Help!!! - Rust Removal Gone Wrong

K

kade64

Joined
Dec 30, 2004
Messages
12
I need some help and thank everyone in advance that offers up any. I recently noticed some rust on a non stainless bowie of mine, located in small various spots throughout the blade including just above the edge. I tried a bunch of remedies based off internet searches with little luck.

I recently tried naval jelly. I thought I would leave it on for a couple of hours to ensure the rust came off. That was a mistake. Everywhere the jelly was has stained the knife a black color. I tried wd-40 and scrubbing with Dawn and toothbrush with no luck. Any ideas how I can remove the black "tarnish" left by the naval jelly?
 
Not sure what naval jelly is but sounds like you just put a patina on it, try polishing it out. Or, you could just patina the rest of the blade to match, it would actually help protect it from rust.

Edit: looked it up, yup... Anything acidic will patina steel, not sure what the logic is behind using it as a rust remover but the black spots arnt anything bad. It's actually a desirable effect.
 
Last edited:
Sounds like you created a forced patina on the blade. Removal usually entails a bit of polishing. You can start with a gentle metal polish like Simichrome, Flitz, or Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish, and a cloth. If that doesn't work, or well enough, you may have to go up to some more aggressive buffing /polishing compounds.
 
If the "tarnish" is what myself and other posters think it is, patina, then it will actually protect the blade from rust in the future. Something about steel with a high carbon content reacting to acidic compounds, one of the experts will probably do a better job explaining it than me. Hope this helped.
 
Here is a picture of some knives that have developed from use over time, hope it helps as a reference point.

6icsc3.jpg
 
Patina is good stuff, let it get some character. Here's one of mine:

cdg4.jpg
 
evanPGH said:
Patina is good stuff, let it get some character. Here's one of mine:
Click to expand...

I have another opinel dedicated to food prep with a patina just like that. My two edc/utility knives have no "shine" to them, just solid grey.
 
Josh mason tanto with patina, niiiice :D

yes, you forced a patina, no worries, just be soft if you are going to remove it.. cheers
 
155440 said:
I have another opinel dedicated to food prep with a patina just like that. My two edc/utility knives have no "shine" to them, just solid grey.
Click to expand...

Yeah it hasn't been used quite enough yet to gray over but it's used for anything and everything. It has pretty cool oil slick effect if I hold it in the right light too.

I love patina because it's always changing. That's zero ground so when I sharpen it, any patina on the bevel is wiped away and it starts all over again.

sloth357 said:
Josh mason tanto with patina, niiiice :D

yes, you forced a patina, no worries, just be soft if you are going to remove it.. cheers
Click to expand...

You know it! It's actually on its way to Josh right now for a red kydex sheath. :D
 
kade64 said:
I need some help and thank everyone in advance that offers up any. I recently noticed some rust on a non stainless bowie of mine, located in small various spots throughout the blade including just above the edge. I tried a bunch of remedies based off internet searches with little luck.

I recently tried naval jelly. I thought I would leave it on for a couple of hours to ensure the rust came off. That was a mistake. Everywhere the jelly was has stained the knife a black color. I tried wd-40 and scrubbing with Dawn and toothbrush with no luck. Any ideas how I can remove the black "tarnish" left by the naval jelly?
Click to expand...

I used to restore old motorcycles and navel jelly was a savior. Yeah, it will turn metal everything from hazy to black. I always bead/sand/glass blast the item after use. As others have said, you just need to use a polish like my fave, Semichrome.
 
You can work rust spots out with a pink pencil eraser and a bit of WD40 or toothpaste. You have to be careful to not create a whole new finish on the blade though. Naval Jelly is is hard core stuff. As far as the black marks are concerned, your knife is made of steel or should be, so I'd guess some hand satin work might be in order with some sandpaper. You can also try polishing it out with Flitz or other rubbing compounds. If you have a buffing wheel or access to one, the process would be even faster. Do you have any pictures of the knife?
 
Naval jelly is phosphoric acid in a gel. Coka Cola has lots of phosphoric acid so some use that !!! Iron has two valences so there are two oxides [rust] red and black. If you put something in acid you have to watch it .
 
I patina a lot of my carbon knives. When I feel like taking the patina off I use some flitz on an old rag and just polish it while watching tv. It takes a little bit of work as the polish doesn't take off very much metal but it gets nice and shiny afterward. One thing you may encounter though is something I notice when doing mustard patinas. At the edges of where the chemical is, there are little "etching troughs" for lack of a better term where the acid has actually eaten away a bit and has left a line outlining where the chemical was. If this is the case you may have to use sand paper to get down to the bottom of that trough. I would start with a high grit, 600+. Of course you could just leave it as it's not hurting anything and is actually probably helping the rust problem.

This thread needs more patina picks! :D The top one is a forced patina with mustard and the bottom is a natural one(used on food). They're darker in person.

 
Had the same problem, a little flitz and a lot of patience did the the trick
 
jc57 said:
Sounds like you created a forced patina on the blade. Removal usually entails a bit of polishing. You can start with a gentle metal polish like Simichrome, Flitz, or Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish, and a cloth. If that doesn't work, or well enough, you may have to go up to some more aggressive buffing /polishing compounds.
Click to expand...

This^
 
Im not sure if this pic will show up I'm not great with computers (or taking pics). Thanks for all the suggestions, looks like ill be trying some flitz.
 
mete said:
Naval jelly is phosphoric acid in a gel. Coka Cola has lots of phosphoric acid so some use that !!! Iron has two valences so there are two oxides [rust] red and black. If you put something in acid you have to watch it .
Click to expand...

This is the correct diagnosis. The phosphoric acid actually etched the surface. Even if you polish with something like Flitz, the surface is going to be somewhat mottled or matte. The post above about glass bead blasting is one good solution to getting an attractive, uniform surface after it's been etched.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top