Well its been over two months (Less then 3 months) since I last oiled and cleaned my suit of Armor from the greaves to the helm. I usually oil and clean it every month which usually takes me about an hour or so. Needless to say it took me well over 5 hours to clean, polish off the rust, and oil the whole suit. The suit looked in good condition as I have it on a stand in my room. Though upon closer inspection there was a lot of light rust all over. My wrists are so sore and my back is killing me as I type this post.

Please care about the Armor you have and clean it as needed or else you may fall into the situation I just went through and spend more then triple the amount of time normally needed to clean your Armor.

Happy collecting and fighting friends!

Let me add that you don't want to go swimming in it either. Than you have to replace all leather and rivets too.

You had to seriously replace all the rivets and leather??? I remember your thread, but I don't recall reading anything about doing that. Man I feel for you bro>< Ugh... Woes we learn about after we decided to buy armor.

I had never thought about all the maintenance it takes to keep up with the stuff, I sure would love to own a suit made of spring steel. But I don't have 30k just laying around lol

Next time (or don't wait!) wipe it down with 'Fluid Film'. They have a website where you can find distributors (John Deere being one, last I knew). Best corrosion inhibitor I have found so far.

Suddenly I'm much more affectionate to my maille... My is galvanized, but even if it was period, a good walk under the sun would remove all the rust (or at worst an hour in a cement mixer).

I just finished polishing an helm of the company (someone painted it with that ugly "forged iron grey" paint) and it was enough for me.

Why does plate require more polishing than sword blades? I wasn't aware of this. If I don't handle my swords, knives, axes, whatever, they can go a good four to five months and maybe more without developing rust.

I'm not the most fastidious guy out there though and I do have a few tiny spots here and there.

Where I live in the Southern US, I have had great luck with silicone gun & reel cloths. Some will advise against this because of chemicals involved, but quite honestly, I've been using gun & reel cloths for years without ill-effects. In fact, the only thing that I have noticed is that all of my swords, armor, and firearms stay in an excellent state of finish, requiring no maintenence even after being stored for extended periods of time without handling.

As a test, I wiped down a blade, did a cutting session with water-bottles, shook off the excess water, and stored the blade. Weeks later, there was still no rust or discenable effect to the finish. The silicone causes the water to bead up, then evaporate without causing corrosion.

The guard and pommel of my Albion Mercenary would develop mild corrosion from the slightest handling. This was a constant annoyance until I started wiping down with the gun & reel cloths.

I used to have a set of lorica segmenta that got alot of wear. It would rust if you looked at it wrong. Once cleaned and treated with the gun & reel cloth, I never had to Scotch-Brite it again. It inhibited the rust to a non-noticable level, even with continued wear and handling. Just wear, wipe down well, and forget about it.

Period authentic way to care for items? No. Does it keep rust and tarnish off? Yes. It works for me. However, your opinions and mileage may vary. :)

Have to agree with Mr. Sarge. Myself, I use gun butter--a track of the Wolf Product that is not unlike 18th c. British Army oil.... but I have old cloths virtually saturated int he stuff, and every time I get a hard use, I wipe everything down.

Some silicon based stuff actually attracts water (WD40) if you aren't careful...but other stuff (for whatever reason, and I'm no chemist) seems to inhibit beautifully.

Last thing--I finish my armour polishing with a chain mail palm which burnishes. It also leaves what I believe to be a correct "field" finish. But most importantly, when used alongside a light oil, it really seems to stop the rust. My harness sits in my basement--not a finished basement. There's no corrosion, even at this time of year...

Do you folks oil the leather on your harnesses? I don't, and I'm beginning to wonder about that. I treat and oil all the other leather in my kit....

Thanks, Scott. mink Oil is one of my favorites for 18th c. trekking gear. Don't know why I didn't make this connection before...