Subject: yet another steel descaller

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sun, 2 Jun 1996 13:48:57 -0400

vinegar which is generally about a 5% solution, this is nice and slow and i
dont have to worry if i leave the steel in for another few minutes or even if
i forget and leave for several hours (several days can destroy things
especialy small pieces).  but besides that you can use strong old tea.  thats
 right!  the stuff you drink.  tea is a tannic acid solution very weak but
 it does work and gives a nice old   timey look to a piece (imho) . what i
usually do is drink tea and of course water thruout  the day and at the end
of the day i throw the tea into a bucket.   it starts out strong and then
gradually through evaporation and such  the tea mess gets even darker.

with tea or vinegar you can if necessary retreive the piece by hand. i try to
use tongs though because i really dont want to smell like a salad and the
combination of iron and vinegar creates a dark dye that is hard to scrub
off.( however it also gives a pretty rust colored dye to white fabric, for
anybody that does dyeing/spinning/weaving).

this two solutions are also about as cheap as can be to make and use.

anywho
make the forge be with you
S Sweebe