Info Favorites Register Log in
myArmoury.com Discussion Forums

Forum index Memberlist Usergroups Spotlight Topics Search
Forum Index > Off-topic Talk > Cleaning Mail Armour Reply to topic
This is a standard topic  
Author Message
Christian Henry Tobler




Location: Oxford, CT
Joined: 25 Aug 2003

Posts: 704

PostPosted: Wed 05 Mar, 2008 10:02 pm    Post subject: Cleaning Mail Armour         Reply with quote

Hello all,

I've got several pieces of riveted mail to degrease (coif, hauberk, and haubergeon from SN Exports). What's the best procedure you guys have found for doing this?

Thanks in advance,

Christian

Christian Henry Tobler
Order of Selohaar

Freelance Academy Press: Books on Western Martial Arts and Historical Swordsmanship

Author, In Saint George's Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address
Bill Grandy
myArmoury Team


myArmoury Team

Location: Northern VA,USA
Joined: 25 Aug 2003
Reading list: 43 books

Spotlight topics: 2
Posts: 4,194

PostPosted: Wed 05 Mar, 2008 10:26 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Ironically, I've just started doing this. Happy

I'm attempting rolling the mail around in a buck of wood chips (the same kind used for lining hamster cages). I've been told that works better than sand in that it absorbs some of the excess. I've been rolling it around on and off the past couple of days, and I'll let you know if its successful.

HistoricalHandcrafts.com
-Inspired by History, Crafted by Hand


"For practice is better than artfulness. Your exercise can do well without artfulness, but artfulness is not much good without the exercise.” -anonymous 15th century fencing master, MS 3227a
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Christoffer Lorang Dahl




Location: Oslo, Norway
Joined: 18 Jul 2007

Posts: 29

PostPosted: Thu 06 Mar, 2008 12:58 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

If it´s serious degreasing you are after, you should try soaking the mail in pain thinner. As suggested a couple of other places here and there, I tried this on my seriously greasy GDFB maile. Left it in for an hour or so, turning it every fifteen minutes. Rinse well with warm water and dry quickly. I tossed mine around in a old towel, before I hung it on a radiator.

It worked like a charm! It doesent get perfectly shiny, but it removes the excess grease and leaves just enough to keep it from rusting.

I hope this helps! And do remember to recycle the used pain thinner.

Heavy metal!
View user's profile Send private message
Sam Barris




Location: San Diego, California
Joined: 29 Apr 2004
Likes: 4 pages

Posts: 630

PostPosted: Thu 06 Mar, 2008 2:12 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Here are these two threads from way back: http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=7855 and http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=5459 Big Grin
Pax,
Sam Barris

"Any nation that draws too great a distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and its fighting done by fools." —Thucydides
View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger
Ed Toton




Location: Northern VA
Joined: 16 Sep 2005

Spotlight topics: 1
Posts: 462

PostPosted: Thu 06 Mar, 2008 10:17 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

What sort of cleaning are you doing? De-greasing or de-rusting?

I've found for aluminum mail, liquid dish-soap in the sink with generous amounts of water is great.

For de-greasing steel I'll second the suggestion of paint thinner... anything along those lines should work. I've personally used mineral spirits, but thinner, turpentine, even kerosene should do the trick. I've done this in a plastic tub, generous amounts of minerals spirits, and paper towels.

For de-rusting, I don't have much experience (thankfully), but I suspect what others have said about using sand, wood chips, and WD-40 to loosen it up are all probably good suggestions. I also had the thought of using CLR (Calcium Lime Rust, available at hardware stores and smells like rotten eggs) and a wire-brush for rust that's more deeply set in, but you might be marring the finish this way. CLR is good at removing surface rust without messing with the finish by itself, but it won't get into the deeper stuff when just used with paper towels in my experience.

