Moment of pure Zen.

[Sir Robert]

Moment of pure zen, polishing my swords. I have two daughters getting married and no I will not be wearing full Cavalry regalia, nor full Scottish regalia either but at least I'm not cleaning a shotgun. wink emoticon

Any suggestions on removing rust and mirror polishing swords and scabbards?

I have a Cavalry saber and a basket hilt claymore both with rusty steel scabbards and a claymore broadsword.

The basket is cast brass and polished up nicely. Inside was, I swear to God, Indian newspaper paper mache' covered with faded red suede. I'm going to have to replace that.

[MacGumerait]

I'm a bit unclear on a few points .

1. Are the scabbards the only thing rusty ? If so , what type of metal are they ?

2. If the swords are also rusty , what type of metal are each sword ?

3. Do the sword blades have engraving on them ... or are they a plain blade ?

These questions will help us know what to suggest on cleaning and polishing .

Cheers , Mike

[Pleater]

On the fine metal knitting needles I have, very strong tea works well.

If you can't immerse the item in the tea, soak a cloth in tea about 6 times stronger than usual and left to steep until cool, then put the cloth over the rusty part, cover with cling film to keep the air out and the cloth damp and leave overnight. Next morning the tannin in the tea should have worked on the rust to change its texture - but it can't restore the rust back to shiny metal, there is going to be discolouration, but not the crusty rust. If you remove the rust then there will be pitting and a rough surface.

When removing rust from objects with a mirror finish you need to be careful not to scratch the surface with dislodged flakes, so once the tea has worked you could use a sliver of wood - a toothpick or a manicure stick to remove material standing proud of the surface, but work inwards from the edges. The soaking can be repeated as often as necessary to get a smooth surface.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Sir Robert]

The blades are covered with cosmoline, so they are fine, the steel scabbards are in the white and are thus very prone to rust.

[BadenochWolf]

Depends really on the level of corrosion. A paste made from baking soda and water is easy and will work on most surface rust. If you aren't concerned about small scratches, you can work it in with a Scotch-Brite pad for extra scouring. For anything heavier, I'd recommend naval jelly, but ONLY after spot-testing on an inconspicuous area. Be certain to work with NJ in a well-ventilated area, with plenty of water for rinsing nearby.

[MacGumerait]

If you have surface rust on the scabbards , another product you can try is " rubbing compound " which I have used to remove rust from chrome car bumpers . Just need to use it gently with a little bit of water . It can be found at most places where you would buy car wax . It's a heavy paste that's applied by rubbing it across the surface with a cloth .

[Sir Robert]

The scabbard metal appears to be Mild Steel in the white I know this because of the magnetic properties (magnet sticks to it, magnets do not stick to stainless steel) and the rust. By the way stainless does rust, just not as bad/fast.

I spent a few hours trying to remove the surface rust from the scabbard of the claymore today.

The pits require heavy sandpaper and are still visible both for depth and dark color. I have tried Loctite brand Naval Jelly, it worked in one spot but not in another. The side that faces my body is gorgeous but the side that faces out is badly discolored. This is after hours of work.

I can I suppose use the sand paper to get the pits out but this will leave deep scratches, not what I want. Yes I know the deal, start with course to remove the pits, the medium to remove those scratches, then fine to remove those scratches, ETC..... I have been trying but the discoloration and pits are still there.

[Pleater]

Ouch - sandpaper is not going to restore a mirror finish, no matter how fine.

Sometimes it can be better to accept that you have something with age on it and then realise that it will be less destructive to allow the signs of long life and use to remain rather than try to erase them.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[Bill aka Mole]

I was thinking about a bit of jewelers rouge and a small cloth to assist in blending after the major clean-up is done as a polishing agent.

[MacRob]

The first thing to do is to remove the active rust. Unfortunately with polished mild steel that will necessitate abrasives. You can start with 0000 steel wool and a bit of oil such as Break Free. Rub the rusty spots vigorously until you have removed the scale (reddish-brown stuff) from the scabbard. If the steel wool is insufficient then you can try fine grit emery paper, using small pieces, and confining what you work on to the smallest possible area. The emery paper, even 800 grit, will not polish the steel back to the shine it had originally and will give the metal a frosted appearance. If you want to try to restore the bright finish then you may want to visit the auto paint store to find some very fine body working paper (1200 grit) and/or Scotch Brite pads. If you can get the scratches down to a minimum then Bill's suggestion of jeweler's rouge and polishing cloth, or wheel, may allow you to return most of the polish to the steel but there is the problem you are likely to encounter - stains in the steel. The Indian made swords, at least the type you are describing, are made of whatever steels they can salvage and are not very good quality. When you clean rust from them you are going to see stains in the steel afterward. This also happens with highly polished very good quality steel. It is nearly impossible to get these stains out - as I know from bitter personal experience - and probably the only thing you can do is to learn to live with them. Key to all this is preventing the rust in the first place. While regular oiling will help prevent rust, it is a little impractical since it will transfer the oil to your kilt and other clothing, not to mention you hands. The best product I have found for protecting blades and metal scabbards is Renaissance Wax, available from many knife and sword vendors. It is expensive but a little goes a long way. You will have to examine your blades and scabbards regularly and reapply as necessary, especially if you or others handle your stuff frequently but it works as well as anything I have tried. Don't bother with Rustblocker, an aerosol product sold by Museum Replicas. It does not work well at all.

Good luck to you in whatever you do. Unfortunately rust on sword blades and other metal weapons is almost inevitable and requires constant vigilance.