Posts: 662
Threads: 59
Joined: Nov 2003
Reputation:
0
I'm about to buy a very cheap lorica segmentata second hand. Cheap because it is .. err .. orange - with rust. I'm trusting that elbow grease can get this armour back to a nice satin finish. But what's a) the best way, and b) the most historically accurate way, to get this thick layer of rust off???<br>
<br>
I might be able to get this seggie for as little as £50 (compared to £400 for new) but I'll need to work on it!! <p></p><i></i>
~ Paul Elliott
The Last Legionary
This book details the lives of Late Roman legionaries garrisoned in Britain in 400AD. It covers everything from battle to rations, camp duties to clothing.
plus a coating of 3-in-1 oil, answers question a. For question b, I have no idea what the ancient equivalent of the Scotchbright pad is. If your new seg is very badly corroded, then you may be left with pitting which no amount of elbow grease will remove. <p></p><i></i>
Posts: 1,568
Threads: 207
Joined: Jul 2001
Reputation:
0
First wipe it down with oil. That can remove some of the rust dust and give you a better idea of how rusty it truly is.<br>
<br>
Second, if its pitted, if the rust has worked itself into the steel you may end up with some discoloration, dark holes, even stains .. pitting.<br>
<br>
Modern methods to remove piting.. angle grinder with a fine sanding disc, palm sander, dremel tool with a grinding attachment.. that sort of thing.<br>
<br>
If you're handy with planishing hammers you can work out some of the pitting<br>
<br>
We always try to clean our segs with ground pumice or chalk in a nut oil. We use felted wool or sea sponges or a leather pad dipped into the oily pumice.. sort of an oily sand paper.<br>
<br>
We've recently discovered that some dogs like the flavor of walnut oil.. one of our guys had his seg licked into a state of rust!<br>
<br>
Hibernicus<br>
LEG IX HSPA <p></p><i></i>
Hibernicus
LEGIO IX HISPANA, USA
You cannot dig ditches in a toga!
[url:194jujcw]http://www.legio-ix-hispana.org[/url]
A nationwide club with chapters across N America
Posts: 662
Threads: 59
Joined: Nov 2003
Reputation:
0
Thanks!<br>
<br>
I'm of a mind to get the armour in shade using Scotchbrite, but maintain it historically using nutoil/pumice/sand and leather pads.<br>
<br>
I can just imagine some new recruit getting his 'new' segmentata in a linen bag and saying: 'hey, is it meant to be orange??!!' Welcome to the Eagles boy. Get cleaning! <p></p><i></i>
~ Paul Elliott
The Last Legionary
This book details the lives of Late Roman legionaries garrisoned in Britain in 400AD. It covers everything from battle to rations, camp duties to clothing.
>>"I can just imagine some new recruit getting his 'new' segmentata in a linen bag and saying: 'hey, is it meant to be orange??!!' Welcome to the Eagles boy. Get cleaning!"<<<br>
<br>
oooOOooooh...So THAT'S what the new recruits did before starting on Route Marching! Aaaah it makes more sense now! <p></p><i></i>
Mithras,<br>
<br>
I have found some rather useful sanding blocks in B & Q. They are some kind of abrasive on a foam block and come in various grades, usually with two different grades on each block. They are ideal for recovering bad areas of rust although not deep pitting. If you use the fine grade versions and work them well they eventually pick up steel dust and by working this back and forth (not circular) you can actually start to burnish the steel to very nice satin, verging on polished.<br>
<br>
After that I'd go with what the other guys said, although in my experience, olive oil works baetter at providing a protective coating than 3 in 1.<br>
<br>
Regards<br>
<br>
Mummius <p></p><i></i>
Posts: 1,568
Threads: 207
Joined: Jul 2001
Reputation:
0
The pumice stones for pool cleaning and grille cleaning grind down nicely into a fine powder for cleaning rust<br>
<br>
In my experience, olive oil <em>rots</em> and turns <em>rancid</em>. It can also harden into a yellowish almost shellac-like coating that gets just soft enough to collect dirt and grime. It rots leather.<br>
<br>
Try using almond, walnut or palm oil. The nut oils are often less expensive at Middle Eastern markets than at regular grocery stores.<br>
<br>
Hibernicus<br>
LEG IX HSPA <p></p><i></i>
Hibernicus
LEGIO IX HISPANA, USA
You cannot dig ditches in a toga!
