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Post by theonebastardsword on Sept 10, 2022 3:39:53 GMT
Soo my foray into my first sword experience, the windlass classical bastard sword isin't as optimal as wished. From a factory sharpening that is very dull(or was seemingly dulled in the firsh cleaning by a cheap yellow sponge that was soo rough without my knowledge? Sponge got dark tint/stain on it now, washed with windex.)
one side of the blade got multiple various spot over it and scratches over sections (no cutting done)
I heard of quite a few techniques and looking for something that will clean/buff those fault out without damaging the current mirror finish. (Will get a pink no-scratch scotch-brite sponge and ballistol when I can)
Those I heard were :
Flitz polishing (Has mother's mag and alluminium and a terry cloth here)
Alluminium foil wet/dry
scrubbing with oil/WD40 with rough pads/sandpaper
Which tricks would be prefferable for my case?
Also how do I clean/oil at/near the edge without dulling it?
Thx for every and all awnsers
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Sept 10, 2022 13:47:47 GMT
Windlass is now shipping some sharpened swords. So far as I know that bastard sword is not one of them. Are you sure it wasn’t sharpened by a third party, some vendors offer that service? I am a bit confused as to what you want. The thread’s title includes black/red rust and scratches but you seem to be asking about scratch removal. I find the remedies similar but not exactly. Experience will be your best teacher. All of the methods you mention will work. Some are less aggressive than others and may work in themselves, while others are more aggressive and will be best used initially then moving on to something less abrasive to finish.
If you want to maintain that mirror finish best to finish with a metal polish. Some polishes are more abrasive than others resulting in various degrees of shine. Mothers Mag is popular amongst our members. I use Metal Glo. And prefer a paste and good grade of paper towel as opposed to a polish impregnated clothe.
A favourite rust remover of mine is WD-40 with #000 steel wool, not for polishing. Once the rust is gone staining pitting may remain and will need to be addressed.
Many people like a mirror finish, I don’t as they show scratches and other imperfections easily. When using a polish on a blade, even a freshly sharpened one, I would always wind up needing to resharpen it. My suggestion is to keep the sword sharp when using metal polish is to stay away from the edge.
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Post by theonebastardsword on Sept 10, 2022 17:57:07 GMT
Right, I forgot to add. I brought from Reliks, they offer a resharpening soo il get the sword sent back in a few days. Im asking for rust firstly and scrstches afterward.
Im planning to change to a stain finish once I get the oiling stuff all done right.
Is Mother's mag and alluminium the "magi" you refer to?
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Sept 10, 2022 21:29:40 GMT
Oopps. Mothers Magi is a misprint, make that Mothers Mag. I have since corrected it.
With rust your primary concern I’ll address the rust first. I use WD-40 and #000 steel wool. That will remove the rust without harming the finish. I think of that method first as I’ve used it for years. However, I did use aluminium and water once with good effects and you probably have those already lying around the house.
As for the scratches the same technique will work as those removing rust stains or pits. And that is basically removing the metal sufficiently to go just pass the bottom of a stain, pit, or a scratch and gets a bit more tedious. Do not work just in the area of the damage but the entire blade. There are several techniques for this and I’m sure others will chime in with theirs.
Metal polish will do all of this but being an extremely mild abrasive will require more work on your part. I’d leave that for the final step if you want a mirror finish. My favourite is wet/dry sandpaper. The grit size depends on how aggressive I want to be, then continually go to a fine grit. I usually start at 220 and stop at 400-600, but I do not desire a mirror finish. For a mirror finish I’d continue up to 1500 or beyond, then switch to a metal polish. It requires patience so don’t count on doing it in an evening. Of course the time required depends on the extent of the rust damage, if any, and the depth of the scratches. And last but not the least, how shinny do you want your blade.
