Rust removal on vintage keys

[emkay]

I wanted to start a more permanent thread on getting the rust off of keys when making key beads - I have done some testing in the past few days as I have quite a few keys to play with!

Here's some photos of my results - on the left are rusty, untouched keys. The middle four keys were soaked in white vinegar for two days. The four furthest to the right were tossed in a tumbler with stainless steel shot for one day:



Here is a bit more detail of the vinegar soaked ones - this technique worked pretty well, but there is a chalkiness to these keys now and they feel very dry to the touch. I stuck a bunch of keys in vinegar and agitated them occasionally, but this did not remove the rust from the keys entirely. For me, the rust didn't leave the key until I wiped it off, which meant that the corners and hard to reach parts weren't easy to clean with a paper towel. Still, so much better than just leaving them rusty! They're really vinegar smelling, though, and I can't get that to go away - I think I will try apple cider vinegar next to see if that works, because I find the smell much more pleasant than white vinegar.



Finally, here is detail on the tumbled keys. I am consistently amazed with what tumblers can do since it doesn't really make sense - put metal in a rubber cylinder with other metal and spin it at a fairly slow speed for a day, and somewhere along the line magic happens. I thought I liked these keys when they looked mysterious and old, but they look a thousand times cooler just out of the tumbler. They are so shiny and smooth and perfect. I can't overstate what a crazy good investment this ~$40 tumbler was (harbor freight!).



I stuck some key beads in the tumbler tonight - hopefully they come out looking like the keys above but with beads on them!

If you use any other methods or have key bead tips, add them to this thread!

[Ravenesque]

Awesome! thanks for sharing

[Speedslug]

There is always electrolysis.

Most of my metal working youtube channels use low voltage in various salt baths I think. I would have to lookup the details under electrolysis rust removal.

As for the lingering vinegar smell maybe a short bath in water with a little baking soda will fix it. Borax maybe?

Vinegar is an acid so you want a 'base' to counteract it.

[artsyuno]

Thanks for sharing. Did you use soap and water with the shot in the tumbler?

[Eileen]

I haven't got any shot yet. Did you find that at HF too?

[emkay]

I used soap (the tiniest drop) and water (just enough to cover the keys and shot).

I got my shot here, since I was impatient and wanted to pick it up: Seattle Findings

[echeveria]

Do you have a separate barrel and shot for the keys? I am afraid the rust would contaminate the shot for silver.

[emkay]

Originally Posted by echeveria

Do you have a separate barrel and shot for the keys? I am afraid the rust would contaminate the shot for silver.

I don't yet - I'm going to test a small bit of silver as soon as my order gets in to see if I run into trouble, and I will report back!

[echeveria]

Thanks! Much appreciated.

[mewkittie]

I tumbled several batches of rusted keys with shot and they came out really nice. My shot was really dirty after, had a grayish tinge to it. I thought I ruined my shot but I tried tumbling it with just water and a bit of liquid soap. I had to do it twice and it cleaned my shot up so it looked brand new. At the same time, my barrel got cleaned up too. Have no issues tumbling silver or copper after.

[artsyuno]

Thanks, Susan. That's good to know.

[emkay]

Originally Posted by mewkittie

I tumbled several batches of rusted keys with shot and they came out really nice. My shot was really dirty after, had a grayish tinge to it. I thought I ruined my shot but I tried tumbling it with just water and a bit of liquid soap. I had to do it twice and it cleaned my shot up so it looked brand new. At the same time, my barrel got cleaned up too. Have no issues tumbling silver or copper after.

Despite the fact that tumbling fixes everything, I wouldn't have thought to tumble the shot to clean it. Thanks, I'll use this method before tossing silver in!

[glvz]

Have you had any trouble with the keys getting rusty again very quickly? I tumbled some successfully but live in a very humid environment and they re-rusted quickly. I'm going to try again and try some king of oil on them. Any ideas?

Georgia

[Speedslug]

Lots of the wood workers have sprays for the surface of the table saws and other cast iron equipment.

Most have paraffin wax. Others have silicone.

Finger oils are often enough to prevent the rapid re-rusting but if you have tons of keys you could just dump them in a quart of motor oil and then wipe them off.

There are some nice light machine oils like for sewing machines and you could also use any of the food grade oils but you will want to stay away from things that might go rancid on you.

Mineral oil from the pharmacy isle is cheap and a little goes a long way.

Don't use WD 40 though. It's a good lubricant but doesn't stay for along time.

[one hot beader]

You need to get some Renaissance Wax.

It's a museum quality silicone preservation wax. Expensive, but once applied lasts a VERY long time.

I use it on my keys to stop the rust coming back.

[artsyuno]

Most disgusting water ever! The first batch cleaned up pretty nicely, though. I only tumbled them for a couple of hours. I'm going to leave the second batch in longer and compare.

[emkay]

Originally Posted by artsyuno

Most disgusting water ever! The first batch cleaned up pretty nicely, though. I only tumbled them for a couple of hours. I'm going to leave the second batch in longer and compare.

Hah, I put too much soap in my first batch, and there was so much crud in there that it looked like chocolate mousse.

It was most definitely not chocolate mousse.

[glvz]

Thanks for the info, Phil and Nicole. I figure I will make the beads first because the oil or silicone will probably do nasty things to bead release. They'll get re-tumbled and then coated. I will probably try a few different types.

Georgia

[one hot beader]

Yes... wax and bead release don't mix