The DANGEROUS (and accidental) Method for Cleaning and Preserving Iron Relics

[romeo-1]

Having recently found my first trade axe, in absolutley awesome condition, i decided that I wasn't going to procrastinate and let the rust continue eating the relic, I was going to clean and preserve it immediately. I had previously tried electrolysis on a couple mortar frags and was not at all impressed with the results. This is probably owing to my inexperience with the method as I have seen some awesome relics restored using this method, ColonialDude for one is an absolute expert with this. I was hunting with The Patriot when I found the trade axe and it was he who turned me on to the "zinc and lye" method. Of course I had been aware of the method but never gave any real thought to trying it. Patriot showed me a couple of his own trade axes that he had preserved using this method (they looked great) so I resolved to give it a try.

Here is a picture of the trade axe in "as found" condition. Covered in soil and rust. The condition was great, even the bit is unbroken.



The first step to restoring this relic was to remove the soil. That was easy, run a garden hose over it and wash it off. Here is a picture of the axe after the initial rinse. As you can see, there is a heavy layer of rust over the iron.



Now it is time to remove the rust. OK, first probllem, where do I get lye and zinc. A quick Google search showed me that there are several sources of zinc available at any hardware store. I went with zinc wall anchors. I found a pack of 100 for $10. Lye was a little more difficult to find, our local hardware store no longer carries it so i had to travel tot he "next town over" and found a hardware store that did still carry it. I bought a 3kg container for $18.00. For those who are not aware, lye is extremely caustic and will burn flesh on contact. It comes in the form of crystals that are water soluable.

So, now I have the zinc and the lye...what the heck do I do with it? Well, let me tell you. I place half of the zinc wall anchors into a large plastic bucket. I then place the trade axe on top of the zinc anshors and place the rest on top of th axe. Now, wearing a long sleeve shirt, rubber gloves and protective eyewear I pour approximately 2 cups of the lye over the zinc and axe...but it gets even more dangerous! I then pour enough boiling water into the bucket so that it completely covers the
axe and zinc. Pour the water down the side of the bucket so that it does not splash back at you. DO NOT BREATHE IN THE VAPORS FROM THE REACTION!!! There will be a boiling reaction when the hot water hits the lye and zinc. It is of course safest to do this outside. At this point the zinc is being sacrificed as the corrosion goes from the iron to the zinc. After approximately four hours I checked the axe and noted that a large amount of rust has come away from the axe, the water in the bucket was very brown by this point. I then added another cup of lye to the water and left it for another 20 hours.

After a total of 24 hours I removed the axe from the lye water finding that 99% of the rust was gone. I used a brass brush to remove the remainder of the rust and now have a rust free relic. Here is a picture of the axe fress out of the water.



Now, if you do not treat the relic it was start to rust again. There are several ways to preserve the raw iron including waxes and laquer. The goal is to keep the air and moisture away from the relic. I decied to try a little semi gloss satin clear laquer applied thinly...or so I thought. This is where the accidental nature of this process occurrs. I let the axe dry for 24 hours including a couple hours in the oven. I hung the axe from the ceiling in my garage and hit it with some Krylon semi-gloss satin. I probably sprayed a little too much because when I was done I saw that the clear finish was opaque and not very attractive. I let it completely dry and for reasons unknown I sprayed another coat on thinking that this would get rid of the opaqueness...duh! After the second coat the finish was so opaque that it was nearly white...now I started to panic! The only thing I could think of is I need to get this laquer off this axe before it completely dries. I tried to wipe it off with a shop rag but that only made the problem worse...the finish was tacky so the rag made it worse. I did not have any paint thinner so I grabbed the only thing I had...a gas jug. I poured the gas into a bucket and dropped the axe in. I really don't know what I was thinking but this laquer was not coming off in the gas...but the opaqueness was now gone...but the laquer was still coating the axe. I took another shop rag and went to town wiping down the axe. This was essentially polishing the laquer that was still on the axe. I wiped it for about 10 minutes and was quite impressed when I was finished. The axe was coated but the finish looks very natural. There is a slight sheen, which is desired, but it is not overwhelming. I'm pretty confident that the elements will not contact the iron thus not more oxidation...and it looks way cool. To get rid of the gassy smell I just left it axe out in the sun for a few hours to evaporate...voila! The finished product!

