Afghan Jezail in York, UK

RDGAC · 13th April 2010, 10:43 AM

A small update. I spent a fair portion of Saturday working on the underside of the barrel, getting off as much corrosion as I could; gun cleaning oil, a good cloth and a great deal of patience have produced some result, with one patch of rust now down to the black, inactive stuff beneath. This area still has a film of oil upon it, so for now it's protected.

However, I really do need some advice on de-rusting wootz/Damascus; if it is indeed either metal, I don't want to destroy the pattern by over-enthusiastic attempts at rust removal. Furthermore, I'd ideally like to remove even the inactive rust. It strikes me as a shame to leave the beautiful metal beneath obscured by great black blotches. There is also a time factor at work here, in that the piece should ideally be ready for display by early May, and I'm away all of next week on a Curatorial course in London, so advice and assistance will be most gratefully received.

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13th April 2010, 10:43 AM	#11
RDGAC Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: York, UK Posts: 167	A small update. I spent a fair portion of Saturday working on the underside of the barrel, getting off as much corrosion as I could; gun cleaning oil, a good cloth and a great deal of patience have produced some result, with one patch of rust now down to the black, inactive stuff beneath. This area still has a film of oil upon it, so for now it's protected. However, I really do need some advice on de-rusting wootz/Damascus; if it is indeed either metal, I don't want to destroy the pattern by over-enthusiastic attempts at rust removal. Furthermore, I'd ideally like to remove even the inactive rust. It strikes me as a shame to leave the beautiful metal beneath obscured by great black blotches. There is also a time factor at work here, in that the piece should ideally be ready for display by early May, and I'm away all of next week on a Curatorial course in London, so advice and assistance will be most gratefully received.