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Post by theonebastardsword on Apr 27, 2023 22:41:48 GMT
Oopps. Mothers Magi is a misprint, make that Mothers Mag. I have since corrected it. With rust your primary concern I’ll address the rust first. I use WD-40 and #000 steel wool. That will remove the rust without harming the finish. I think of that method first as I’ve used it for years. However, I did use aluminium and water once with good effects and you probably have those already lying around the house. As for the scratches the same technique will work as those removing rust stains or pits. And that is basically removing the metal sufficiently to go just pass the bottom of a stain, pit, or a scratch and gets a bit more tedious. Do not work just in the area of the damage but the entire blade. There are several techniques for this and I’m sure others will chime in with theirs. Metal polish will do all of this but being an extremely mild abrasive will require more work on your part. I’d leave that for the final step if you want a mirror finish. My favourite is wet/dry sandpaper. The grit size depends on how aggressive I want to be, then continually go to a fine grit. I usually start at 220 and stop at 400-600, but I do not desire a mirror finish. For a mirror finish I’d continue up to 1500 or beyond, then switch to a metal polish. It requires patience so don’t count on doing it in an evening. Of course the time required depends on the extent of the rust damage, if any, and the depth of the scratches. And last but not the least, how shinny do you want your blade. It's time to put the de-rusting to work, since i pulled out my sword from under my glass desk after winter passed and while one side has done all right, the other has revealed ALOT of rust when i brought it under sunlight. streaks and spots of orange rust. The pommel, handle ring and pommel has done just fine. (sword was stored horizontally, i need a wall mount)
I used renaissance wax, heating with blowdrier and applying very generously with the terry cloth.
Il try to get some #000 steel wool and WD-40 or switch to mineral oil+foil. and do another heavy waxing. Any idea on how one side has a terrible failure and the other pulled out fine?
and if you reply, any good product recomendation to prevent leather shrinkage? one piece had a portion of the edge shrink and it pulled down revealing some wood.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Apr 28, 2023 0:38:01 GMT
Did you apply the ren wax before the rusting?
I have not tried aluminium foil and mineral oil. People have reported aluminium foil w/water working for them. I tried it once with success, possibly the second time. My old standby is #000 steel wool w/WD-40. This will not remove stains nor pits; they are another story. One side of your sword attracted condensation, would be my guess. I’ve used several leather conditioners over the years and found they all work. The important thing is not to allow the leather to dry out.
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Post by theonebastardsword on Apr 28, 2023 0:51:54 GMT
Did you apply the ren wax before the rusting? I have not tried aluminium foil and mineral oil. People have reported aluminium foil w/water working for them. I tried it once with success, possibly the second time. My old standby is #000 steel wool w/WD-40. This will not remove stains nor pits; they are another story. One side of your sword attracted condensation, would be my guess. I’ve used several leather conditioners over the years and found they all work. The important thing is not to allow the leather to dry out. Tommorow il go find some #000 (i found #1 at home) and WD-40 (and leather conditioner) and il proceed on the rust. I applied the renwax before hand. I cleaned, heated then waxed. Il also grab some rubber covered hooks to hang the sword to the wall.
I also have access to polishing compound I used on my car paint to remove the yellowing on it's white paint, any usefull vs rust?
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Apr 28, 2023 2:01:10 GMT
I also have access to polishing compound I used on my car paint to remove the yellowing on it's white paint, any usefull vs rust?
Possibly, I don’t know. It wouldn’t hurt to try as you can always stop. What you don’t want to do is to work on one spot. You’ll need to do at least one entire side of the blade in order all matches. And if you have a satin finish now it won’t be satin after finishing, if that makes a difference. The steel wool will not change the finish.
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Post by theonebastardsword on Apr 28, 2023 2:48:54 GMT
I also have access to polishing compound I used on my car paint to remove the yellowing on it's white paint, any usefull vs rust?
