I've run into a little snag when de-rusting a hauberk. I put the hauberk in a closed bucket with some sharp sand and shook it for a couple of hours. The rust came right off, but now the rings of the hauberk are all dull and grey. They used to be shiny. I brushed off all the sand and iron dust. But how can I restore at least some of it's former shine? Do it again with finer sand? Add oil to the sand? Or is there some better way?

Thanks in advance!

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Maybe that's the colour that historical mail is supposed to be :D .
I used to have tha same problem. I tore away the rusted galvanization with an entire pack of 24 "steel woods" (I don't know the exact english name, it's this http://www.antichitabelsito.it/immagini/lana-acciaio.jpg).
I suppose that if you want to "re-shine" you mail, you'll need a grinder and use the technique thet use the armourers to mirror-polish the armours, or re-galvanize your hauberk.

Just wear it :-D Surfaces that rub against each other will eventually become shiny. Oh, and don't forget to oil your maille!

I clean maille using corn cob polishing media and a large vibratory. You can get plain or garnet infused media from placed that supply reloading equipment. It's used to polish brass cases, but also works on steel. Use the garnet stuff for maille, otherwise it takes days to get a shine on the links.

You can also use dry cream of wheat with a mild abrasive like valve polishing compound. It takes a long time to get a polish, and takes a vibratory large enough to hold the maille. You have to be really dedicated to do it by hand.

Put it in a bucket with sawdust throw it in the boot of your car for a couple weeks ( Length of time varies with how often you drive the car) or somewhere where its going to get a lot of vibration, This is also a good way of removing rust.

Now that there is a good idea. I don't own any armour, let alone maille, but I will keep that in mind if I ever get some.

I bet if you made sure the bucket is waterproof and used it as a counter weight on a tractor or other farm vehicle that might get it done faster. (Assuming said vehicle gets regular use. I'd try to find some local farmers during harvest season.)

Thanks all. A generous helping of oil brought the sheen right back. I think the dull grey was mostly dust that refused to be brushed away.

I had liked the sawdust-idea best, Sander! :D Good to hear, your problem is solved, nevertheless! ;)

It would have been interesting to see before as well as the after photos :)

What oil did you end up using Sander? A normal style oil or one of those fancy penetrating oils / lubricant / water dispersals? Always curious to see what everyone else is using.

Thankfully I've not had to go down this track yet :)

I assume that would be something like the Kroon Oil ""Polishing Oil"? Looks like an interesting product, we don't really have anything similar here, not that I've been to a bike shop recently :)

And yes I meant prior to polishing with sand so still in the rust stage.

Thanks :)