removing paint and rust?

[Man of Tanith]

During our recent move I discovered an old hatchet.
Its very old and rusty so it needs some tlc.
How do I go about removing the rust from it?

Also I'm almost certainly going to be acquiring an axe which comes covered in paint bar the edges which is something I'm not keen on. How do I remove the paint?
Easiest method for both would be preferable
Thanks in advance

 

[mrcharly]

Wire brush on an angle grinder or drill.

 

[Gray]

Maybe a wire bush attachment for an angle grinder


Doh......great minds think alike

 

[Man of Tanith]

Makes sense.
Any other suggestions?
Assuming I haven't uncovered my power tools yet from the move.
Apparently my man cave is also random stuff storage area......

 

[Biker]

There is a method of using 12v electrickery turning the tool and another metal item into an anode and cathode and transferring the rust from the tool to the other thing. It's clever, but I haven't tried this method since I do have an angle grinder and a wire brush attachment.

 

[Two Socks]

I removed paint on my hatchet by soaking it in a container of nailpolish-remover once. (It was the easiest source of acetone of a high enough concentration to act as a proper solvent). I bet there are other solvents easily sourced but acetone did the trick for me.

off topic question: I keep seeing the abbreviation 'tlc'. I assume it might stand for time, love and care, but is that assumption correct?

 

[Man of Tanith]

Tender loving care. So close
Nail polish remover eh? Hmmmm give that a go

 

[Robbi]

near enough we call it...Tender Love and Care


MoT ...i'd soak the rust bit in a big container of coke - a - cola for a couple of days, that should shift the rust.

with the paint, get some Nitromorse paint stripper, wonderfull stuff, just paint it on, leave and repeat untill all the paint scrapes off.

 

[Teepee]

near enough we call it...Tender Love and Care


MoT ...i'd soak the rust bit in a big container of coke - a - cola for a couple of days, that should shift the rust.

with the paint, get some Nitromorse paint stripper, wonderfull stuff, just paint it on, leave and repeat untill all the paint scrapes off.

+1. Paint on metal; remove with nitromors and a wire brush/wire wool if you haven't got a flapwheel or patience and wet and dry paper. Doing this first will remove most of the surface rust too.

If you've only got some wet and dry paper, you can use it wet in the sink and keep the paint and rust dust in the bowl.

 

[Stringmaker]

Nitromors is evil stuff.

If you do use it then make sure you work in good ventilation and don't get any of it on your skin; even the vapours can cause blisters.

 

[Robbi]

Jeez ! nothing like a good bit of scare mongering !

 

[British Red]

Paint stripper on the paint Sam,

A battery charger, tub, bag of soda and a bit of sacrificial steel will remove all the rust

[video=youtube;NsUKRyXbFe4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsUKRyXbFe4[/video]

 

[Stringmaker]

Jeez ! nothing like a good bit of scare mongering !

The label on the can will tell him the same thing; I've seen what it can do. It isn't labelled "Harmful" for nothing.

 

[Golb]

Soak it in vinegar. Helps to remove the rust.

 

[bilmo-p5]

+1 for Nitromors & electrolysis.

 

[Skaukraft]

Paint: Acetone. Just removed the black coating from two Bacho axes. Just wiped it of with acetone soaked rags.
Rust: Soak the item in citric acid. remeber to keep the temp of the solution at about 35-40 deg. C, othervise it won't work.

 

[British Red]

Rust: Soak the item in citric acid. remeber to keep the temp of the solution at about 35-40 deg. C, othervise it won't work.

Ahhh citric acid - everyone should have a kilo - amazing stuff - I make everything from toilet cleaner to wine additives from it!

 

[Paul_B]

Aah! Coke...wonderful stuff. Used to drink it after a day's kayaking in a suspect river such as at Home Pierpont Whitewater centre. Apparently it was a cure for the dodgy stomach people got from the water there. Many uses indeed. Think it is the phosphoric acid in it that does the most harm/good!!

 

[Zingmo]

It doesn't really matter how you clean them up, the important thing is that you post before and after photos so that poor office-bound types like me can live vicariously through the internet!

Nitromors is basically soda and wallpaper paste, you can make your own. I nearly died as a result of using nitromors once; I got some on the lid of wifey's new chest freezer!

A good long vinegar soak works well on rust but will emphasize rather than hide any pitting from the rust. Fine if you are happy with that look, but if you want shiny then I know of no alternative than abrasives and elbow grease.

Z

 

[Biker]

....Nitromors is basically soda and wallpaper paste, you can make your own. I nearly died as a result of using nitromors once; I got some on the lid of wifey's new chest freezer!

Z

I laughed out loud at that comment. Very good.