Vinegar and scrubby pad - good for mild surface rust?

[Malek]

My wifes beautiful new helm arrived from Two Ravens armoury.

Sadly, due to the damp weather here in the Pacific Northwest, some rust spots are developing on the inside. I want to clean those off before I start painting the inside.

I have seen here before reccomendations for a vinegar soak prior to scrubbing off the rust. Would dipping a 3M scrubby in vinegar and then applying elbow grease have a similar effect? I don't want the vinegar to eat the chemical black on the outside of the helm.

I'll be trying it out after I get home from work today, so I have a couple of hours to soak up the wisdom of the armourers here on the archive.

Thanks,

[Milan H]

The scrubby would work by itself, but yes, vinegar will help. Once the rust is off, wipe it down with a water dampened cloth, then dry it quickly. A hair drier is more than adequate. Once that's done, prime and paint it.

If you want to skip those step and the rust is light, you can just use an etching primer, then paint over that with whatever color you want (which is what I would do)

Cheers,

[RenJunkie]

I use vinegar and steel to make vinegaroon. The vinegar corrodes the steel wool fast. And then you basically have liquid rust.

Of course, I've never tried cleaning with it. It may work.

I'd use an oil and scubby pad.

Or just the scrubby.

Thanks!
Christopher

[Tableau]

if it's just light rust, I would scrubby it roughly then wipe off the scrubbed areas and paint. Rustoleum paint covers surface rust with no problems.

[Sean Powell]

WD-40 and a scrubbie are my tools of choice. Ballistoil and a scrubbie are my second favorite. The balistoil will help leave a protective layer on the metal but can generously be described as the smell of liquorish and rotting fish.

Sean

[Benedek]

I've polished plenty with a red 3M scrubbie and olive oil.

[Frederich Von Teufel]

Vinegar and scotchbrite work, but you have the additional problem that vinegar is an acid and needs to be neutralized and cleaned off before you can paint over it. Likewise, oil and scotchbrite work well (and is my preferred method), but the oil needs to be removed to allow the paint to bond with the underlying surface.

I prefer the oil/scotchbrite because I can do a simple rinse with isopropyl alcohol or acetone to remove the oil and the surface is ready to go.


Frederich

[Konstantin the Red]

Green scrubbie = gentle scrubbie. HIGHLY effective on brass; steel resists more.

Brown scrubbie = rougher & tougher. Intended for rust removal, excellent on steel.

Gray scrubbie = fiercer yet.

There are several colors of 3M scrubbie each indicating its degree of fineness. Get them as needed, and become the Perfect Scrubbie Master.

[fghthty545y]

Paint the helm green.

[Malek]

Here is what I did:
Poured white vinegar into a small bowl.
Used a green 3M kitchen scrubby pad.

Dipped pad into vinegar, wiped vinegar around the inside of the helm on the rusted areas.

Then gave the inside a good scrubbing - definitely took off the bad rust and left a yellow blotchy stain on the cleaned parts.

Got fresh bowl of water, mixed some baking soda in it and re-scrubbed the inside, wiping with towel after.

Hit the inside with a hair dryer - left plenty of clean metal ready for the Rustoleum treatment.

It's gotten it's second coat and will be ready for padding and strapping tomorrow evening.

Thanks again for allowing me to dip into the collective wisdom of the AA. I'll post some updates and pictures once I have it ready to go.

[ThriftyKnight]

Can we have pictures when it's all done? Just out of curiosity.