Ross Rifle Bayonet Conservation

Brookwood

Brookwood

CGN Regular
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Location
Saskatoon
Hello Everyone

I do contract conservation work for a local antique store and I was recently requested to do some work on several edged weapons. I thought fellow CGN members may be interested in seeing how a corroded Ross rifle bayonet turned out.

(Edit - sorry about the vertical pics, something is fouling up in the download.)

Before -

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Cleaning using electrolysis -






Finished project. I lightly oiled the grips with a cold pressed linseed oil/cobalt mix and coated the blade with micro crystalline wax. The 'active' rust is virtually completely removed (except for some small spots of advanced magnetite corrosion that were removed mechanically with a dental pick), but the 'patina' of the steel and original bluing was retained.

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Brookwood
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
 
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David Scott said:
Can you describe your "electrolysis Cleaning" rig a bit? How does one go about building one at home?
Click to expand...

Hello

Corrosion is an electro-chemical reaction. This is the most non invasive way to reverse the process. Just remember it only works on ferrous metals.

The set up is fairly easy to make. You need;

- A suitable battery charger ( I prefer the heavy duty cart type. It has more options to regulate the voltage and amperage, a timer, an internal cooling fan and a beefier fast acting fuse in case something goes South during the process.)

- A non-conductive tank of sufficient size to completely immerse the object ( I strongly advise against using a glass fishtank. The glass is very thin and accidents can happen if the wire suspending the piece breaks...then you have a compounded problem of a flooded work space, broken glass AND electricity. I use an antique thick walled glass battery jar for small objects, a Rubbermaid storage bin for intermediate work and a plastic 45 gallon drum for large artifacts.)

- Sacrificial anode ( In the photos in this thread, it is the expanded metal visible in the tank. It needs to completely surround the object being cleaned as the process will only remove rust that has a 'line of sight' to the sacrificial anode. Steel is most readily available and works best for home use, though carbon rods are more effective. Some sites suggest using stainless steel - do not do this, the use of stainless steel in the process will release a toxic Hexavalent Chromium gas.

- Water and an electrolyte ( straight tap water will work, but not very well. You need to add something to make the water into an electrolytic solution - I use soda ash, available through Home Hardware sold as 'Arm and Hammer Washing Soda' - not baking soda - Do not use salt it will create Chlorine gas! Add enough to the water so the Ph of the water gets to 10-11)

- A non conductive rod and a wire to suspend the piece. (Make sure the wire makes good electrical contact with the piece to be cleaned. If the piece is really corroded, I strip at least 5" of insulation from the wire and wrap it several times around the artifact. Wiring several leads together to make multiple contact points as well as using alligator clips are also options.)


Assemble the rig, fill your tank with the solution and suspend the artifact in the tank. The closer the piece is to the sacrificial anode, the better the process works, but do not let it touch! Attach the positive lead to the sacrificial anode and the negative lead to the artifact to be cleaned. Be responsible and place the setup in a location where curious little hands or cold wet noses can't get to it. Work in a secure, well ventilated area and keep it away from an open flame - when it is working, small bubbles of flammable hydrogen gas will begin to form on the surface of the artifact and stream to the surface. Again, do not use stainless steel as a sacrificial anode or salt as an electrolyte, they will create toxic gases! The more electricity, the more intense the action but this is not necessarily a good thing. The name of the game is patience - aggressive cleaning may remove paint, patina, bluing, ect. Lower amperage, longer treatments yield better results.

That's it in a brief nutshell. As AGB-1 posted, there is plenty of information on the web to explain the process in greater detail, just Google 'home electrolysis rust removal'.

Here's a couple of links to get you started -

http://antique-engines.com/electrol.asp

http://www.metaldetectingworld.com/electrolysis_rust_removal_p2.shtml

http://www.metaldetectingworld.com/electrolysis_safety_p40.shtml

Be safe, have fun!

Brookwood
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
 
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Another rust negation technique is to immerse the item in household molasses, and leave it there for a few months. The acetic acid attacks the rust and removes the corrosions. The vehicle restorers use it for entire antique car chassis preparation and cleaning large complex assemblies like tank final drives that have been buried or immersed.
 
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