[Iron Patch]

If you're happy in the end that's all that counts!


I'm surprised you did not have good results with electrolysis because my stuff from several years back came out great. You have to keep in mind iron from good dirt like some places in Ontario are a piece of cake to clean much the same idea as a coin that comes out beautiful. To me the pictures or iron cleaned with chemicals look like they have an over cleaned grey color and not the black which I prefer and what I got using electrolysis. Maybe it's just the pictures, and I haven't seen the Patriot's relics in person. Perhaps it would change my mind because it is nice and fast and I could do all mine in a single day.

[romeo-1]

If you're happy in the end that's all that counts!


I'm surprised you did not have good results with electrolysis because my stuff from several years back came out great. You have to keep in mind iron from good dirt like some places in Ontario are a piece of cake to clean much the same idea as a coin that comes out beautiful. To me the pictures or iron cleaned with chemicals look like they have an over cleaned grey color and not the black which I prefer and what I got using electrolysis. Maybe it's just the pictures, and I haven't seen the Patriot's relics in person. Perhaps it would change my mind because it is nice and fast and I could do all mine in a single day.

You can't really tell from the picture but that trade axe is black. The only thing the chemical bath does is remove the rust...once the rust is off the process stops. To test that theory I had been soaking an iron trivet for five days, well after the rust is off and there has been no further reaction. I also just finished my only other 18th century iron tool, a mattock, which came out great! This method is so much easier that electrolysis and more successful for me.

[Iron Patch]

If you're happy in the end that's all that counts!


I'm surprised you did not have good results with electrolysis because my stuff from several years back came out great. You have to keep in mind iron from good dirt like some places in Ontario are a piece of cake to clean much the same idea as a coin that comes out beautiful. To me the pictures or iron cleaned with chemicals look like they have an over cleaned grey color and not the black which I prefer and what I got using electrolysis. Maybe it's just the pictures, and I haven't seen the Patriot's relics in person. Perhaps it would change my mind because it is nice and fast and I could do all mine in a single day.

You can't really tell from the picture but that trade axe is black. The only thing the chemical bath does is remove the rust...once the rust is off the process stops. To test that theory I had been soaking an iron trivet for five days, well after the rust is off and there has been no further reaction. I also just finished my only other 18th century iron tool, a mattock, which came out great! This method is so much easier that electrolysis and more successful for me.

Right one. I've been familar with it for many years but never thought about using it for the reasons I had stated above. But now I think IH and I might have a little Iron cleaning party come freeze up. That said, I hope anyone else reading this and decides to try really takes proper precautions because this stuff could sure mess you up, or your kids, or your pets.

[romeo-1]

Yep...lye is extremely caustic so safety measures must be taken...but then again, running electricity through water has some degree of danger as well...

[vayank54]

I used lye for a lot of years but starting using electrolysis. The lye has gotten weaker over the years but if you mixed it to strong it could ( and maybe still can) eat the metal and your skin. Years ago I ruined a civil war period Colt lock plate with it. A guy I know who runs a museum boils old motor oil and puts his iron relics in it. The heats causes the rust to come off and opens the pores of the metal so the oil can soak in. l've never tried it myself but all his stuff looks nice and is on display in the museum

[Hunthicks]

I did the exact same thing with the only piece of my iron I've cleaned and painted, when I sprayed it with the Krylon it went opaque, after it dried a while most of the opaque-ness actually went away...however, eventually a bit of rust did creep up on me. It was probably my fault, but I'd watch it closely.

