A Newbie Question About Black Rust Removal (Ft. Several Unique Weapons for Comment)

Nihl · 23rd September 2018, 11:04 PM

Hey there everyone! First I just want to say that I'm a huge fan of all of your guys' work; I've been lurking on here long before I even made an account, and the amount of knowledge you guys freely put out here is incredibly helpful to new guys like me that are just starting out. I'm mostly interested in Indian/Indo-Persian/just cool in general slashing swords from "the orient", and right now I'm thoroughly enjoying my copy of Jens' "A Passion For Indian Arms".

I don't mean to get distracted from the main topic though, so I'll get right in to that before anything else.

Throughout my slowly-growing collection of arms, there is one consistent issue that eludes my attempts to solve it: black rust/oxidation. It exists on every one of my arms, each in its own unique annoying way. Now, before I go any further, I know that such oxidization is natural, barely hurts the weapon, and is a positive sign of age, and I'm totally fine when that age is spread out across the blade in addition to various other "age marks". HOWEVER when it annoyingly clumps together in protruding blobs off of the blade, or flatly binds itself to the metal, peppering an otherwise clean surface with splotches of dang-near impossible to remove solid black, THAT is when I have a problem.

Now obviously I'm kind of exaggerating my problem here. Again, I know that such marks are natural, but I'm one of those people that prefers - within reason - to have an overall clean aesthetic on my pieces, so I hope you can all see how annoying such an otherwise small bit of black would be for me. I'm specifically looking for something that I can paint on to these spots and remove them, as at least for most of my weapons I don't need to actually submerge the entire blade. In the past I've used simple lemon juice and CLR (not at the same time) to pretty good success, with the help of a lot of elbow grease, however the one thing that always remains are these flat or occasionally 3D spots of black on the blades or handles, which is quite annoying when the rest of the piece is otherwise relatively clean and blemish-free.

I apologize ahead of time for what might be perceived as a transgression, but I took all of the relevant pictures that I intended to upload here with a "professional" camera (really just a Canon T4i), and as a result of that all of the photos are too large/high resolution to be uploaded directly to this forum. Because of this, attached below is a link to an Imgur album that features said pictures with various annotations describing how they relate to this "black rust affliction". Also because of this, the Imgur album might take a while to load, depending on your internet connection. Of course in the future I'll do my best to, well, not do this, but for now an external link works the best. For those that are otherwise uninterested in this subject, the album does contain two Laz Bichaqs, a Pata, Tulwar, and Katar, and a rare sub-type of Katar that I call a "needle-nose" Katar, on account of the fact that the blade looks like the head of a pair of needle-nose pliers. In addition to discussing anti-rust procedures, I would also encourage and appreciate comments on these weapons, as I would very much like to know what the experts have to say about them (though granted I'll probably make a separate post about each one of them later). Thanks ahead of time for looking at this post, assuming that it doesn't get caught up in some kind of filter

Best Regards,
Nihl

Will M · 24th September 2018, 10:29 PM

To remove the black corrosion use Muriatic acid mixed with water and a stainless steel wire brush. Larger bits can be mechanically removed using a piece of brass, I use brass rod or a brass punch to put pressure on the corrosion which it then flakes off.
You use a stainless steel brush so metal of the brush does not transfer to the blade or barrel (brass etc. if using brass brush).
Proper ventilation and rubber gloves is a must with this stuff. It may take more than once to completely remove the corrosion.
Adjusting the concentration allows for minimum or maximum chemical removal of corrosion. Complete rinsing in water after is necessary or the part cleaned will rust. Addition of Renaissance wax a good idea and will darken the surface a bit but remains in the white.

Nihl · 28th September 2018, 10:21 PM

Awesome, I'll try that. Also, as I've been informed that I have to do so, I'll try retaking the pictures with my phone and uploading them directly on here this weekend, though I honestly still have my doubts that they'll fit.

