Rust removing >>>

I omitted the icon, because I used a Bergeon (largest watch tool maker) rust remover that is meant to be used for rusty watch movements. Gaurav asked about how to remove bracelet changing marks on a satin brushed watch case. So I am taking the chance to explain the procedure on a knife blade. Which I changed from glossy to brushed.


A memory shot from the PMWFerence 2006 in NYC - thank you Gregc, Mike_vroomy and Chuck for your gifts and generosity and also thank you Ted/TMK for bringing the items to NYC. And of course a big thank you to StefG who managed to book our Saturday dinner at Anthony Bourdain's brasserie at Park Lane. Last but not least, thank you Adam in NYC for the backlight Casio


And a watch shot with the still virgin knives

Due to the slim shape of the skinner, I have been storing it together with a Japan cutter, felt tip pens and other stuff in a drinking glass in what I thought a safe distance from the sink. Yesterday I checked upon all that stuff in the glass. The holder/clip from the Japan cutter was so rusty, I dumped it. It says STAINLESS STEEL on the Japan cutter, but as my daughter remarked, only on the body of the Japan cutter. She is going to be a lawyer obviously. I thought if the body of a Japan cutter says STAINLESS STEEL, it should include the clip.

Also a ball pen from the Swiss maker Caran d'Ache had a similar rusty clip. The Aluminum body of the pen was OK, but again, the clip was very rusty and needed to go.

Last item checked was the CASE knife (the slim one at the top). There was substantial rust damage on the blade's front (both sides) and on top of the blunt edge of the blade. Obviously its position was too close to the sink or the climate next to the sink was simply too damp.

Here is what I did to remove the rust and to apply a brushed finish. It is a knife that I use regularly, so I did not go and get the Dremel to buff it to factory polish. Proof that I am not a knife collector but rather a knife user.

Here is the de-rusting process in steps. Please refer to the pictures attached.

TOOLS
1. Bergeon rust remover. Note on the bottle: Product not destined for public. Toxic class 3. Avoid skin and eye contact, do not swallow.
2. CITO Weapons Oil, an Austrian product very popular here in Thailand. I use it regularly to combat rust. However in this case, the rust was too deep already. It's rather a cleaning and rust prevention oil then a rust remover, even it says so on the can
3. Cleaning cloth
4. Food bag wire strips
5. A magic sponge (that's what they call them in Hong Kong), a rubber block including diamond dust, one COARSE, one FINE (quite important to have both, if you are tinkering with watches)
6. Running water nearby to wash the Bergeon rust remover quickly from the fingers!

PROCEDURE
Step 1: I tried to soak the blade in CITO for an hour first. I always try to start with the "softest" product
Step 2: Not a chance with CITO, thus fetched the Bergeon No. 30496 remover. The manual says to put the watch movement for 2 minutes into a container filled with the rust remover and then rinse immediately.
Step 3: I did not want to waste and dispose of a large quantity of this rust remover in my sink. Bangkok has no water treatment, so I am careful what goes down the sink. Thus I wrapped the blade with a layer of cotton cloth, used the red wire strips to tighten the cloth around the blade and then poured the rust remover onto the cloth so the blade was soaked in it.
Step 4: Wait exactly two minutes and then be surprised how aggressive No. 30496 is. If you forget your stuff in that container or whatever you use to soak your item, then you might have shrunk it. The rust was gone, that was the good news. But also gone was the polished surface from the blade. The rust remover ate the top layer away, so the knife blade looked matte afterwards
Step 5: Start using the Magic sponge. I always use FINE (FEIN in the picture, German) first to see what kind of impact it has. Saw immediately that COARSE (GROB) is needed to apply a nice brushed finish to the blade. Then used the FINE magic sponge again and achieved a pretty good linear brushed finish.

Quote
RELEVANCE FOR WATCHES - E.G. REMOVING SCRATCHES FROM A WATCH CASE
Before you go and try to remove scratches from your watch case (with a linear brushed finish e.g. on the side of the case), use an old table knife with a polished blade and practice GENTLE LINEAR BRUSHING STROKES. It is really important that ALL of your brushing strokes are PERFECTLY PARALLEL AND FOLLOW THE EXISTING BRUSHING OF YOUR WATCH. If you look at the side of your watch case under a bright light and with a loupe, you will immediately see all brushing strokes that are not aligned. Imagine you are ploughing a field with a tractor. If you deviate from the straight line, the ploughing pattern will show this clearly. And you will have to "drive your tractor" over the non-parallel part a couple of time until your whole field shows nothing but parallel lines.
Back to watches: If you have to correct non-parallel brushing strokes, you will have to correct it by repeatedly applying parallel strokes until your non-aligned strokes have disappeared. And mechanically speaking, disappeared means that you have removed a part of the watch's surface. For an experienced eye, it will be very easy to spot non-parallel brushing strokes or parts of the correction attempt where too much brushing was applied. And you will probably notice it too, as we WIS tend to be fussy about imperfections
Facit: Practice a lot before you go after your expensive watch cases. Bracelets and clasps are normally easier to work on because they are straight. But still, practice is required as well. And of course, NEVER attempt this method on a plated watch case, be it gold plated or chrome plated brass (Russian watches). For these types of cases I am happy to refer you to our in-house guru Dave Murphy (MOD CENTRAL). Dave knows a lot more about polishing, brushing, filing, honing then I do

QUALITY OF THE WORK DONE
Of course to the experienced observer, the lines on the blade are not perfectly parallel. It is because the rubber will follow the edge of the blade towards the tip. And I did not feel like cutting myself. I think this is the most important part: a trained eye will immediately recognize a hand applied brushed finish. Under a loupe you will immediately see the brushing lines are not parallel.
For my knife I decided hand applied almost linear brushing to be OK. And actually I quite like the pseudo Damaskus effect the rust left on the blade. LAST PICTURE ATTACHED BELOW

I also decided not to go any deeper with the COARSE magic sponge. After all, I will have to do this procedure in the future again. And the pseudo Damaskus pattern on the blade will remind me that this blade will have to be checked again and the procedure eventually repeated.

NOTE
A parent guided icon has been added to remind children that knives can be pretty dangerous. However on the "Poor Man's" Watch Forum we will never have a knife ban in watch pictures or in off-topic posts. We know that our community knows the difference of a pocket knife and an assault knife and the context where they are used. To be very frank, I never really understood the ban of knives, especially pocket knives from watch forums. Pocket knives and folding knives are mechanical marvels.

---

Edited 9 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/2011 04:20PM by Reto.