I found this beauty at an estate sale recently, spent a bit of time talking to the family that sold it. I’d love to keep the patina that has formed over the years. The trick is that there is a little bit of red rust that needs to be removed. It’s hard to see in the photo, but there is very minor rust at the bolster and tip. I’ve given it a good scrub with soap but the rust remains. Is there anything that I can soak it in that will dissolve only the rust but leave the patina in tact? If need be I’ll just clean the whole thing with barkeepers friend or similar, but thought I’d give preservation a shot.
Remove rust, keep patina
- Thread starter twebb4
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Most of what you'd use to chemically remove the rust will take off patina as well. You can probably spot treat the rust spots?
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Patina is the next oxidation step of common rust. Let's try to transform your rust into a stable patina. I do it with a bit of any acid, say vinegar, on a thin linen towel scrubbing the rust until it feels smooth. Rinse with hot water and repeat until it doesn't any longer stain your towel.
Not what you asked, but for me, I always remove the old nasty patina on these ODC knives. When refreshed they take on a nice rainbow patina, IMO much nicer than the old muted gray stuff.
