This past weekend at an SCA Arts & Sciences event, a local armorer brought up the idea of using beeswax as a rust preventative for maille. Basically, you'd heat the maille up to around 550 degrees, then dip it into the melted wax, kind of like cour-bouilli. He said that blacksmiths use it on their tools, and it works, so why not on armor? The finish was much cleaner than oil, and seemed at least as durable as oil-blackening. The question I have for you is this: has anyone heard of this being done in period (600 - 1600 CE)? The armorer in question didn't have documentation for this technique, and was largely speculating, but as it seems plausible, I thought I'd look for proof. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

I have used a beeswax finish on coat hooks, candlesticks, and numerous other thing produced in the forge, but I would have reservations about doing it to mail the way suggested in your post. Dipping it is very likely to produce too thick a coating. You would probably end up with a block of beeswax that has a mail garment inside of it. I would recomend brushing the wax (you may have to warm it a bit, but it does not need to be liquid) onto the piece. That would probably be okay, but I am not sure whether or not the rings rubbing against each other would also rub off the wax.

-Grey

The finish on the maille was actually very nice. the maille moved like normal, with no sticking of the rings. The armorer who'd made it said the coating was fairly durable. My question with this procedure is was it done in the middle ages? Are there extant examples with traces of wax coating, or any documentation of beeswax being used on armor?

By the way, why was this post moved? The "Historical Arms Talk" forum says it's for the discussion of "authentic arms and armor from various cultures and time periods", and my question was in regards to the authenticity of an armor finish in the middle ages. So why was it moved to off-topic when it's not off-topic?

But I'm not asking about the viability of it. I've SEEN the viability of it. I know it works, I've seen it done. I'm asking if it was done in the Middle Ages. I'm asking about the historical accuracy of such a treatment.