Cleaning smaller iron objects with electrolysis...

[Swartzie]

I have a couple smaller objects that I'm afraid the electrolysis may cause the object to fall apart. Is this a real concern? An example is this small musket gimlet I dug over the weekend. I'm afraid with electrolysis the screw end may start to break off or at least become very brittle. I did cook it for a few hours, but stopped for fear of damaging the item. Is there another method for cleaning something like this? I have seen the zinc and lye post. I have also read about this technique before in a revolutionary war artifact book and am considering it to be something to play around with. Or maybe I should just cook it some more but proceed with caution. Any thoughts?

-Swartzie

 

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