Hi everyone
I am a member of the Vikings re-enactment group and have recently started wearing a maille shirt and i was wondering how to keep it from rusting up. If anyone has any advice I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks

A theoretical suggestion. I have never tried it, but I would think that spraying the maille with WD40 before and after wearing would work. Not a permanent or period fix, but if you did it before each wearing, it should work.

If I'm wrong, please correct me.

On a con note, the WD40 could mess up anything you're wearing under the maille (oil spots galore), but this may be an issue for any rust prevention method?

Thanks for the suggestion, i suppose it would the easiest way of doing it. I had heard of an oil or wax of some description which can be applied and then dries hard around the links preventing rust. Can anyone varify this or recommend anything similar which will provide a longer term solution.
Thanks

If you want authenticity then you pay someone like Erik to make a replica from bloomery wrought iron. If you want authenticity then you put up with rust or pay a servant to keep it clean for you. If you are not worried about authenticity then buy galvanised mail. Getting Indian mail made from mild steel or iron doesn't make it any more authentic than if it was galvanised.

One possible solution might be to spray the mail with vegetable or olive oil and bake it in a low oven. I've had this suggested to me for my steel gorget.

Trying this on a small scale with a scrap of mail might be advisable before trying this with anything bigger though. Experimentation and all that. And even if it did work, I think it'd probably be something that'd have to be done repeatedly.

I can attest to the Renaissance Wax as I've used it for this exact purpose. The movement of the rings actually helps buff itself. So very little white is left.

wd 40 will come off on what ever you are wearing underneath. trust me

i have a forth mail shirt. it turned orange on me a while back. i put it in sand, rolled it around and it came back metal color. now i keep it in a burlap sack. i kick it around every so often and i don't have any issues with rust. it will keep rusting if you wear it and sweat. its just something you will have to live with and fix every time you wear it. :)

From what my experience shows maille does not rust when it is being worn (well, unless you wear it all day long for several days in the rain). It is because individual links scratch against each other and get cleaned. The only occasion when I had rust on my maille during a reenactment event was when after a rainy day it lied in a corner of a tent in wet grass. Maille usually rusts when it is being stored (improperly). So the basic rules for having a rust-free maille are:

1) Always dry your maille after use
2) Do not store maille in plastic bag (unless you have some moisture-absorbing stuff in it). If possible hang it on the wall or throw it on the floor so that it can "breathe".
3) It takes water, air and warmth to develop rust. You cannot remove air, but you can store your maille in the coldest and driest place possible (driest is more important than coldest of course).
4) From time to time spray your maille with some kind of oil. I use some special rust-preventing stuff, but virtually any oil will do. Most vegetable oils will dry and thus will not leave stains on your gambeson or whatever you wear under maille. But dry oil is quite easily scratched off so some non-drying stuff would probably be better. You do not have to oil your maille after each use. I oil mine once in several months, though I train in my maille at least once a week.
5) If you see rust on your maille, immediately clean and oil it.

Fire blackening maille (by either oiling it and heating or simply heating) will make it more rust resistant, but not rust proof.

http://ed.toton.org/photos/2008/faire/a2336b.jpg ya it does ;) hehe check out the neck line of my coif (black surcoat). that was from about 4 hours

My post was for people who are considering buying mail rather than those who already have done so. Buy galvanised. Why make unnecessary work for yourself if it produces no improvement in authenticity?

Thanks everyone for your advice, it shall be put to use!
I have already bought the maille which is rivetted mild steel and I won't be able to fork out cash for a new one anytime soon (gotta get a new sword first, oh the curse of re-enactment!) but when I do I will take your advice and get a galvanized or stainless shirt.
For the moment I think just carefully looking after it and oiling regularly is the best course.
Just finally how do i get rid of any rust that does appear, i've heard of the sand and sack technique but is this effective?
Thanks again
N

I really would not buy galvanized or stainless as it just takes you another step backwards accuracy wise. Light rust is also most likely historical as it's something that happens to iron mail. Galvanizing is apparent just by looking at it. Flat wedge riveted mail from india isn't perfectly accurate, but it is more historical than butted round rings. The more exceptions you make for cost and maintenance the less and less historically accurate you get.