-Ed T. Toton III
ed.toton.org | ModernChivalry.org
My armor photos on facebook
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Chuck Russell




Location: WV
Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Reading list: 46 books

Posts: 936

PostPosted: Thu 06 Mar, 2008 10:39 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

i wouldnt use WD 40. its water based and makes more of a mess. trust me. its gets on your clothing and its hard to get off.

for degreeceing i have wipped my mail down as much as possibel, the put olive oil on it and put it in the oven at the lowest temp. then played around with it in teh oven getting all the parts. then took it out and wippped it down again.

i've always had luck with sand. jsut roll it in sand several times etc. i now keep my mail in a burlap bag. i kick itaround every once in a while just got "kicks" i haven't had rust on my mail in several years. and before i gave it the sand treatment it was burnt orange with it. as you can see from this picture taken on 2003. http://www.historiclife.com/images/Hastings/2...ans-04.jpg
View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger
Christian Henry Tobler




Location: Oxford, CT
Joined: 25 Aug 2003

Posts: 704

PostPosted: Thu 06 Mar, 2008 11:01 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hi folks,

Yep, I'm degreasing some new mail, not removing rust.

I'm going to try some spray degreaser tonight, followed by spraying with water and then a blow drying.

We'd cleaned my student Rob's coif previously with carb. cleaner, and that worked too.

I'll report back on the results.

Oh, and Chuck, I've had good luck with spray silicone as a mail preservative.

Best,

CHT

Christian Henry Tobler
Order of Selohaar

Freelance Academy Press: Books on Western Martial Arts and Historical Swordsmanship

Author, In Saint George's Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address
Michael Ahrens




Location: Staten Island & Andes NY
Joined: 27 Oct 2006
Likes: 1 page

Posts: 186

PostPosted: Thu 06 Mar, 2008 11:48 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Christian

when i recieved my mail from Von Sussen, i hung it over a broom stick through the arms. i used some orange smelling degreeser from home depot. hosed it down in my driveway and used an old towel and the sunshine to dry it. worked out great.



Mike

Mike Ahrens
http://www.selohaar.org/

Staten Island German Martial Arts (S.I.G.M.A.)
http://www.sigmanewyork.webs.com/

Member of the 1st Universal Church of St. John Cantius Garand, Reformed (Gas Port)
View user's profile Send private message
Gary A. Chelette




Location: Houston, Texas
Joined: 29 May 2007
Reading list: 2 books

Posts: 337

PostPosted: Thu 06 Mar, 2008 12:07 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

[quote="Chuck Russell"]i wouldnt use WD 40. its water based and makes more of a mess./quote]

Main ingredients, from the material safety data sheet, are:

* 50%: Stoddard solvent (mineral spirits, somewhat similar to, but not the same as, kerosene)
* 25%: Liquefied petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant, carbon dioxide is used now to reduce considerable flammability)
* 15+%: Mineral oil (light lubricating oil)
* 10-%: Inert ingredients

No water listed.

Are you scared, Connor?
No, Cousin Dugal. I'm not!
Don't talk nonsense, man. I peed my kilt the first time I went into battle.
Oh, aye. Angus pees his kilt all the time!
View user's profile Send private message MSN Messenger
Dan Howard




Location: Maitland, NSW, Australia
Joined: 08 Dec 2004

Spotlight topics: 2
Posts: 3,636

PostPosted: Mon 10 Mar, 2008 6:24 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Why don't people simply buy galvanised mail. It is just as "historical" as the riveted mail people happily buy from India. Probably more so since there are surviving examples of galvanised mail but nothing that even remotely resembles the types of links being made in India. if you want historical then get Erik to make some mail from wrought iron for you and pay a servant to keep it clean. Otherwise save yourself some trouble and buy galvanised. It works perfectly well for me and even darkens nicely to have the desired hue. The only time I bother with ungalvanised iron and correct riveting is when I need to study a particular aspect of the amror for research.
View user's profile Send private message
Chuck Russell




Location: WV
Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Reading list: 46 books

Posts: 936

PostPosted: Mon 10 Mar, 2008 6:53 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

i dont know of any galv mail. ?? i've heard of tinned mail but not galv mail in period. Happy can i get a source?
View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger
John Facundus




