I recently bought a come-along that was in rather bad condition. I like the idea of restoring stuff, but my attempts with this one have left me clueless. I tried metal polish, something like W-40 de-ruster, and a soft wire brush, but I can't get the stuff off. Has anyone successfully restored a pair of modern cuffs?
What about older pre 1850 or old european items? Sandblasting is supposed to work well on older items. (This is prior to my attempts, not much as changed since. The leather holster seems to be the easier part).
Hi Nils:
As Brad mentioned, an "Iron Claw" actually has very little iron (steel) in it, just the two claws and the spiral bolt that goes up through the middle. The rest of it is some sort of non-ferrous alloy, although I've never been completely sure what. On the older ones such as you've got, I think it's an alloy known a duraluminum, an alloy of aluminum and copper. Just take a magnet to what you've got and you'll probably find it won't stick to the handle or body of the item.
Duraluminum is really neat. It was developed in Germany in the early 1900's and it's first major use was in the construction of the framework of Zeppelins, being light in weight but very strong. The only problem was that it oxidized and corroded like crazy. Originally, they tried to prevent this by nickel plating, but that wore off rather easily, which seems to be your problem.
So, to clean up your item, use gentle cleaners, soft brushes and patience. And, realize that you're dealing with two different types of metals, each of which needs its own special attention.
Don't make the mistake I did and use anything with hydrochloric acid in it. Yeah, it will foam and sizzle in a rather spectacular way (on the aluminum alloy parts), eat away a lot of metal and leave behind a black crud that's difficult to describe, but once you see it, you'll never forget it. The reaction between the hydrochloric acid and aluminum also generates hydrogen gas. Not realizing what all was going on when I tried this the first and only time, while pondering the chemical reaction going on, and thinking, "Hey, wow, this is really cool," I lit a cigarette, ignited the hydrogen gas and burned off my eyelashes, eyebrows and half my mustache.
Have fun.
Franklin
