Chinese Jian Clean-up Question

kronckew · 22nd July 2013, 08:15 AM

salt & vinegar paste works well on brass and bronze.

maybe too well.

do you really want to remove all the patina?

Neil · 22nd July 2013, 02:49 PM

Thank you for your thoughts. I am not familiar with that method. Could you describe the process and expected result.

To answer your question about removing all the patina. I have yet to use a chemical method that actually achieves this so I am not sure. I will have to put some thought into it. I am curious what you mean when you said the method may work "too well".

laEspadaAncha · 22nd July 2013, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil

Thank you for your thoughts. I am not familiar with that method. Could you describe the process and expected result.

To answer your question about removing all the patina. I have yet to use a chemical method that actually achieves this so I am not sure. I will have to put some thought into it. I am curious what you mean when you said the method may work "too well".

Hi Neil,

To get a feel for the cleaning process, find the nastiest, dirtiest-looking penny you can, and drop it into a small coffee cup with about an ounce or two of vinegar and about a half-teaspoon of salt (stir well before immersing the penny).

IMO I would not use it if that was my sword - provided it's original (which it appears to be from the photos), I sure wouldn't want to remove all that history.

Cheers,
Chris

kronckew · 22nd July 2013, 07:49 PM

that's exactly what i was referring to.

the salt & vinegar will remove ALL the patina, leaving a somewhat frosted bare metal surface. you can then polish it with metal polish to get a bright newly mint penny look, but all that history is down the drain.

bronze 'roman' mace head bought from a balkan country for a few pounds via ebay. (it was an obvious chemically aged fake)

before:

after:

polished with a brillo pad and later with brasso metal polish to get rid of the frosted look.

object of the exercise, mounted as a walking stick:

had it been original, i would not have cleaned and polished it. for your sword, an original, what you have done so far should normally be sufficient.

p.s. - if you do clean it, you'll need to clean the whole thing, guard & pommel, etc. or else it will not match & look horrible. degrease, use plain white vinegar. and refined white table salt (un-iodized). and try not to get any on the other parts. it cleans fairly quickly and doesn't produce any nasty fumes - it does smell a bit and will stain your hands. gloves recommended. wash off well with water and dry well, oil the sword after handling. i used vinegar with enough salt to make a saturated solution.

22nd July 2013, 07:49 PM	#4
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,215	that's exactly what i was referring to. the salt & vinegar will remove ALL the patina, leaving a somewhat frosted bare metal surface. you can then polish it with metal polish to get a bright newly mint penny look, but all that history is down the drain. bronze 'roman' mace head bought from a balkan country for a few pounds via ebay. (it was an obvious chemically aged fake) before: after: polished with a brillo pad and later with brasso metal polish to get rid of the frosted look. object of the exercise, mounted as a walking stick: had it been original, i would not have cleaned and polished it. for your sword, an original, what you have done so far should normally be sufficient. p.s. - if you do clean it, you'll need to clean the whole thing, guard & pommel, etc. or else it will not match & look horrible. degrease, use plain white vinegar. and refined white table salt (un-iodized). and try not to get any on the other parts. it cleans fairly quickly and doesn't produce any nasty fumes - it does smell a bit and will stain your hands. gloves recommended. wash off well with water and dry well, oil the sword after handling. i used vinegar with enough salt to make a saturated solution. Last edited by kronckew; 22nd July 2013 at 08:39 PM.

22nd July 2013, 08:15 AM	#1
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,215	salt & vinegar paste works well on brass and bronze. maybe too well. do you really want to remove all the patina?

22nd July 2013, 02:49 PM	#2
Neil Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 114	Thank you for your thoughts. I am not familiar with that method. Could you describe the process and expected result. To answer your question about removing all the patina. I have yet to use a chemical method that actually achieves this so I am not sure. I will have to put some thought into it. I am curious what you mean when you said the method may work "too well".