As a side note......
After removing the surface red rust from my lathe bed I noted a 'watermark that remained on the surface but that felt smooth. I was about to use an abrasive metal polish to polish off the marks....... fortunately my father knows more than me and advised against such action. As others on here may already know, surface rust does cause microscopic pitting of the surface beneath and this causes the 'watermark' shading. To remove such pitting you actually have to remove the metal around it down to the level of the pits depth. Not a good idea on a induction hardened lathe bed ! My watermarking was so minor that I can happily live with it and lathes are utility items rather than pretty toys, so it matters little.
I just cleaned up an expensive pair of bootlace crimpers that are black enamel painted (?) but had little spots of rust forming all over the painted area. The fine wire wool soaked in WD40 removed all the red rust and did not damage the paint. For a long lasting anti rust countermeasure you could even coat the rusty areas with Kurust or similar rust converter. I used it on a spot of rust on my wife's car and it was not over-painted due to location (black painted door upright) The spot turned black and virtually matched the paint around it....a year and a Winter later and no sign of Rust re-appearing. I understand the Kurust products convert the rust and encapsulate it in a sort of plastic ? Trivia...... rust converter chemistry made great leaps forward as a result of the Holland 1 challenge.
The is a historic British submarine that was recovered from the depths of the sea after many years in Davey Jones Locker. The problem faced by the conservators was how to stop the huge lump of rusty steel turning into a pile of rust once removed from its watery grave
Rust conversion chemicals were created for the specialist task but sadly even they were not the total solution. The conservators were in unfamiliar territory and though the rust converters initially worked....the steel continued to deteriorate. The reason was discovered and corrective action taken. The steel had taken up salts from the depths of the sea and these had to be soaked out of the metal in order to prevent on going destruction. Once the salts were removed using a sodium carbonate solution soak over several years, the metal could be conserved to protect it. There is plenty of information on the Holland 1 submarine and its conservation to be found on the internet. It makes interesting reading. I am fortunate enough to have visited the submarine museum at Gosport (UK) several times to seethe Holland 1 preservation program in progress. It is now on display in its own hangar and you can even go inside it. If you ever find yourself in the vicinity of Portsmouth (UK) it is worth popping across to the Submarine Museum that is opposite in Gosport. Its a short ferry ride and easy walk to the museum. There are all manner of interesting submarines present from the Holland 1 right up to more modern deep sea mini subs. You can go for a tour of a 1940's design diesel submarine as well
No good if you don't like closed spaces ! They even simulate a depth charge attack
It is also interesting to note that we only have the Holland 1 on display because she sank ! She sunk on her way to the wreckers yard as she had become obsolete. Who knows...maybe 'she' knew her fate and 'decided' to dive for one last time
Off topic I know....but submarine preservation has to deal with a lot of Rust
Links:
Submarine Museum Gosport -
http://submarine-museum.co.uk/Holland 1 -
http://submarine-museum.co.uk/what-we-have/our-submarines/holland-1/holland-i-conservationhttp://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/usw/issue_19/royal_navy.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland-class_submarinehttp://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/war-and-conflict/first-world-war/art455957