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Rust, preventing and cleaning

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Sir William:
Silvanus, I was meaning the younger squires but if you are willing, I have helms and breastplates (and other plate bits) that require more attention than I'm giving them.  lol

Sir Ulrich:
Does anyone know how to clean surface rust off of maille? I honestly have not a clue how to, I been using a wire brush to clean it bit by bit but it's neither stimulating nor that effective. This is all thanks to my maille chausses rusting after I cleaned the oil off of them and I cleaned them in only an HOUR and they got all rusty which really POed me. I was considering throwing them in the dryer as they're only about 5-6 pounds each but I tried that for about 20 minutes to no avail. I am NOT using harsh chemicals as I'm not making the same mistake of getting it wet again. I want to to use an abrasive method to clean it off. I was considering getting sacks of sand and tossing them around as they're not as heavy as a hauberk which means it would probably be easier but I really need help here I dont want to end up with pitting corrosion and my maile rusting away.

Sir Wolf:
they wont rust away. it takes years for metal to do that. my forth armoury mail turned completely orange once with rust from camping and fighting in the rain. i put it in a sack of sand and moved it around for a while. i kept it in there and moved it each day. i think i even dumped the sand and put in new sand. then i brushed it off, sprayed it with oil lightly and let it hang. i may have even wiped down the oil some. then i kept it in a burlap sack. i moved it around every once in a while just to clean it. that's what mail does, it self cleans as it is abrasive to itself. it will no longer stay shiny. it may even turn dark. you will be fine. :)

Sir Ulrich:
I tumbled mine in a dryer which got rid of most the rust. Has a bit of a patina on it now and looks rather genuine and not so machine made. I actually prefer it with the patina on it. Wont work for my hauberk though cause thats like 25 pounds at least, not gonna risk breaking the dryer for that, but once it's tailored it probably should weigh less.

Sir Martyn:
Good tips all. 

Some of my European friends had also recorded the possible use of olive oil as another natural metal preservative.  I haven't tried it (using Ballistol for the moment, non-toxic & the application/smell is more tolerable indoors than WD40) saying when it dries it also leaves a protective layer on the armor, etc.  Still need to try it out.

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