[url:194jujcw]http://www.legio-ix-hispana.org[/url]
A nationwide club with chapters across N America
I assume you'll be stripping all the rivets, brass work and leathers off it as well? If you do, and you can then just work with the plates...try a wire brush on a bench grinder, or a palm sander will work as well.<br>
<br>
Hib's right though, if the steel has pitted badly...look out. It'll look like it got washed in alien blood. <p>Magnus/Matt<br>
Legio XXX "Ulpia Victrix"<br>
Niagara Falls, Canada</p><i></i>
Posts: 2,540
Threads: 43
Joined: Feb 2003
Reputation:
0
Don't use 3-in-1 oil. It is good for jammed padlocks but it has some component in it that gets iron to re-rust eventually!<br>
During Napoleonic Wars, British soldiers used to polish the barrels of their Brown Besses using powdwered tile. That material was available for Romans, also...<br>
<br>
Aitor <p></p><i></i>
It\'s all an accident, an accident of hands. Mine, others, all without mind, from one extreme to another, but neither works nor will ever.
Rolf Steiner
Was this the one? cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISA...otohosting<br>
<br>
Looks like a lot of work- good luck and good scrubbing!!<br>
<br>
Paulus <p></p><i></i>
Mithras,<br>
<br>
If Brittanicus is right I'd leave well alone. The set shown doesn't look like any pattern armour I've ever seen or read about. Where are the hinges?<br>
<br>
With the ammount of work you'll have to do you might as well start from scratch. Let's face it, the steel barely worth keeping, the plates look dubious in shape and the fittings need a complete re-work.<br>
<br>
I'm due to make try out the new pattern Corbridge B soon and I need a victim, I mean volunteer, to stump up the cost of materials. I'm only in Chester.<br>
<br>
Don't do anything rash!<br>
<br>
Mummius <p></p><i></i>
I'd have to go with Mummius here. Apart from the design flaws, it's so badly corroded you will need to take it completely apart anyway and clearly recreate much components.<br>
<br>
The difference with starting from scratch is the study part. If you can manage that and get the measurements for your own "corpus" right, you are way, way better off!!<br>
<br>
Wish you a lot of satisfaction in your work, either way you choose to go.<br>
<br>
Greetings,<br>
<br>
Jurgen/Quintilianus <p></p><i></i>
Mummius,<br>
<br>
I'd be interested- do you want to email me off line?<br>
<br>
Cheers<br>
<br>
Paulus <p></p><i></i>
Ha! I love the description..."Only slightly rusty"....<br>
<br>
Save your money, or make your own. All you need is a hammer, anvil, file, hacksaw, drill maybe a jig saw and you're done. <p>Magnus/Matt<br>
Legio XXX "Ulpia Victrix"<br>
Niagara Falls, Canada</p><i></i>
Posts: 662
Threads: 59
Joined: Nov 2003
Reputation:
0
Gah! So it looks like I might have a pile of junk. A rusty pile of junk.<br>
<br>
Re-creation was not what I had in mind, just some good-honest elbow grease.<br>
<br>
Damn <p>Paul Elliott<br>
<br>
<strong>Heroes of Delphi</strong> - Classical Greece gone D20<br>
<strong>Zenobia</strong> - Fantasy RPG in the Eastern Roman Empire<br>
<strong>Warlords of Alexander</strong> - Kingdoms in conflict for the ruins of Alexander's Empire<br>
<br>
www.geocities.com/mithrapolis/games.html</p><i></i>
~ Paul Elliott
The Last Legionary
This book details the lives of Late Roman legionaries garrisoned in Britain in 400AD. It covers everything from battle to rations, camp duties to clothing.
|
