Yes Max, correct, gold does not rust.
But underneath that gold is iron or steel and that does rust.
What often happens is that over time the rust penetrates to the iron under the gold, and the only thing supporting the gold is rust. The acidic soak also penetrates under the gold and weakens the rust.
My most important lesson came when I saw a highly respected m'ranggi in Solo take a blade out of an acidic soak. When it went into the soak it had been a very beautiful kinatah blade with probably better than 90% of the gold intact; when it came out of the soak it had maybe 20% of the gold still on the blade.
Mechanical clean first, if possible follow-on with an acidic brushing.
Best not to soak.
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