A couple recently completed electrolysis projects

[Bill D. (VA)]

I've found quite a few interesting iron relics this season, and my electrolysis operation has been in constant use. I recently completed my conservation efforts on 2 items I found in the last month or so. One was a large colonial broad hoe that dates between the late 1600s and the mid-1700s. It's one of the larger and heavier hoes I've recovered over the years. It came from the site I've been hunting with Joey, and was a nice deep iron signal. Thought I might be onto a trash pit, but this hoe, which came from about 2.5 ft down, was the only find in the hole. The 2nd item is this very large mid-to-late 1700s lock that came from the pit Dan and I dug out at a new site last month. It was one of 2 almost identical locks that came from the same pit. I'm also working on a nice colonial grubbing hoe, and an early splitter or chisel that I think will clean up very nicely. I need to dedicate a separate display for large iron artifacts as I'm getting quite a nice and varied collection, and they deserve better than sitting in a closet in boxes. Below are some before and after cleaning pics of the hoe and lock.

 

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[hamiddetecting]

Nice digs

 

[joeyfresh]

They came out nice Bill! How do you plan on displaying them? Would you put them in a cabinet or will you build something?

 

[MUD(S.W.A.T)]

Nice Job, that lock looks like its from a pirate chest....
Keep @ it and HH !!

 

[Valley Ranger]

Nice job Bill. I love preserving those old iron pieces - they display very nicely. BTW, what did you seal these with?

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

Nice job Bill. I love preserving those old iron pieces - they display very nicely. BTW, what did you seal these with?

Thanks. I used 3 coats of polyurethane.

 

[John Boy]

Boy howdy they sure cleaned up nice Bill.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

They came out nice Bill! How do you plan on displaying them? Would you put them in a cabinet or will you build something?

Not sure yet Joey. I have a nice 7-shelf curio cabinet that's currently empty, and I might find room for them in there. But that depends on if there will be available space once I put my other 2012-13 finds in there. It might be better to buy/build a separate case for all my cleaned up iron artifacts since I have quite a few.

 

[Valley Ranger]

Thanks. I used 3 coats of polyurethane.

You've been doing this much longer than I have. Do you find the poly keeps the rust from coming back?

 

[Old Dude]

Man, that hoe makes blisters on my hands just looking at it! Those are some nice items!

 

[Wildcat1750]

Nice work. I've been doing the same with my better iron relics. After they're cleaned up and sealed my wife is more receptive to me bringing them up out of the basement.

 

[Rawhide]

I have a old die hard car battery, what else do I need to clean my old iron finds?

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

I have a old die hard car battery, what else do I need to clean my old iron finds?

You actually need a battery charger and a few other things. Somewhere on a Word document I have detailed instructions on how I perform electrolysis on my iron artifacts. If you're interested in that send me your email in a PM and I'll get it to you if I can find it. And I probably have to edit it a bit first as it was written several years ago as I do it a little differently now.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

You've been doing this much longer than I have. Do you find the poly keeps the rust from coming back?

I used to have that problem Stonewall, and it was because I was putting the poly on before I had completely removed all the rust. After the electrolysis is done you need to completely dry out the artifact before using the poly. But when you let it air dry some of that orange starts appearing again. What I started doing was spraying the item with WD-40 and rubbing the excess off with a rag. Then when it air dries the oxidation process can't get going again, and you can put your poly on without having to worry about the rust coming back. Unfortunately, I didn't use the WD-40 on the lock in the pic but did on the hoe. And you can tell its a much better and more permanent result. Anyway, that's how I do it.

 

[Valley Ranger]

I used to have that problem Stonewall, and it was because I was putting the poly on before I had completely removed all the rust. After the electrolysis is done you need to completely dry out the artifact before using the poly. But when you let it air dry some of that orange starts appearing again. What I started doing was spraying the item with WD-40 and rubbing the excess off with a rag. Then when it air dries the oxidation process can't get going again, and you can put your poly on without having to worry about the rust coming back. Unfortunately, I didn't use the WD-40 on the lock in the pic but did on the hoe. And you can tell its a much better and more permanent result. Anyway, that's how I do it.

Thanks Bill. I've used soaking in apple cider vinegar with great success, and sealed with Briwax, which makes a beautiful satin luster finish, but I've noticed rust coming back. I usually put the iron in the oven (200 for about 45 minutes) after removing all rust to make sure all the moisture is gone. The last couple of axe-heads I did (haven't sealed them yet), I coated with 3 in 1 oil and no rust has returned. I assume it does the same thing the WD40 is doing for you. I'll try the poly on my next project. Thanks!

 

[Don in SJ]

Bill, I have never tried spraying coats of poly on iron, the only restortations of iron I did I used Crisco Oil and baked them in an old Toaster oven, seemed to have work fairly decent, but you notice I said old Toaster Oven, the wife would not use the oven once I baked a couple of iron trivets, irons and axe head in it.

Don

 

[CoilyGirl]

Nice job and great tips on preservation.

 

[JC Allen]

Thanks for sharing! Electrolysis is now next on my build list after a mini-rocker box...

 

[metal mania]

great results u using a home mad or commercial kit can I ask about times and if possible see your setup thanks MM

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

great results u using a home mad or commercial kit can I ask about times and if possible see your setup thanks MM

MM - I'm doing this with homemade materials plus a car battery charger. It's actually pretty easy to setup and use. I was recently asked for detailed instructions from someone on how I do things. I wrote up something a long time ago that needs a little bit of updating. If I can find it I'll try to put the finishing touches on it and maybe post it along with some pics. But give me a few days.