms will link with Cu2+ to make CuO (small grains of Copper oxyde will drop in the bottom of the recipient).

This exemple doesnt work because copper isnt more oxydable steel but this is how it works. (Im not sure about this but I think you need to get electricity in the solution)

Maybe it could help you

I do it electrolytically:

submerge the item into a bath of soda ash dissolved in water. Also submerge a stainless plate, so that it does not touch.

hook a DC current source up to the assembly: positive to the stainless steel, negative to the rusty thing.

turn it on and let it sit.

-+G

I'm re-building my knees for GWW and last night I used a sandblaster. It took minutes. Srayed some clear coat. New Knees

http://www.davidbradley.net/ERR.html


found this little story on how to do electrolytic rust removal....


thought I'd share.

"There was a really cool thread a while back about removing rust with an electrical process. Kind of reverse plating or something. I'll see if I can find it, but if anyone else has it handy, please post. "

what Rev. G said....
We do it here in the lab all the time....cannons, anchors, swords, musket bits.......and a mindnumbingly infinate (shudder!) supply of nails and railroad spikes.

Works realy well.
That bit in the link in the post above- about it helping get things apart, is no lie...we've removed breechplugs from matchlocks with no trouble at all, and we've had really great results when disassembling locks, both of the door and firearm variety.

DC current in a caustic soda bath, use a piece of stainless steel as the sacrificial anode.
We use platinum plated wire, but it's really pricey!


VvS