What next after electrolysis? How do I make my cleaned horse shoe look natural?

pgill · Jun 13, 2010

I have removed the rust from a horse shoe from the Boer war +- 1900's. I now want to stop future rust, and also to make it look good but as natural as possible. I do not want it to look like a brand new horse shoe, it would then be easier to buy a new shoe

I am wanting to place this artifact onto a display frame with other treated items on the Boer war.

Any help will be greatly appreciated very much.

God bless
Peter

lumbercamp · Jun 13, 2010

When I am am done with electrolysis, I spray with WD-40. This turns the iron black then coat with lacquer. I've never tried it, but if you by-pass the WD-40 and just coat with lacquer, I'm assuming the horse shoe would stay the color as it came from the electrolysis.

pgill · Jun 14, 2010

Thanks for that Lumbercamp, I have cleaned a shoe and just coated it with candle wax to seal it.... Looks pretty good :icon_thumleft:

Somebody spoke about a paint that you put on that stops the rust and also makes the item look black. Apparently, it does not get rid of the rust, it just stops it going further.... Have you heard of this

God bless
Peter

GopherDaGold · Jun 14, 2010

A light coat of carnuba wax will seal it and help to prevent further oxidation. I have also used 10w30 motor oil.

pgill · Jun 14, 2010

Thanks GopherDaGold, I did think of the oil, but did not use the idea as it would make the metal dirty to touch.... I have not heard of Carnuba wax, but will look for it as it would be great to have a wax that you do not need to melt onto the item, but that is still dry to touch. Umm I ask a lot don't I

God bless
Peter

GopherDaGold · Jun 14, 2010

Your welcome, Peter. I Wiki'd it and found this:

Composition Carnauba palm

Carnauba wax contains mainly esters of fatty acids (80-85%), fatty alcohols (10-16%), acids (3-6%) and hydrocarbons (1-3%). Specific for carnauba wax is the content of esterified fatty diols (about 20%), hydroxylated fatty acids (about 6%) and cinnamic acid (about 10%). Cinnamic acid, an antioxidant, may be hydroxylated or methoxylated.

Carnauba wax can produce a glossy finish and as such is used in automobile waxes, shoe polishes, dental floss, food products such as sweets, instrument polishes, and floor and furniture waxes and polishes, especially when mixed with beeswax and with turpentine. Use for paper coatings is the most common application in the United States. It is the main ingredient in surfboard wax, combined with coconut oil.

It should make your search easier as it seems to be readily available and used in many household products. I think a good quality car wax containing carnauba will do the trick.
I only used the motor oil on a horseshoe hung above the door that I knew would not be handled much. Anything that might be passed around a lot will get the wax treatment.

Some people like the blackened look on old iron after electrolysis. I do not, nor do I consider it a patina. It is an after-effect of the electrolysis. I have read that this can be removed using Coca Cola and will give the old iron a more natural antique look.

pgill · Jun 15, 2010

GopherDaGold, thanks for that information..... one thing I am going to try is the coca cola trick..... I am not sure how the horse shoe will look after a coke treatment as they still have some rust on them... In fact probably the whole shoe is made of rust

But I will give it a try anyway...

Thanks again for your effort my friend.

God bless
Peter

NHBandit · Jun 17, 2010

This post has brought up a question I've asked here before and never got a response. Antique car guys quite often use a mixture of 20% Molasses & 80% water to clean steel & iron parts with incredible results. It completely removes the rust with absolutely no damage to the metal other than damage that has already been done by the rusting process such as pits. It leaves the metal clean but not shiny. Is there anyone at all here who has tried it for ferrous objects found metal detecting instead of electrolisis ? Thanks

pgill · Jun 19, 2010

NHBandit,

Thanks so much for the reply..... I must get to the shops and find Mollasses ::)

I have not seen that stuff in years, but I am sure the health shops will have it. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
I find that the black look after Electrolysis looks so fake :dontknow:

I am also trying the coke way today.... So will let you all know how it goes.

God bless
Peter

Felinepeachy · Jun 19, 2010

Well here's why my 90 grandmother told me to do. She said she would just coat the whole item with vegetable oil and put it in the oven on high temp until all the oil burned off, just like you would season a cast iron skillet. I tried this on a disposable ancient coin that had no hopes of being saved and it worked very well. :tongue3:

pgill · Jun 19, 2010

hello Felinepeachy, nice to hear from you again :icon_thumleft:

Thanks for the contribution to this topic, what you are saying sounds good as that is what we do to the 3 legged pots we use here in South Africa which treats and stops future rust.....

I have just tried coke on an item that I did electrolysis on and to me it does not look any different. I will try it again though to give it a fair chance. I also want to wax it for future protection ::)