Thread: Rust Remover

This is in the Lee Valley Veritas catalog. Anyone tried it?

mackie,

No I haven't, although it sounds like a great product for rust removal. I would be concerned, however, about leaving a str8 razor in it for 30 min. to 24 hrs. --esp. one with gold etching. Do you think a shorter duration would accomplish the same result? Perhaps 10-20 minutes?

Is there anybody involved in restoration work at SRP who is willing to test this product on a rusted str8 razor blade and post the results?

I tried a rust remover and it did not work well. I wanted to selectively treat some spots on a blade, but the remover only stained the blade(as in made dark spots). It might have been, better to soak the razor, but I was not sure if this will corrode the blade.

Jhenry
I will send for some and try it on an old razor. I tried vinegar and it worked really well but it stained the blade black. I got it off, but I would not recomend it on a nice razor.

Please continue to try these removers...someday one might actually work...

Here is what we have learned in the past with them,

They of course do not leave bright shiny steel...
They stain the steel either gray or black
They cannot remove the pitting
Since you have to sand for the pitting anyway why not sand the whole thing..
You have to sand off the staining.
Since you have to sand for the staining then why not sand for the pitting too and then why are we buying this stuff if we have to sand anyway...

Those are the results of past endeavors but like I said maybe sooner or later someone will find one that works even sorta good

Yes, I think you are right. You still have the pits so why bother. Mack

Originally Posted by mackie

Yes, I think you are right. You still have the pits so why bother. Mack

Sometimes the pitting is pretty deep and when this happens on a hollower ground blade sanding it off will change the grind. My idea was to try and remove the black stuff in the pitting and then just continue to polishing the blade as is. As I found out, and very well pointed out by Glen, it does not work this way. Hopefully one day someone will find the right product, if it exists.

I have tried Rustoleum which is sulphuric acid IIRC ? Turned the blade black and didn't really do that good a job. Here is an old thread where Sham used potatoes.

We have used it, it does help remove the rust but if you leave it in overnight it will darken the blade but it does clean right up on the buffers. We did have one razor crack though because we left it in for a couple of days just to see what it would do. The blade was really bad and we didn't think it was salvageable to begin with. It had what appeared to be a lot of devils spit and was tunneled through the blade. Caswell carries this.

I tried Evapo-Rust on a razor. It didn't do much for the blade, but it did lighten up the color of the horn scales (which worked out well).