vinegar cleaning follow-up

[jerseyben]

I read some several old posts on cleaning rusted iron relics with apple cider vinegar.

Well, I loosened all the rust with the vinegar and brushed the relics clean. They are a strange hue of black/rust now.

What is the next step to best preserve these relics from further deterioration?

 

[pa plateau hiker]

That's why I don't like using vinegar to clean iron. Iron always flash rusts after removing from the vinegar. I had to finish with electrolysis to get the rust off.

 

[jerseyben]

Lack of responses to my post but someone else's similar thread got a better result:

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/general-discussion/428729-iron-preservation-question.html

 

[mangum]

You have to coat or dip in Evaporust (available at Autozone) to prevent flash rusting. Then coat with a wax or Crisco. After dry bake in the oven at 250 for an hour or 2. Wipe off the excess wax. Done. I wrote a post on the method a whole back. Evaporust is important

 

[mangum]

Here's a lock I preserved using the vinegar/Evaporust. It did take a while, gotta have some patience...

 

[pa plateau hiker]

Lack of responses to my post but someone else's similar thread got a better result:

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/general-discussion/428729-iron-preservation-question.html

Not many people dig iron.

 

[Dave Rishar]

Red rust = bad. It's porous and unstable, and will allow water to penetrate and wreak further havoc.

Black rust = good. That's a different oxide of iron and is essentially impermeable, and will not allow water to penetrate. It's a stable oxide.

I don't understand all of the variables that dictate which oxide you wind up with (and it's something that I've spent some time trying to figure out), but don't be afraid of black oxides. A black tarnish with a coat of oil or something similar is basically good to go. If you have both red and black oxides present, try giving the piece a quick wire brushing. You may notice that the red comes off but the black remains, which is exactly what you want. Coat well with a barrier that will keep out oxygen and water (oil and grease are good, but wax or a similar coating is better) and call it done. Evaporust gets great reviews, but I've never used it and can't comment on it beyond that.

 

[Higgy]

As a knifemaker, I have done much with vinegar. The following pic is a bowie I made with a hamon-line, that I made more visible by applying hot white vinegar with cotton balls.



Vinegar is acid, and acid will eat away the softer parts of whatever you apply it to first, leaving the harder spots for last. White vinegar is distilled, and thusly much more potent and stronger than ACV. Probably good to keep in mind.