Major rust on sword

J

Jayphog

Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
285
I work at a small college and an anonymous donor dropped a "sword in a stone" in front of our landmark building. It has developed some rust and I have been asked to check with my wonderful Blade Forum friends to see if we can correct the current damage and prevent future damage. Any ideas how we can we can fix this? The first two pictures are when it was new so you can see the damage. Thanks for looking!

swordinstone3_zps9d0874cd.png


sword1_zpsd304d256.png


SCSword4_zps713f92ad.jpg


SCSword3_zpsa31eb31c.jpg


SCSword2_zps46413396.jpg
 
Looks like it is already got some good rust going on. I generally like to get the job done with the least aggressive method possible. There are many ways to skin this cat. Oil and some very fine steel wool will be a good start. I'm not sure if that'll handle that huge bit just in front of the guard, though.

Preventing rust will be a chore since it is outside 24/7. Somebody is gonna have to reapply oil, wax, or whichever barrier you choose very frequently.

Once the rust is gone, I'd think about having someone clear coat it.
 
I think you just need to have the once and future King of the Britons come draw it out of the stone for you, then you can polish up properly...

Failing that, I'd go straight for a scotch brite wheel on a hand buffer.
 
If you want to be really gentle use flitz and a rag. I suggest some oil and very fine steel wool, though. You need to remove all the red rust, then I suggest applying a protective coating to prevent future rust. Something as simple as mineral oil will work.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions! We will start the process today and I will update this as we go along.
 
Someone sure went to a lot of trouble to make this sword in a stone, too bad they didn't think of a way to preserve it. I'd clean it as best I could, and move into into a lobby where it would be preserved. If it isn't brought indoors it's a goner, there's no way to keep it from literally rusting away. Even if you clean it up and apply clear coat I still think it would find a way to rust. Again, if you want to keep it, find a place indoors.
 
I would start with grey scotch brite pads and 00 grit steel wool. If you keep it outside it will continue to rust
 
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