How to clean off surface rust on acid and stone washed blades?

J

JDX

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Mar 2, 2014
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question says it all. There's a few specks of surface rust on my manix 2. The blade is stone washed and I was wondering what I should do to get rid of it?

Thanks
 
I use ultrafine steel wool and guncleaner or edci solution. You could try scotch bright too.
 
Bar keepers friend. Scrub VERY lightly with say a toothbrush, then rise it off quickly, within a minute or less.

Also a home remedy I've used that worked: Soaked a blade in lemon juice for hours. Although this was done on plain stainless not stonewashed. It's not likely--but is possible--that the lemon juice could affect the stonewash finish.
 
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It should be stressed that when using steel wool for this purpose that it be STAINLESS steel wool. Never, never use ordinary steel wool to scrub or clean a stainless steel surface. By doing so you risk impairing the integrity of the passivated surface and can induce rust to take hold.

Other options include toothbrush-shaped and double-ended brass or phosphor bronze brushes often sold for cleaning firearms. With luck even your neighborhood drugstore will have identical brushes stocked in the hardware aisle.
 
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This is my Go To for surface rust. Available at any Ace Hardware:

pACE3-959891enh-z7.jpg

Absolutely won't scuff even BeadBlasted blade surfaces. A can lasts forever.
Works on some handle *snail trails* too.
 
I use Nevr Dull to lighten patina as well. It's a chemically treated cotton wadding so no worry about it abrading the blade.
 
For passivating stainless steel nitric acid has been used usually. But now ,as it's easier on the environment , citric acid [ as in lemon juice ] has been used .
 
I just used lemon juice again last night for rust removal, this time on some chrome-plated nuts that were part of a sharpening stone holder and had flash-rusted. About 4 hours of soaking in lemon juice, all the rust came right off, no damage to the plating at all that I can tell.
 
If you want to try a mild acid, then cheap distilled white vinegar with a pH of 2.2 - 2.4 is readily available at your local market. Coincidentally, white vinegar approximates the pH of lemon or other citrus juices (2.0 - 2.5).

However, using an acid in your case might be questionable, unless you intend dunking and etching the entire blade. If the rust is confined to just spots as I believe, then brushing with an ordinary nylon toothbrush and a liberal spray of WD-40 or other light oil will remove most of it without affecting the surrounding finish.

Some people have had modest success rubbing lightly rusted steel surfaces with a piece of thick-gauge copper wire or even the edge of a copper penny minted prior to 1982 (those minted thereafter are mostly zinc) again, with a liberal dose of light oil.
 
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Thanks for the response, I also feel like the acid stonewashed is fading. I was wearing gloves with rubber palms and fingers and when wiping dirt off the blade, the finish faded a noticeable amount. Will post pics when I'm home
 
If you are going to use BKF, the Cookware version is stronger in that feldspar, DBBSA and oxalic acid levels have been increased.
 
Lots of advice that will damage your blade finish here.
From someone who does this for a living- use 0000 steel wool and lightly rub the rust. And no- it won't imbed in your blade and cause rust.
BKF and erasers are abrasive. They will mark your blade.
Acids will alter or remove the finish.
Try some WD 40 on a soft cloth before anything else. If the rust is raised enough that you can feel it- try the steel wool.
 
maximus83 said:
Bar keepers friend. Scrub VERY lightly with say a toothbrush, then rise it off quickly, within a minute or less.

Also a home remedy I've used that worked: Soaked a blade in lemon juice for hours. Although this was done on plain stainless not stonewashed. It's not likely--but is possible--that the lemon juice could affect the stonewash finish.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't leaving the knife blade in lemon juice cause a forced patina?
 
Bar Keepers Friend often doesn't even need scrubbing at all, to remove light rust. Just mix it with some water to make a paste, then apply it to the affected spots with a Q-tip. Let it sit for 30-60 seconds, then rinse it off. The oxalic acid in BKF does the work, dissolving the iron oxide (rust). So long as it's not left on the steel too long, there's little risk of altering the finish. Leaving it longer than ~60 seconds or so runs a risk of etching the steel.

This^ would be my first go-to, for rust on a blade; especially on a stainless blade. It's just easy. The 'specks' of rust on the blade, per the OP, should be simple to remove this way.


David
 
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Lapedog said:
Wouldn't leaving the knife blade in lemon juice cause a forced patina?
Click to expand...

It doesn't with regular stainless. I've used it many many times. However....as I said....I haven't used it on a stonewash finish and I'd urge caution there.
 
You left out my perennial favorite, blowtorch + bastard file. That combo can solve almost anything. :p
 
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