Rust off a Antique

[bstuart29]

Does anyone have a good way to remove rust off a old utensil. I don't need it to look new just remove the rust. I would like a safe and effective way to do it. I tried baking soda and vinegar and it didn't help much. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

Billy

[WisJim]

Depends on the utensil. I will use a powered wire brush, scrubby pads, electrolysis, acid, or a scraper, depending on the tool, amount of rust, and what I want the result to be.

[Cabin Fever]

Soak it for a few days in a pail of Coca-Cola.

[bstuart29]

The utensil is a meat cleaver that has been in the family for a long time.

[MaggieJ]

What I do is coat with petroleum jelly, let sit for a while, heat gently with a blow dryer and then use a soft to medium wire brush, steel wool and rags to remove the rust. This will not bring it back to shiny metal, but it will remove the surface rust without removing all the patina and leave it looking cared-for.

If you want this cleaver for use rather than display, I recommend the powered wire brush that WisJim mentioned.

[EasyDay]

Originally Posted by Cabin Fever

Soak it for a few days in a pail of Coca-Cola.

I second this advice. Coke also works well at getting corroded battery terminals loose. Coke is some caustic stuff!!

[james dilley]

When I took the Rust off of A Cleaver. I used A file ,Wire brush ans Sand paper. That cleaned it up real nice. The order was Wire brush, Sand paper then File. Then it was coated in Lard!

[unioncreek]

You may want to try rust removal by electrolysis, here's a link
http://antique-engines.com/electrol.asp . I've used it on old auto parts that are no longer available and it doesn't remove any metal so it's pretty safe. Or you can use phosphoric acid, you can get it in a hardware store under the name Ospho. It converts the rust to a paintable surface.

Bobg

[woodsrunner]

Is the rust orange or brown?

If it's orange then steel wool and oil. Or a damp brillo pad. Carefully rinse and dry afterwards.

If it's brown leave it alone!!!

I'm assuming this is a knife made out of real steel, not stainless.

There is more than one kind of rust and all rust isn't bad.

In the old days they treated gun parts to make them brown. Now they make them blue. The brown and blue finishes are good old RUST !

That brown rust protects the metal from forming the red/orange rust that will eat away your metal. That doesn't mean a knife of real steel with brown patina won't form red rust if left in water or in a damp environment.

If you have red/orange rust use the steel wool. You will probably find the remains of the old brown patina underneath.

Do not under any circumstances clean high carbon steel with an acid. There is the risk of a chemical reaction called hydrogen embrittlment. Low carbon steels like car bodies don't have this problem. The steels knives, tools, and springs are made out of do.

[oberhaslikid]

Crumple u[p a piece of foil and scrub the rust off.

[js2743]

what ever happen to sand paper, does no one use it any more, i think thats one use it was made for was to shine stuff back to its original looks.

[DavidUnderwood]

On cast iron and steel traps I use wet cornmeal.

[foxtrapper]

Dunk it in vinegar, let it lay there for a day or two.

[gilberte]

When I used to trap I would clean my rusty traps in a solution of Sani Flush and water (1 can of SF in a 15 gallon metal barrel). Heck, I don't even know if SF is still available. It is a lye product and quite caustic though. Must be done outdoors and instructions followed.