Preservation advice

[Joe-Dirt]

Went out for a quick hunt yesterday and popped up a whole shoe/knee buckle made of iron. Should I use electrolysis , CLR or just leave it be and seal it in wax? Thanks in advance!!!!!

 

[ajaj]

Mornin Bob! You’re going to get a lot of opinions here, but what I would do is give it light electrolysis. I say “light” meaning a short time. Then take a toothbrush and carefully scrub. May not get out everything but you will reduce the chances of it breaking by going carefully. Nice buckle by the way!

aj

 

[creskol]

Myself, I would soak it for a while in warm Evaporust, and then treat it with a rust converter.

 

[Jeff H]

JD I agree with ajaj. I have an iron shoe buckle just like yours waiting for me to fire up my electrolysis unit. What ever method you use, chemical or electrolysis, you want to go slow and check progress frequently.

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

Just wack it with a hammer a few times and the rust will fall off... just kidding. Nice iron relic, definitely worth the time to carefully preserve. Congrats

 

[Trezurehunter]

Congrats on a very nice buckle.

 

[Digger RJ]

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[Davers]

Very Nice Find.

I def, agree take your time on this one .

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Very nice find! A very breif electrolysis watched very carefully.

 

[Joe-Dirt]

Just wack it with a hammer a few times and the rust will fall off... just kidding. Nice iron relic, definitely worth the time to carefully preserve. Congrats

I’ll do it!! Except I’m not allowed to play with dangerous things without adult supervision): I’ll post a picture if it doesn’t devolve completely into a bowl of brown water with chunks

 

[JerV3]

Tumble it would be a good option.

I've got some nice results on some iron artifacts that way.

But I'm not holding the artifact to see how stable it is.

Jeremy