RUSTY CHAINMAIL!!!!!!!!

[kree]

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=1280106298190&set=a.1014453577038.2101.1696039021

Ok, i stored my chain mail improperly and now its all rusty, i found a few methods online, this one seems ok, i need opinions on this method and/or a better method please.





!. Fill a sink with warm water and a few drops of gentle dish detergent. Put the chain mail in the sink and swish it around gently, then rinse it well with clean, warm water. Hang the chain mail and allow it to air dry, or lay it on a thick towel.


2.Put a small amount of paste wax on a soft cloth and wipe it on one section of the chain mail. Rub the wax in well, and then wipe it off with a clean, dry cloth. Wax one small area at a time until the entire chain mail is polished.


3. Wipe on a thin coat of paste wax and let it dry on the chain mail for at least an hour, then use soft cloths to polish the chain mail. The wax will help to keep the chain mail clean and will prevent rust.

[randy]

The best method I have seen so far is to buy some pool shock. Mix it 10-1 and then soak the chain for a couple hours. After that, rinse the chain off and wipe it dry.

[kree]

I have heard that any kind of acid bath is no good for it, that would be basically the same things if im not mistaken, also my chainmail is blackened if you cant tell from the link.

[Calarn the Black]

Do it the OLD faishioned way...half fill a barrel with sand, throw in the chain, close it, and roll it around your yard for about an hour. Include some hills in it, too. Supposedly, it'll scour the rust off.

[Tiberius Claudius]

Usually, one uses acid to take off galvanization by adding the appropriate acid to an amount of water (not the other way around because it will explode and send acid flying everywhere) in a well ventilated, outside area. After that, you rinse, dry, and oil the armor and store it appropriately.

Since your armor has rusted, the only way I know of to get it clean again is via abrasion. You could take a steel brush to it and not get all of it off after a lot of hard work, or you could go the old fashioned way of cleaning armor.

Get yourself some kind of large bucket or barrel and fill it with some sand. Toss your armor in, seal it up, and roll the thing around the backyard or down a hill a couple times. The chain mail links will move and grind against each other and with the help of the sand, rub off the rust. When you're done, remove the armor, rinse it with water, dry it, and oil it back up. Store appropriately afterwards.

***Edit*** ah, beat me to it.

[Todo]

I think you need more exclamation points in your subject line, this thread really didn't grab my attention the way it would have with a few more.

But seriously, yeah, that sand one is legit.

[Kyrian]

Over at Armour Archive, quite a few people have recommended Evapo-rust:

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-gallon-evapo-rust-rust-remover-96431.html

Here are a couple of threads regarding its efficacy:

http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=97278&highlight=evaporust

http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=96519&highlight=evaporust

One thing I read people saying is that you don't want to leave the maille in it overnight or else it may get badly pitted.

[Tiberius Claudius]

Thanks for those links Kyrian. I'm intrigued by the comments of the Evapo Rust supporters, though the one mentioning a cost including shipping of $150.00 seems like a lot. There are a couple auto supply stores nearby that sell it, so I don't think that I'd have to pay nearly that much.

Here's a link to find places that sell it near you. I had to put my zip code in the "retail" section to get any results.

One of the commenters in the second link mentioned Roman reenactors claiming that they never needed to specifically work on any rust on their mail by virtue of wearing it constantly. This is misleading. Back in the ancient times, a soldier would have worn his armor constantly while on the march so that he could be prepared for combat in case of ambush / unexpectedly coming upon the enemy, for physical endurance training, and most importantly because wearing it freed his hands / baggage for other necessary items.


Surely, the constant grinding of rings against each other from 16+ hours of wear while marching, digging fortified encampments, and combat each day would have contributed positively to rust removal, but no reenactor or casual foam fighter gets enough use out of their mail even during a weekend event to not need to clean it from time to time.

[kree]

Thanks for the help guys, i dont know if this is sticky worthy for future reference for people wanting to know, but it is helpful at the least.

