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Post by Sugiyama on May 14, 2013 0:18:17 GMT
One of my swords keeps rusting. At first I thought it was because I waited too long to oil it, so I started oiling immediately after cutting. This proved to no avail. Today, as I removed the sword, I saw bright red dust covering a majority of the sword's upper half. It took a solid 10 minutes of non-stop scrubbing with 80 grit sandpaper to clean it. The rust is all gone, but there are still stains, and now the once mirror polish is marred (I tried polishing it, but I currently don't have high grit enough to clean it.).
So what's going on? Does anybody know why this is? Please help!
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Post by Sir Thorfinn on May 14, 2013 1:04:38 GMT
If you store it in a scabbard, that may be the culprit. If not, you may need to consider changing how you clean/polish/protect the blade.
I'm a freak, I would look at it's rust as a challenge....
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Post by Onimusha on May 14, 2013 2:07:03 GMT
What are you oiling it with? What type of sword is it? What are you cutting with it?
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Post by aussie-rabbit on May 14, 2013 11:38:14 GMT
I really hope you didn't go at it with 80 grit paper :shock:
800 maybe, I would suggest cleaning the scabbard, some cotton wadding on a long stick with alcohol should do the trick.
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Greg
Senior Forumite
Posts: 1,800
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Post by Greg on May 14, 2013 13:20:44 GMT
It almost sounds like you are oiling it with WD40. If this is the case, clean it all off with rubbing alcohol, then go down to your local drugstore and pick up some mineral oil. Or, if you prefer a more manly oil, gun oil or 3n1 If you are already using the correct oil, then you might have some moisture in your scabbard.
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Post by Elheru Aran on May 14, 2013 18:38:26 GMT
One thing I've heard of is getting together some of those little silicone packets, the dehumidifier things they put in new shoes and beef jerky bags... throw 'em down the scabbard and let them sit there for a while, then shake them out or retrieve with a bit of coat-hanger wire. Don't keep the sword in scabbard while doing this, obviously,and try not to bust the little baggies or you'll have dust all up and down your scabbard, but it might be one way to reduce moisture...
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Post by Lord Cobol on May 14, 2013 19:32:00 GMT
"80 grit sandpaper" "mirror polish is marred" We need to talk - about aluminum foil.
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Post by Sugiyama on May 14, 2013 20:37:10 GMT
I tried foil first. I'm not sure how long it's supposed to take, but it did nothing.
I then moved down in the grits that were at my disposal until I got to 80. While it got the job done (mostly) there are still some stains on the blade.
I guess "marred" is not a good word. It is no longer a mirror polish. It's more of a dull finish (2000) with a few scratch marks on the blade.
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on May 14, 2013 21:35:37 GMT
What sword this is and do you know the steel? I think some steels might be more prone to rusting.
80 grit sounds very rough, as I've used that grit to remove very severe rust pitting, as it removes a lot of metal. But now that you've used sandpapers on the blade be sure to keep it well oiled for a while as sword is more prone to rusting after polishing it.
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Post by Miekka on May 15, 2013 1:55:33 GMT
I would recommend a couple solutions: TufGlide/Cloth or Ren Wax. The first is similar to oil. The second is similar to car wax and is used for long term storage by museums.
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Post by aussie-rabbit on May 15, 2013 7:10:17 GMT
Aluminium foil + water - from the Wiki
"Aluminium foil can be used to remove rust from steel and to polish steel surfaces — by hand by rubbing the steel with aluminium foil dipped in water. The aluminium foil, which is softer than steel, does not scratch the surface. Heat is generated by the rubbing friction, and the aluminium oxidizes, producing aluminium oxide. Aluminium has a more negative reduction potential than iron, and therefore leaches oxygen atoms away from any rust on the steel surface. Aluminium oxide is harder than steel, and the microscopic grains of aluminium oxide create a fine metal polishing compound — smoothing the steel surface to a bright shine."
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