23rd September 2018, 11:04 PM	#1
Nihl Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Posts: 90	A Newbie Question About Black Rust Removal (Ft. Several Unique Weapons for Comment) Hey there everyone! First I just want to say that I'm a huge fan of all of your guys' work; I've been lurking on here long before I even made an account, and the amount of knowledge you guys freely put out here is incredibly helpful to new guys like me that are just starting out. I'm mostly interested in Indian/Indo-Persian/just cool in general slashing swords from "the orient", and right now I'm thoroughly enjoying my copy of Jens' "A Passion For Indian Arms". I don't mean to get distracted from the main topic though, so I'll get right in to that before anything else. Throughout my slowly-growing collection of arms, there is one consistent issue that eludes my attempts to solve it: black rust/oxidation. It exists on every one of my arms, each in its own unique annoying way. Now, before I go any further, I know that such oxidization is natural, barely hurts the weapon, and is a positive sign of age, and I'm totally fine when that age is spread out across the blade in addition to various other "age marks". HOWEVER when it annoyingly clumps together in protruding blobs off of the blade, or flatly binds itself to the metal, peppering an otherwise clean surface with splotches of dang-near impossible to remove solid black, THAT is when I have a problem. Now obviously I'm kind of exaggerating my problem here. Again, I know that such marks are natural, but I'm one of those people that prefers - within reason - to have an overall clean aesthetic on my pieces, so I hope you can all see how annoying such an otherwise small bit of black would be for me. I'm specifically looking for something that I can paint on to these spots and remove them, as at least for most of my weapons I don't need to actually submerge the entire blade. In the past I've used simple lemon juice and CLR (not at the same time) to pretty good success, with the help of a lot of elbow grease, however the one thing that always remains are these flat or occasionally 3D spots of black on the blades or handles, which is quite annoying when the rest of the piece is otherwise relatively clean and blemish-free. I apologize ahead of time for what might be perceived as a transgression, but I took all of the relevant pictures that I intended to upload here with a "professional" camera (really just a Canon T4i), and as a result of that all of the photos are too large/high resolution to be uploaded directly to this forum. Because of this, attached below is a link to an Imgur album that features said pictures with various annotations describing how they relate to this "black rust affliction". Also because of this, the Imgur album might take a while to load, depending on your internet connection. Of course in the future I'll do my best to, well, not do this, but for now an external link works the best. For those that are otherwise uninterested in this subject, the album does contain two Laz Bichaqs, a Pata, Tulwar, and Katar, and a rare sub-type of Katar that I call a "needle-nose" Katar, on account of the fact that the blade looks like the head of a pair of needle-nose pliers. In addition to discussing anti-rust procedures, I would also encourage and appreciate comments on these weapons, as I would very much like to know what the experts have to say about them (though granted I'll probably make a separate post about each one of them later). Thanks ahead of time for looking at this post, assuming that it doesn't get caught up in some kind of filter Best Regards, Nihl Last edited by Robert; 24th September 2018 at 05:15 PM. Reason: Please download photos directly to the thread as per forum rules.

24th September 2018, 10:29 PM	#2
Will M Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: In the wee woods north of Napanee Ontario Posts: 391	To remove the black corrosion use Muriatic acid mixed with water and a stainless steel wire brush. Larger bits can be mechanically removed using a piece of brass, I use brass rod or a brass punch to put pressure on the corrosion which it then flakes off. You use a stainless steel brush so metal of the brush does not transfer to the blade or barrel (brass etc. if using brass brush). Proper ventilation and rubber gloves is a must with this stuff. It may take more than once to completely remove the corrosion. Adjusting the concentration allows for minimum or maximum chemical removal of corrosion. Complete rinsing in water after is necessary or the part cleaned will rust. Addition of Renaissance wax a good idea and will darken the surface a bit but remains in the white.

28th September 2018, 10:21 PM	#3
Nihl Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Posts: 90	Awesome, I'll try that. Also, as I've been informed that I have to do so, I'll try retaking the pictures with my phone and uploading them directly on here this weekend, though I honestly still have my doubts that they'll fit.