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Originally Posted by Matchlock
Hi Hotspur,
Olive oil is the so-called tree oil (German Baumöl) that is mentioned in 17th century armory books as the optimal means of cleaning, together with Schmirgel (sand), and preserving iron surfaces, be it armor or arms. Olive oil is the yellowish patina on untouched surfaces of antique arms; if you clean it off you will get a perfectly preserved milky white iron surface with no rust.
I have been using it in my almost 40 years of conservation practice and will stick to it as it is the historic recipe and has proved to work just fine. During the cleaning process you will get no scratches on the iron surface, nor an unnatural shine afterwards.
Best,
Michael
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Beautifully said Michael!!!! I forgot that you had once told me about olive oil being used on these early weapons.