A Very Rusty Mask Canister

[BrodieBartfast]

Oxalic acid needs to be used in well ventilated room. You could also try electrolysis which won't affect the paintwork along with soaking in citric acid.

Thank you for the information.
With both types of acid, I assume you leave the item to soak in a tub of the stuff?

B.B.

[Cumbrian]

Unsure if people approve of this, but many years ago I bought a relic German helmet and it was literally like a block of rust. I didn't want to use anything too invasive, so I added luke warm water to a bucket and added several tea bags, this probably sounds like a joke, but it works. Once removed, I used some very fine wire wool. All the original paintwork came through and a Heer decal. The tea will also change the hard rust to a black colour. If you do some reading you will see that tea is good for removing rust and then preserving. Obviously I then spent sometime drying the helmet and placed it in a plastic box with silica gel.

[BlackCat1982]

Thank you for the information.
With both types of acid, I assume you leave the item to soak in a tub of the stuff?

B.B.

Yes, but citric is much safer to use and I use it in conjunction with electrolysis on items. Whatever method you decide you always want to use something that is not too agressive nor irreversible. For example don't rsut treat and then coat in clear lacquer - which people have done in the past and then regretted it.

[BrodieBartfast]

The teabag method sounds appropriate, being a Briton.
I've seen German helmets that have been lacquered, and you can be sure that I'll never do anything like that to anything I own!
Electrolysis probably won't happen, unfortunately. It's not something I can easily set up where I presently live. Looking through the relic part of the forum, I notice that a lot of members use white vinegar baths to remove heavy rust. I'm tempted by that, as it's easy for me to get hold of, and I have a few rusty pieces of shrapnel that I could test it on first.

B.B.

[Cumbrian]

It's amazing how well tea bags work. I've done it with many items over the years and had a of success, worked every time. If only I had the before and after pictures of the helmet and other pieces. Cheap and works wonders, it's the drying and the silica gel part that's important.