« Crack Attack in tha 'hood | Main | "masc/musc/mil" »
April 29, 2007
weekend project
I have two horseshoes I'd like to preserve. The smaller one was found in northern Kyrgizstan 10 years ago when I was hiking from Almaty, the former capitol of Kazakstan, to Kyrgizstan. I found it when we ascended from the Tien Shan mountains into Kyrgizstan.
The larger one was found off of highway 80 in Virginia, while I was peeing on the roadside (too far from a rest stop). I did not pee on the horseshoe.
Through some contacts I learned from Gretchen Voeks, a conservator at the National Parks Service Western Archeological and Conservation Center in Tucson, AZ, who specializes in the preservation of metal and stone. Her recommendations for my horseshoe project are as follows:
- If the horseshoe has been exposed to salt water then electrolysis is the proper method;
Sorry, don't want to deal with electricity.
- If no salts are involved then a 10% solution of Coca Cola or Citric Acid should be used, then rinse thoroughly;
I'm currently doing this.
- Coat the horseshoe with tannic acid;
Umm...where the hell do I find tannic acid?
- Finish with “butchers wax” or “bowling alley wax”.
I'll improvise with Doc Martens shoe tenderizing oil.
I may later display them in a shadow box or some other intensely gay method of making rusty horseshoes look fabulous.
Posted by jimbo at April 29, 2007 5:35 PM
Comments
Chemistry Lab says:
Try using a rust remover that contains oxalic acid, it will 'dissolve' the rust away. You can buy tannic acid on eBay. I'd try making a REALLY strong cup of black tea first.
Posted by: ChemistryLad at April 29, 2007 7:10 PM
Jimbo, I've met Gretchen before- not surprising I guess. We've done electrolysis for artifacts- not dangerous at all.
Posted by: homer at April 30, 2007 9:00 AM
Does that say Naval Jelly? What the hay is that?
Posted by: Patrick at April 30, 2007 1:55 PM
I'm not sure shoe polish will have the same effect...
Posted by: tim at April 30, 2007 5:03 PM
So shadowboxing is 'intensley gay'? I guess that explains the two pairs of champion rodeo chaps/gloves/numbers we have of Don's hanging in our Family Room.
Posted by: Chad at April 30, 2007 11:17 PM
Naval jelly stops rust... i don't know what is in it but it does the job. Too bad it is so toxic, it has such a sexy name :-P
Posted by: TOS at May 5, 2007 4:11 PM
Just make sure when they're sitting around or hanging or mounted in a frame that they look like the letter U. Probably a silly superstition but this being horse county - Kentucky - I've always heard to hang one the other way so that it looks like an n is wrong because the luck will run out of it.
Posted by: michael at May 5, 2007 10:19 PM