Notices by wedge (wedge@woodworking.group)

I’ve bored you to no end about the citric acid de-rusting solution. So I’m officially making this my last post on it. It’s easier to handle and clean up compared to vinegar. It’s dirt cheap and drain safe compared to chems like EvapoRust. And it works as good or better than any of them. That’s my experience, even though I haven’t wasted money on trying EvapoRust. :)

Finally, a neat thing about de-rusting is seeing where the tool metal was hardened (dark regions). Goes away when finishing.

@hic_zeno

I do have my own write-up. Just need to get this blog thing online.

Main points:

- Don’t soak longer than necessary (won’t hurt anything, but more carbon to brush off the longer it sits; dirty hands)
- Use a brass wire brush to clean off in water after soak
- Dry and oil immediately to prevent new rust (I use clean motor oil, but any tool oil works)

At this point the grinding, shaping, polishing, sharpening, whatever begins. ;)

@derek

I’ve not done any inlaying, so I don’t know why you’d want to sand after the inlaying, but I think I’d go with a safer finish next time.

Out of curiosity, you could put some of you finish on a piece of copper, on a plate or something, and see if it has the same reaction. If so, then you know for sure it’s the finish.

@derek

Shellac and linseed oil wouldn’t do that, so you must be using a different product.

You can always tint a shellac to whatever color you want.

Another thing to try (next time) is carve the slots and finish the wood, then inlay the metal after the finish is completely dry.

@derek

Looks to me like the metal is having a chemical reaction with the finish your using. Just a guess. What’s the finish compounds? What’s the metal?