Using WD-40?

[Henke]

Does WD-40 destroy gilded and bronzed medals if its used for cleaning them?

[amydron]

I have used WD 40 to clean 200 years of accumulated dirt from the hilt of a Georgian sword. I used a very soft toothbrush and took extreme care. The hilt was fire gilded (as I believe are some German Medals), and it did the job perfectly.
However, I leave it to members with more experience of Third Reich Medals to advise the suitability of this practise.

[Tom Yanacek]

Hello Henke,

In my opinion, WD-40 is excellent to use and it will not harm the medal or the finish. Even on zinc badges and medals having a washed finish, it works great. I have used WD-40 many times and found that it enhances the apearance of the piece. I have never seen it ruin a piece. It works great on zinc pieces for curbing zinc pest, and virtually eliminates the white spots caused by the corrosion. Works much better than vaseline, because oil soaks into the metal and vaseline does nothing but sits on the surface and causes a sticky, gooey mess.
Best regards! Tom

[Chris Boonzaier]

Workd well on bullion insignia with that white powder corrosion.

[johnrtse]

Chris- Do you have to blot it onto the bullion (and cover the fabric), or can you just hose the whole eagle down?

I have a really salty Heer eagle I'd like to try this on.

[Henke]

Well I have som old bronze gilded (I think) prussian medals.. was thinking of first letting them soak in WD-40 for 30 minutes or so. Then gently rub them with a cloth before washing it all of with water.. and then later on apply some olive oil. Is this a overkill or will it work?

[amydron]

Well I have som old bronze gilded (I think) prussian medals.. was thinking of first letting them soak in WD-40 for 30 minutes or so. Then gently rub them with a cloth before washing it all of with water.. and then later on apply some olive oil. Is this a overkill or will it work?

I would not suggest using Olive Oil.
WD 40 will suffice.

[Chris Boonzaier]

Chris- Do you have to blot it onto the bullion (and cover the fabric), or can you just hose the whole eagle down?

I have a really salty Heer eagle I'd like to try this on.

Spray a little WD in a bottlecap or something so you got a bit of liquid, then dab it on the insignia lightly using a Q tip.

best
Chris

[Tom Yanacek]

I would not suggest using Olive Oil.
WD 40 will suffice.

I agree. Just stick with the WD-40 and skip the olive oil.
Best regards!

[johnrtse]

Well I'll be darned! I tried it on my salty Heer eagle and I am quite impressed with the results

I didn't go too nuts with the WD40- Just a little bit to clean off the really bad corrosion. It made quite a difference!

It went from this:

[johnrtse]

To this:

[Jon Fish]

To this:

Have you posted the photos the wrong way round ?

[johnrtse]

No- They are in the right order. The first scan was made by the original seller of the eagle. The second picture I took (of course). I should have taken my own "before" picture.

It's hard tell, but in real-life, almost all of the bullion was completely covered by chaulky white corrosion. It was very thick in some spots.

While I didn't go crazy and use a lot of it, the WD40 removed most of the corrosion quickly; You can actually see the bullion sparkling in some areas!

Quite the difference in person!

[50_CAL]

So is it actually green in person? I'm so confused.......

[Steve Sherlock]

Ah, John? Those eagles aren't supposed to be green.

Steve