Possibly, I don’t know. It wouldn’t hurt to try as you can always stop. What you don’t want to do is to work on one spot. You’ll need to do at least one entire side of the blade in order all matches. And if you have a satin finish now it won’t be satin after finishing, if that makes a difference. The steel wool will not change the finish. I don't have a satin finish yet, but how the steel wool won't change finishes is very good to know. thx! Il give news when i get derusting
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Post by theonebastardsword on Apr 28, 2023 18:43:36 GMT
I also have access to polishing compound I used on my car paint to remove the yellowing on it's white paint, any usefull vs rust?
Possibly, I don’t know. It wouldn’t hurt to try as you can always stop. What you don’t want to do is to work on one spot. You’ll need to do at least one entire side of the blade in order all matches. And if you have a satin finish now it won’t be satin after finishing, if that makes a difference. The steel wool will not change the finish. Back from the store with #000 wool and WD40, also found mink oil for the leather. got my hand onto some sort of small dehumidifier, just a plastic bin with sillicone pellets.
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Post by theonebastardsword on Apr 28, 2023 19:23:01 GMT
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Apr 28, 2023 21:13:47 GMT
As I said, steel wool will not remove stains. That requires a different process. When rubbing your finger over those spots does it feel smooth or does the area feel raised and rough?
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Post by theonebastardsword on Apr 28, 2023 22:13:47 GMT
As I said, steel wool will not remove stains. That requires a different process. When rubbing your finger over those spots does it feel smooth or does the area feel raised and rough? I didin't check yet, but overall when handling the only roughness i felt is where the blade was sharpenned, and just slight. tho now I wasted the sword with glass cleaner, dried with leather shamois, heated with hair dryer and touroughly waxed. Tho I noticed my scabbard got rather tight when i pulled my sword in. (hope it will protect better than leaving it exposed under the glass desk.) the leftover stains aren't active rust I hope?
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Apr 28, 2023 23:29:25 GMT
I would not recommend using steel wool on a sharp edge. If you do, use single strokes away from the blades axis and you should be OK. Rubbing parallel to the edge will dull. You can take care of the edge when sharpening. It’s hard to tell from the photos but I think what you have left is black rust. On a second look I see some red, but I don't know if that is a reflection or not. If red rust you now know what to do. Black rust is not active nor will it harm like red rust. I would stop there. Keep the blade oiled or waxed, your choice and inspect periodically if not frequently. The stains can be removed but that is time consuming work and, in my opinion, not worth it. But then I live in the tropics where rust is a never-ending threat and visits me from time to time no matter how hard I try to prevent it. Not often I might add, but still…
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Post by theonebastardsword on Apr 28, 2023 23:56:03 GMT
I would not recommend using steel wool on a sharp edge. If you do, use single strokes away from the blades axis and you should be OK. Rubbing parallel to the edge will dull. You can take care of the edge when sharpening. It’s hard to tell from the photos but I think what you have left is black rust. On a second look I see some red, but I don't know if that is a reflection or not. If red rust you now know what to do. Black rust is not active nor will it harm like red rust. I would stop there. Keep the blade oiled or waxed, your choice and inspect periodically if not frequently. The stains can be removed but that is time consuming work and, in my opinion, not worth it. But then I live in the tropics where rust is a never-ending threat and visits me from time to time no matter how hard I try to prevent it. Not often I might add, but still… oops, did quite alot of rubbing along the edge, i tried to not push the wool onto the edge tip but just across it's side, but il be much more carefull next time. Doubt sponges or leather chamois can lead to dulling. i stored the sword in it's sheath and il inspect frequently. and what's the best way to remove the wax before another clean and application?
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Post by pgandy on Apr 29, 2023 1:03:26 GMT
I’m not an expert on wax removal although I do use car paste wax on some blades. For me that is fairly easy as I do not buff it to get a pretty blade. But leave it in place after applying. That way I can easily see and know where it is, if at all. I use WD-40 to remove. I suspect you buffed the ren wax to the point it is invisible. I strongly suspect WD-40 will handle that also, but it will be harder to tell when removed.
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