Rust Removal

[dclevinger]

Right now I am working on a gun that another engraver started and was unable to finish. Some where along the way, it developed a case of the rust. Obviously, the surface rust is pretty easy to polish out but what about the areas that have been relieved and stippled? I thought about naval jelly but didn't want to etch everything in the process. Also tried to re-stipple the background but that proved to be very, very time consuming. I decided to try an Air Eraser loaded with baking soda. Oh what a wonderful thing!!!

The Eraser has a very fine tip which gives you precise control over the blasting stream. This gun has some raised gold and I was able to work right up to it without damage. The baking soda has very little effect on the polished steel, it gives it a barely noticeable frosted look which will polish right out.

I know of a few engravers that have used this setup to create some very interesting effects on their engraving but haven't heard of it being used like this. Just thought I'd share.

David

 

[fegarex]

David,
That sounds like a really good tip. I've been thinking about getting one of those at some point to play with. What brand do you have?

 

[dclevinger]

Rex, it's a Paasche. You can find them new on Ebay for about $70 or so. Another nice thing about it is that you can use soda, glass beads or aluminum oxide grit depending on how agressive you want to get. It isn't very often that you come across rusty engraving but it will come in handy for other things. Here is a photo of the set.

David

 

[pappy]

My cousin is a fine artist who does mostly painting. If he gets something on canvas to remove, he uses corn starch. I just use mine for really fine abrasive, aluminum oxide or ruby mostly. My air eraser is a Paashe. Please be careful when blasting with starch and flour, they can explode when sprayed as the dust is very fine and flammable and there is always static to set things off. I never saw a small explosion like that but I have seen one in the dust collector of a starch silo and it was very impressive! Luckly no one was hurt.

 

[fegarex]

Thanks David. I figured it may be a Paasche. I have a couple of airbrushes from them.