Cleaning mail.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Hell, why not go for stainless steel segs too, saves alot of environmentally unfriendly oil usage to stop it rusting! :twisted:

[Magnus]

I would, except I seem to care what a bunch of people on an internet forum thinks whom I've never met, except maybe a few. I need to work on that. :wink:

[Lucius Duccius Rufinus]

Stuart,

I have had a similar problem with my recently purchased rivited mail, the stuff smells horrible and my tunic looks minging now!

Adrian who i got the mail from recommended White spirit to remove the oil, however this does leave it a bit unprotected.. but i think im planning on white spiriting it then rubbing it down with a few rags then i'll oil it myself rather than the MASSIVE amounts of oil used!... Has anyone else used the white spirit approach?

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

No, I just used WD-40 and rags. Lay it on a big, OLD, towel, that your mom won't lynch you over!

I didnt remove all the oil, but it has improved with use. I still get a slight amount of oil on me, but it hasn't rusted yet in about 2 years or so of use, 2 of which have been at Whickerman, with usual scottish weather.

[M. Demetrius]

Has anyone else used the white spirit approach

Yes, I have. It takes off oil quite nicely (sometimes sold in the US with the generic name "paint thinner" or mineral spirits. If there's a smell remaining, lacquer thinner or acetone will remove that residue, and leave little behind. Needless to say, these chemicals are extremely flammable. Take proper precautions for ventilation and stay away from flames and sparks (the smoking lamp is NOT lit, so you won't be either :? )

[Matt Lukes]

I just used a little laundry detergent to get the nasty oil of my mail and dried it with towels and a hair dryer- worked like a charm. Oil seems unnecessary to protect it unless you plan to be out in the rain I should think- I live on the Pacific coast and we get probably 175 days of rain a year, sometimea as much as 3 weeks straight of rain, so it's pretty damp, and my mail after a year plus has not a spot of rust on it. I really wonder how likely it was that oil was ever used save if something was to be stored long-term; the rings rubbing against one another when a shirt is worn naturally cleans it...

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

You saying you don't think they had WD-XXXX? hock:

It does make me wonder too, if some thing is worn every day, like you say, it would stay fairly clean.
But, I don't feel the need to clean it up too much, as we do go out in the rain a bit, so the oil helps.
I recall a little rust the first season, but that was helped by the cleanup.....
Mind you it could well have been the colour of the used motor oil it is coated with..lol