[Deepdiger60]

That is a great looking trade axe and thanks for the method of cleaning although i don't have a trade axe i do have 5 very rusty axe heads i have dug in the woods and fields i think ill try 1 to see how it comes out in my spare time. Good hunt Dd60

[bearbqd]

One question, how do you dispose of that lye when you're done with the process?

[ColonialDude]

If you're happy in the end that's all that counts!

You have to keep in mind iron from good dirt like some places in Ontario are a piece of cake to clean much the same idea as a coin that comes out beautiful.

This is not really the case. On the contrary, most of our iron relics are beat up pretty bad. The only good iron I ever find seems to come from sites in the woods, although there are still some very rough pieces in the woods as well. Iron finds from the plowed fields here are complete crap more often than not, likely due to farming chemicals. I have found many iron relics which most have never seen pictures of, because they are so far gone they are not worth cleaning.

There are a couple of sites I hunt that have produced very nice iron pieces, but I think that can be attributed to the very wet conditions where the rust is never able to form on pieces. I don't think it's so much an "Ontario" thing, but more site specific. I do tend to find many relics and coins that are in great shape, but our sites differ greatly. You mainly hunt fields where I usually hunt in the woods.

I don't doubt however there are areas that have much harsher soil.

The axe looks good Romeo...and you will no doubt be able to enjoy it much longer than you would have before. It sucks sometimes, but when you have any raised spots on iron pieces that look smooth, almost like bubbles...you have to chip them off and break them, otherwise you will have rust coming through again in a year or so. I learned that the hard way on some of my pieces.

[Iron Patch]

If you're happy in the end that's all that counts!

You have to keep in mind iron from good dirt like some places in Ontario are a piece of cake to clean much the same idea as a coin that comes out beautiful.

This is not really the case. On the contrary, most of our iron relics are beat up pretty bad. The only good iron I ever find seems to come from sites in the woods, although there are still some very rough pieces in the woods as well. Iron finds from the plowed fields here are complete crap more often than not, likely due to farming chemicals. I have found many iron relics which most have never seen pictures of, because they are so far gone they are not worth cleaning.

There are a couple of sites I hunt that have produced very nice iron pieces, but I think that can be attributed to the very wet conditions where the rust is never able to form on pieces. I don't think it's so much an "Ontario" thing, but more site specific. I do tend to find many relics and coins that are in great shape, but our sites differ greatly. You mainly hunt fields where I usually hunt in the woods.

I don't doubt however there are areas that have much harsher soil.

The axe looks good Romeo...and you will no doubt be able to enjoy it much longer than you would have before. It sucks sometimes, but when you have any raised spots on iron pieces that look smooth, almost like bubbles...you have to chip them off and break them, otherwise you will have rust coming through again in a year or so. I learned that the hard way on some of my pieces.

My point is we don't have any sites that the iron comes out and can be cleaned leaving a smooth surface. I see good iron posted so obviously it's not the same everywhere.

[GioTheGreek]

Holy jesus, thanks for the great info Romeo.

To be honest though, I don't think I'll be attempting it any time soon, lol... Too dangerous for me until I get proper safety gear.

Man that sure cleaned up nice though...

[The Patriot]

Adding my balls to this post under the lye and zinc method...straight out of the solution....

[romeo-1]

Adding my balls to this post under the lye and zinc method...straight out of the solution....

BooYEAH!!

[bearbqd]

Again, how do you dispose of the lye solution when finished?

[doverturtle]

Again, how do you dispose of the lye solution when finished?

I would dump it into the toilet. Lye is the same stuff used in some of Drano's products (sodium hydroxide). It will have the added benefit of keeping your drains open.

[Alienson]

There is a method of electrolsis that uses lye as the medium, a car battery charger and a 5-gallon bucket with short pieces of rebar as the electrodes. I found the method and pictures on an antique tractor site several years ago. Given that two methods are combined, I would think it would be a heavy duty method of removing rust. However, the rust on a tractor part is far different than the rust scale we see on long-buried parts. So there might be a different in out comes. I've looked in my files for the download of that info but haven't found it yet. If I do, I put it here.