A question for the knitters (and crocheters)!

[mistressrenet]

Or anyone who knows much about old metal, actually-- Google so far is not helping

Comments

[mendax]

My default answer for cleaning rust or corrosion off metal is steel wool. If there's any kind of finish on them though, that will scratch the hell out of it.

[mistressrenet]

That's the problem-- they're generally...coated with whatever you coat metal knitting needles with. Which is fine-- the problem is that the yarn has to slide on the needles, and I'm not sure how slick they'll be after I do that.

[white_aster]

...you could try jewelry cleaner? That might mess with the coating, depending on what it is, but no moreso than going after them with steel wool or baking soda or anything else scrubby and possibly scratchy.

[mistressrenet]

Good idea! I'm trying vinegar first, as it's cheap and easily accessible.

[white_aster]

:nodnod: Good idea. You could also, if the acidity of that doesn't work, try soaking them in some water that has some baking soda dissolved in it. That should be basic, and as long as you don't rub it, it shouldn't scratch them?

[therck]

I might try vinegar as something that likely wouldn't do any harm even if it did no good.

I suspect that the answer depends on what metal the needles are made from. Chances are that any place that has corrosion is a place in which the protective coating (if there is one) has eroded.

[mistressrenet]

Yeah, I suspect so. I might be able to nail polish over the metal bits, though.

[therck]

My husband suggests Rustoleum products if you get to that point.

[mistressrenet]

Oooh.

[trensaddiction]

Can chemists answer?I would second vinegar (nice, weak acid) as a place to start if all you wish to do is remove the corrosion. If the corrosion is particularly thick, using baking soda as an abrasive and rubbing it in with a sponge can sometimes be as effective as steel wool, while less damaging to the surface which you are cleaning. Soda also has a comparatively low hardness and yields to many common metal finishes

[doire]

I try to avoid kitting( My Mother tried to bribe me with the promise of a sweater if I knit the rib, but gave up after four years or so.), but I do know metals. My first guess is coroded aluminium with breaks in the anodising.

Any chance of some pictures? Treatment does depend on the problem.

[mistressrenet]

You might want to try again. I gave up knitting for...close on a decade and then took it up again, and it all seemed so damn easy.

If the vinegar doesn't work, I may do just that.

[mistressrenet]

We loves chemists! Also, I have this nifty icon I can use. I'm soaking the needles in vinegar now, we'll see what happens.

And I'm going to try clear nail polish on the needles if I keep the corruption off.

**

[anonymous]

-->> ..COMET Cleanser.. and a scour pad.. >v