Location: Free State of Arizona, USA
Joined: 26 Jun 2005
Reading list: 1 book

Posts: 31

PostPosted: Mon 10 Mar, 2008 7:38 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

I bought a stainless riveted hauberk that came really messy, grease and dirt. I sprayed it down with simple green and put it in a bucket for 5 minutes while I drove to the coin operated carwash. I laid the shirt out on the cement and sprayed it down both sides inside and out and used the foaming brush on the hauberk . I hung the hauberk up to dry in the sun. Perfect ! It was about as easy and effective as you could ask, spotless clean, no rust, Big Grin no oil, 10 minutes total and 4 bucks in quarters, good luck!
"Live as brave men; and if fortune is adverse, front its blows with brave hearts." Marcus Tulius Cicero
View user's profile Send private message
Dan Howard




Location: Maitland, NSW, Australia
Joined: 08 Dec 2004

Spotlight topics: 2
Posts: 3,636

PostPosted: Tue 11 Mar, 2008 3:28 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Chuck Russell wrote:
i dont know of any galv mail. ?? i've heard of tinned mail but not galv mail in period. Happy can i get a source?

Not in Europe. Only in India and the Middle East.
View user's profile Send private message
Chuck Russell




Location: WV
Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Reading list: 46 books

Posts: 936

PostPosted: Tue 11 Mar, 2008 8:14 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

so how would something that is found in India supposed to be period for Europe? Wink hehehe
View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger
Chad Arnow
myArmoury Team


myArmoury Team

PostPosted: Wed 12 Mar, 2008 4:59 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Chuck Russell wrote:
so how would something that is found in India supposed to be period for Europe? Wink hehehe


I think you're missing Dan's point. He's saying almost all reproduction mail is historically inaccurate to start with, galvanizing or not. If you're not getting the best custom mail, then it's inaccurate. Galvanizing is inaccurate for European mail. Therefore, why not use some of the galvanized mail found on today's market since it's rust resistant? It's already inaccurate due to construction. The galvanizing doesn't really make it so much less accurate than it already is.

Happy

ChadA

http://chadarnow.com/
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Chuck Russell




Location: WV
Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Reading list: 46 books

Posts: 936

PostPosted: Wed 12 Mar, 2008 5:49 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

right i know Happy i was just being silly. but then again, 2 wrongs don't make it any righter (is that a word?)

Most LH groups i know don't like galv mail cause even from 10 ft it doesn't look right. Sometimes even the public can figure that out. When riveted mail became cheaper on the market I know at least 2 groups that banned butted mail jut to get rid of that inacuracy.

As for the construction of riveted mail, its riveted or the alt method. To most groups thats as close as you can get now adays. Yes the rings are slightly off, yes the rivets aren't right but its all we have. Alot better than we did 15 years ago. Prob will be better 15 years from now.

And as to an Eric shirt, hehe i don't have 10k to spend on a shirt Wink
View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger
Wojciech P




Location: Poland
Joined: 02 Dec 2007

Posts: 3

PostPosted: Tue 25 Mar, 2008 4:12 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hello everyone,

I' m new here and I have some questions for you more experienced guys.
I come from Poland and in fact not many people know about the possibilty of buying riveted chaimail from India.

Recently I come across an offer from an Indian manufacturer of chaimail shirt made of riveted rings at the price of around 250 us dollars plus 100 dollars for shipping. I'm thinking about buying some because this price is about 1/4 the price you can get in Poland.

Does enyone of you have some experience with Indian dealers or manufactures?
Are they reliable? What is the quality of their chainmails?
Can you recommend any particular company?

thanks for reply
Wojtek
View user's profile Send private message


Display posts from previous:   
Forum Index > Off-topic Talk > Cleaning Mail Armour
Page 1 of 1 Reply to topic
All times are GMT - 8 Hours

View previous topic :: View next topic
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum






All contents © Copyright 2003-2024 myArmoury.com — All rights reserved
Discussion forums powered by phpBB © The phpBB Group
Switch to the Basic Low-bandwidth Version of the forum