cleaning metal springs

pete_inthehills · cleaning metal springs

Hi
I've got about 10 metal heavy metal springs that I've taken off an old fold up bed.

The wife wants me to turn them in to part of a loom, she's going to run her threads over them which will give a nice regular spacing. Currently they are very dirty and her white threads wouldn't be white at the end.

How do I clean them?

Is there any chemicals I could use to soak them that'd work?

I've been working at a couple with a wirebrush, but its a thankless task.

pete
inthehills

Ironworker

Hi Pete
I think a wire brush is the only way to this, we used to use dilute hydrochloric acid, but you won't get that.
There may be newer chemicals out there now, I'm a bit out of the loop now, if there are they won't be cheap.
You could try a wire brush attachment for your electric drill but be careful not to let it snatch, it finds skin much easier to remove than rust.....I know