HI all, I am a newbie that is just getting started. i am wondering when i do get and anvil and a vise what is the best way to clean them up up,  i.e.get the rust off.

 

sanding it off, gridding it off,  use chemicals , all the them. no nothing 

 

I trying to search this and I did not find anything.

 

 

When the old anvils were ship new, were they ever painted, the body, I assume the top would not be painted. and does anyone paint the body today

 

 

thank you all for being here. this site is a great resource.

 

 

Mark

Greetings and welcome Mark,

 

If you fill in your location on your profile it would help ....   The best advice would be find your anvil and vise and post a picture...  Each clean up is different and requires a several different methods ...   I am sure the folks on this thread will lend a hand...

 

Forge on and make beautiful things

Jim

Ask 5 blacksmiths the same question you'll probably get 5 different answers that work. I used a wire brush and boiled linseed oil on mine. The face of the anvil will cleanup just by putting to work. If your anvil face is rusting use it more often.

As mentioned each job is a bit different and depends on how bad the rust is, how much you need to remove, and so on.

 

I've used a wide variety of methods of rust removal over the years. Everything from chemical removal and sand blasting when I need something 100% clean, to sand paper and wire brushes for lesser things  or electrolytic rust removal when I didn't want to do any damage to the original item.

 

Each has it's own place and time when it's the "best" method, and other times when it would be the last resort.

Post photos so we can see what you have that needs work. The methods depend on the condition of the item. No reason to destroy a 150 year old patina as it can NEVER be replaced in your life time.

 

ALWAYS use the least aggressive method of cleaning.

DSW and Glenn share my thoughts as well. It looks like you are very close to my shop. If you want help getting yourself set up, I may have a few things kicking around for you. Send me a PM if you are interested in coming by the shop and maybe bringing a few things home with you.

-Crazy Ivan

Molasses mixture is the best rust remover I have ever seen , 1 part to 7 parts water ,  

Of the about 12 anvils I have on hand 1 of them came to me painted.  Wire brushing is about as aggressive as I will go and only on items with loose rust.  As I currently live in a desert I don't treat my anvils with anything---of course neither did I when I lived in Columbus OH, USA...

Welcome aboard Mark, glad to have you. Ase 5 blacksmiths a question and and you'll certainly get more than 5 answers, my experience is more like 10-20 depending on the question.

 

I cleaned up my Soderfors, I'll bet the gang here is getting pretty tired of hearing about Frosty and his Soderfors. <grin> Anywho, I cleaned it up by burnishing it with a piece of burlap and after it got almost cup of coffee hot I wiped it down with the wax finish I used at the time. The finish Alex Bealer recommended in "The Art Of Blacksmithing," 1pt Wax, 1pt turpentine and 1pt soot. I don't recall if he said bees wax, I used paraffin.

 

The others I've had come and go I usually just wipe off with a rag and put to work. So long as the rust isn't flaking off it's no problem. The face will clean up as you use it. Just double check and make sure there's no sand, or similar stuff on the face you don't want to drive it into the face.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

I say never grind-always wire brush. Also household vinegar is a excellent rust remover.

Another rust removal trick is to dilute Naval Jelly about 50/50 in clean water, soak the piece, rinse, neutralize, rinse again, dry and oil.

 

If you don't let the piece air dry it will NOT end up with the phosphorous oxide(?) black patina. If you don't get it rinsed, dried and oiled/waxed/etc. it'll rust up before your eyes, fast Fast FAST.

 

Electrolysis works too and is really easy.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

Different people feel different about tools. I love the farm fresh look on my tools, but sometimes a coat of paint to keep rust from eating up a perfectly fine blower is called for. Now while painting a shark face on your anvil like a WW2 mustang may be the coolest thing ever it's not for everyone. I've found a 3M rust and paint removal wheel from wal-mart and a hand drill does fast work. Brought my champion blower back from the brink of a rusty death. But a little brush and some elbow grease will leave it looking pretty and brown. Oh wear safety glasses if you use the drill method!

Wear safety glasses no matter what method you use.

Car battery charger and a box of washing soda---my set up cost me under US$10 and is infinitely reusable

 

As for more information I suggest you google electrolytic derusting

large non metallic container

water

sodium carbonate

car battery charger ( older one is better than the modern ones that only work if connected to a battery )

an anode ( pieces of rebar are fine )

add water and a little sodium carbonate, maybe a tablespoon per gallon or less

when dissolved add the object preferably suspended so it is not on the bottom

place anode (s) around the outside NOT TOUCHING THE OBJECT

connect the red wire to the anodes and the black to the object being cleaned

soon small bubbles form on it and rise to the top and you will get a rusty scum forming

as the anodes get covered the reaction slows so turn off the power and clean them and replace in the tank

 

DO NOT LET THE ANODES TOUCH THE OBJECT OR THEY WILL SHORT OUT THE CHARGER

it may take a couple of days

you need to make a way of securing the anodes and to make sure the anvil does not touch them or it will not be good.

the more anodes and more power the faster it will be but are you in a hurry?

the reaction will release hydrogen and oxygen, in large quantities they can be bad so it may be best to do it outside and slowly

connect to the anvil any way you can

Molasses mixture is the best rust remover I have ever seen , 1 part to 7 parts water ,

I've heard a bout using molasses but I understood the process was very slow? How do you do yours?

I tend to just wire wheel everything.

Andy