[Isk]

Surely, the constant grinding of rings against each other from 16+ hours of wear while marching, digging fortified encampments, and combat each day would have contributed positively to rust removal, but no reenactor or casual foam fighter gets enough use out of their mail even during a weekend event to not need to clean it from time to time.

Actually, Tibby, there has been some experimental work done that seems to validate that. It seems that rust treatment of mail you actually wore all day on a regular basis was unnecessary.

[Kraesh]

That's what Tiberius is saying. You still have to treat your Bel chain for rust because you aren't wearing it 16+ hours a day every day.

-Kraesh

[Isk]

I'm agreeing with him, Kraesh. And passing along that not only is his assumption probably right, but some people have tested it and their results supported it.

[randy]

I have heard that any kind of acid bath is no good for it, that would be basically the same things if im not mistaken, also my chainmail is blackened if you cant tell from the link.

I placed all my SCA armor in a bath, havent noticed any problems. I havent tried it on chain yet, but I dont see why it wouldnt work.

[kree]

Chainmail is clean, used the sand method, it takes a little bit of time, some erratic driving in school neighborhoods, and alot of scouring with a long bristled copper wire brush, but cant knock the results, even the black stayed, but it did slightly tarnish, but it gives it a cooler look in my opinion.

Sand method for the win, just read the caption of my picture,
and feel free to add me, and if you dont have a facebook, shame on you!

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pho ... 21&theater

[randy]

Grats! Now get yourself some used motor oil, put your maille in the oven * 450 until its red. Drop the maille in the oil. Works wonders.

[calebmonkey]

any reason to use used motor oil? could you use new for this?

[Caleidah]

any reason to use used motor oil? could you use new for this?

My best guess is cost.

[Kraesh]

I'd assume the used motor oil would be more dirty. Maybe that has something to do with it?

-Kraesh

[No'Vak]

What will that do to the blackened rings?

[randy]

any reason to use used motor oil? could you use new for this?

I have only done it with used motor oil... most likely because thats what we already had used...

What will that do to the blackened rings?

It basically re-blankens the armor. The areas that rusted arent really protected anymore. So by reapplying the treatment, you help prevent rusting in the future.

[No'Vak]

I think I saw something on some tv show or somewhere about using used motor oil because it has more carbon or something.

[Oisin]

I have a can of evapo rust that I got from O'Reilly Auto Parts. It works quite excellently, but don't leave it in too long or it will also remove other finishes (like, the rest of the blackening). Let soak for c. 15 minutes, rinse in water, and then apply oil. Pour the left over evapo rust back into the can, you can reuse it.

Then, I'd recommend oiling your mail with a lubricant called Fluid Film. It's much, much better than that other **** you'd get off a hardware store shelf.

You can get it from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywor ... n0v7zgp0_e

Or here's their store locator:

http://www.fluid-film.com/shop/index.html

Fluid Film is like 90+% lanolin, so it's pretty skin, clothing, and environmentally friendly, it doesn't get nasty and smelly and goopy like WD40, and it stays on your mail for a long time without feeling oily. And, this **** really works. It's what the Navy uses to lubricate and rust protect parts in contact with salt water on nuclear submarines.

The best way to do it is, dedicate a single towel to your mail, and store it rolled up in that towel. Spray the inside (whichever side that happens to be, but pick one and stick with it) with FF, spray you mail with it, and then store the mail rolled up inside. Spray the mail again every month or so and you should be fine. I left mine rolled up like that in the back of my truck without once being taken out from September to last weekend, got it out, and there were only a few spots of rust.

[No'Vak]

*

They apparently sell that at the Amish tool store south of town on the county line road.

[Tiberius Claudius]

The best way to do it is, dedicate a single towel to your mail, and store it rolled up in that towel. Spray the inside (whichever side that happens to be, but pick one and stick with it) with FF, spray you mail with it, and then store the mail rolled up inside. Spray the mail again every month or so and you should be fine. I left mine rolled up like that in the back of my truck without once being taken out from September to last weekend, got it out, and there were only a few spots of rust.

I like this.

[Oisin]

It works. It's low maintenence. And your mail doesn't get nasty or smell like an oil pump like if you're using petroleum based lubricant.