Remove rust and prevent it all together

1
Yes, I know this is a "Weapon & Armour Care 101" subject... But I let a couple of pieces get rust :embarasse
More specifically, the Elessar pauldrons by Windlass. Case in point:


windlass pauldrons.jpeg

I looked for answers in the various threads of this section, but most didn't answer this in particular or had broken links for other articles that I could no longer see.

So, I'd very much appreciate it if the weapon/armour care experts here could give me advice on the following:
  • How to remove these rust spots;
  • How to effectively prevent this from ever happening again.
(I'd be extra grateful if you could provide products to use or links to those products in the EU. Sometimes it's really hard to find equivalents to those mostly used in the US...)

Also, do UC swords require the same level of care? Especially swords kept on the scabbards (I have my Andúril displayed sheathed).

Thank you very much in advance :thumbs_up
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Re: Remove rust and prevent it all together

2
Hey Levidas :)

To remove the rust you could try some metal polish and some very very fine steel wool. There are chemical rust removal products, however, these may have an adverse effect on the leather.

To prevent them from rusting, you can always use Renaissance wax which you may have heard mentioned here. I use it on my carbon steel swords and I’ve not had an issue with it.

In regard to storing swords in scabbards, it’s generally a good practice to not do it as moisture can become trapped inside the scabbard and there’s also the potential for moisture from the wood/leather to leach onto the blade. Depending on who made the scabbard and what wood it’s made from there’s also the chance of acids from the wood causing the blade to corrode. That’s a pretty extreme scenario tho.

I’ve stored my UC swords long term in scabbards and had no rust. Having stainless blades really helps. But I think it ultimately will depend on how humid your environment is. If you have a carbon steel blade, definitely don’t store that long term in a scabbard though regardless of environment.
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Re: Remove rust and prevent it all together

3
Lindir wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 8:23 pm Hey Levidas :)

To remove the rust you could try some metal polish and some very very fine steel wool. There are chemical rust removal products, however, these may have an adverse effect on the leather.

To prevent them from rusting, you can always use Renaissance wax which you may have heard mentioned here. I use it on my carbon steel swords and I’ve not had an issue with it.

In regard to storing swords in scabbards, it’s generally a good practice to not do it as moisture can become trapped inside the scabbard and there’s also the potential for moisture from the wood/leather to leach onto the blade. Depending on who made the scabbard and what wood it’s made from there’s also the chance of acids from the wood causing the blade to corrode. That’s a pretty extreme scenario tho.

I’ve stored my UC swords long term in scabbards and had no rust. Having stainless blades really helps. But I think it ultimately will depend on how humid your environment is. If you have a carbon steel blade, definitely don’t store that long term in a scabbard though regardless of environment.
Thanks a lot for your reply, Lindir.

I will look for a meal polish then and try that. Yes, I've heard of Renaissance wax and will look into getting it too.

Regarding displaying the swords in the scabbards, I guess it all comes down to periodically checking them out and applying any treatment necessary.

Appreciate it :D

Re: Remove rust and prevent it all together

4
You could try really fine grit Silicon carbide (SC) abrasive paper.
I've got SC abrasive paper from P100 up to P7000 ( in 19 steps) plus I use a Maguire's detailing polish.
I've used the the higher number abrasives to polish severely scratched clear acrylic from cloudy to clear.
Pretty sure one of the lower numbers (maybe P1000 and higher) will take that rust off without scratching the metal.
You can get the SC papers on ebay and amazon.
Then use Ren Wax or similar micro crystalline wax to protect it.
btw Ren Wax and similar mc waxes will also protect the leather....don't drench it, a little bit goes a long way and the stuff isn't cheap.

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Re: Remove rust and prevent it all together

5
Deimos wrote: Wed Nov 23, 2022 9:14 pm You could try really fine grit Silicon carbide (SC) abrasive paper.
I've got SC abrasive paper from P100 up to P7000 ( in 19 steps) plus I use a Maguire's detailing polish.
I've used the the higher number abrasives to polish severely scratched clear acrylic from cloudy to clear.
Pretty sure one of the lower numbers (maybe P1000 and higher) will take that rust off without scratching the metal.
You can get the SC papers on ebay and amazon.
Then use Ren Wax or similar micro crystalline wax to protect it.
btw Ren Wax and similar mc waxes will also protect the leather....don't drench it, a little bit goes a long way and the stuff isn't cheap.
Thanks for your advice, Deimos.
I ended up purchasing a matching set of Renaissance products; besides the micro crystalline wax, I got their metal de-corroder.


de-corroder.jpg

Hopefully, I'll be able to remove the rust spots and then apply the wax :)
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Re: Remove rust and prevent it all together

6
Well, to post a quick update on this (I guess it may be of help to future collectors facing the same problem)

Here's what I ended up using in my restoration work:


materials.jpeg

I began by using Renaissance's metal de-corroder. Just poured a bit into a container (it smells really bad...) and brushed a relatively thick layer on all the metallic surfaces. Ideally, you'd be able to submerge the rusted piece, but that wasn't an option in this case.
I left it to actuate for 24h before removing everything with a wet cloth (I used an old pair of cotton socks). Once again, ideally, you'd be able to recover and reuse the compound, but that was hard to do in this case - brushed as it was.

I left everything to dry for another few days and moved to the polishing phase. Cleaned every piece with a microfiber cloth and then applied the brown 'cleaner' compound followed by the blue 'polisher' compound (each with the respective pad).
As my first time using these, there's undoubtedly much to improve; since I don't own a bench polisher buffer, I had to attach each pad to the drilling machine and do it free-hand :O
Well, at least they look slightly better than before!

Finally, it was time to apply Renaissance's famous micro-crystalline wax, again using an appropriate cloth.
Hopefully, these won't rust anytime soon!!

They look great now.


arms.jpg
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