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Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ

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Removing rust from medieval sword

Q. I bought a vintage medieval sword and it is rusty and I would like to know how to take the rust off without damaging the sword thnx.

Joseph Kennedy
student - Waterloo, Belgium
2005

A. You can remove rust with naval jelly ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] . After you remove the rust, you will probably find it dull and pitted where the rust was. Hours of rubbing with fine sandpaper and 00 steel wool ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] will make it look better.

Jeffrey Holmes, CEF
Spartanburg, South Carolina

A. You can use 5% citric acid ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] solution (or 50 gm citric acid /1 lit water/+add ammonia ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] to pH3,5)! Good luck!

Goran Budija
- Cerovski vrh Croatia

A. If you mean that this is an actual sword that is from the 1600's or before I would suggest against doing anything to it aside from hanging it up on a wall and enjoying it. Antique swords are prone to rust unless they were well cared for over the years (lots of oiling and polishing). If you decide that you do want to have a bright finish on the sword, sell it and buy a 25 dollar blade rather than ruining an antique. If you decide that you do want to keep this sword, take it to a professional (i.e., museum) and have them arrest the rust.

Marc Banks
- Elizabeth City, North Carolina

A. Please, don't rub it with files, sandpaper, wire brush, etc.! It makes it worthless! leave the real thing as it is. You can call to some historical museum, and ask professionals, what to do.
And buy another cheap Chinese glittering sword, if you want.

Allan Hmelnitski
- Tallinn, Harjumaa, Estonia
2005

A. If it is truly an authentic medieval sword, you should do nothing to it by yourself. A licensed sword professional might be able to do something with it, and if you want it to have a bright finish, it would most likely cost serious money. Whatever you do, do NOT use steel wool on your blade.

Joseph Podhorsky
- San Diego, California, USA.
2007

Q. Hi, I'm thinking about buying a sword made of spring steel. I want to know if that type of steel is susceptible to rust and requires maintenance and special care.

Andrew Colombus
buyer - Hungary
October 15, 2011

Microcrystalline
Museum Waxes
museum_wax

on eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

A. Hi Andrew.
Yes, spring steel is very prone to rust. Keep it in a controlled environment (indoors) when not in use, and keep it well waxed or oiled.
Luck & Regards,

ted_yosem
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

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