Preserving iron relics

[YumaMarc]

A long time ago I read a technique for improving the appearance and durability of iron relics. The idea was to scrub them good and let them dry thoroughly. When dry, spray with clear acrylic to seal the surface. I tried this a couple times, and it does work. Mine felt clean and did not leave rust flakes or stains on everything they touched. Gloss acrylic looked wet and a little artificial, but matte spray looked more natural.

Anyone ever try this? I would not try it on anything of great historical value, but for general collector use it might be quite useful.

 

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[golden sluice]

Sounds ok, but how do you get the coating off, im thinking wax would be a good substitute to preserve iron maybe. Or submerge in a jar of mineral oil. Or submerged w d 40 will preserve iron too.

 

[pa plateau hiker]

That's how I do it. After electrolysis I spray with WD-40. When dry, I coat with lacquer. If the iron is not completely free from rust after electrolysis, small spots of rust will appear after several years.

 

[CincinnatiKid]

Hi.
Please search YouTube for Beau Ouimette, (Aquachigger). He has many great videos. In particular, search for his video entitled, (Preserving Iron Relics: Hot Wax Treatment).
Peace

 

[ODA 226]

I just remove as much rust as I can and then boil the object, horseshoes for example, for 10 minutes in cooking oil, flipping the shoe over after 5 minutes.

This removes all O2 from the object, prevents it from rusting and turns it a very natural black color. Cheap too!