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Anthony.Piscitelli@wo*.at*.ne* writes:

> I missed this thread...could you please share what info you received re this
>  topic....I have a very unusual piece of iron from the rigging of an 1870's
>  sailing ship that I do not know what to do with currently it is submerged 
in
>  a bath of motor oil...I would like to stabilize it and then place it on
>  display with some of the other pieces I have

I can help you but first I need to know some more about it. Was it in fresh 
or salt water? How strong is the metal that is left? How large and thick is 
it?

Right off the bat though get it out of the oil and get all the oil off it 
with a hot detergent solution. Then get it into a water bath that is a little 
alkaline. Do this by adding some sodium carbonate (washing soda) to the 
water. A few ounces per gallon is all you need. You can get the sodium 
carbonate at swimming pool supply stores and it is cheep. Use gloves or any 
cuts on your hand will burn, use safety glasses, and make sure that no 
children or animals can get to it as it is a poison.

The alkaline water will prevent corrosion of iron metals and help draw out 
any chlorides in the metal.

If the artifact was in salt water you can just leave it in this type of bath 
for about a year or so (changing the bath every month or so) or quicken it up 
some by making an electric reduction cell. I will walk you through this if 
you want to go that route.

Always make sure that the artifact is completely covered by the water bath, 
otherwise there will be bad corrosion at the water/air interface.

Pete Johnson
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