Maintaining Your Plate Armor (In A Modern Fashion)

This will serve as a quick-reference companion to my more detailed video on the subject. This method is what I use and what works for me. There are tons of differing opinions out there and different methods, different preferred products etc., so mine is not the only way to accomplish this task. If you own plate armor, you’ve taken on the responsibility of maintaining it whether you wanted to or not. Armor requires maintenance, there’s no way around it. Even if you’ve made the choice to go with a non-historical material like stainless steel or aluminum, your armor will benefit from proactive maintenance. Straps will wear out and break, rivets can fail, dents can occur etc. This guide, however, will deal specifically with corrosion prevention and removal on rust-prone steels and iron.

Other factors can affect the likelihood of gathering rust as well. One of the big ones is the level of polish on your armor. Rust is caused by water oxidizing the iron in steel. The more opportunities water has to cling to the surface of your armor, the better the chance rust will develop. Polish isn’t just about looking pretty. The more polished a surface, the less micro-irregularities there are on that surface, and in turn the less tiny crags and crevices for water to hide in and start to form rust. I personally don’t like the look of mirror-polished armor, but I do maintain a bright finish on my steel as an aid to prevent rust.

** dislclaimer ** I take no responsibility for any damage anyone may cause to their own armor while attempting to clean it. These techniques represent what I use and what in my experience has worked for me.

A Preventative Approach

I firmly believe that the best way to take care of your armor is through proactive preventative maintenance. What I mean by that is it’s better to prevent corrosion and give rust the smallest opportunity to take hold, rather than retroactively deal with problems that could have been prevented in the first place. If you take care of your armor, it will take care of you! No matter how well you maintain your armor though, rust will occur. You sweat when you wear armor, and all that salt in your sweat aids in the oxidation process that forms rust (especially on the inside of your armor). Much like the pro-active approach to preventing rust, when the inevitable rust does occur, the absolute best way to deal with it is to remove it right away and not to give that rust the opportunity to set in and cause real damage to your armor (potentially catastrophic if left untreated).

The Products:

BreakFree CLP – All-in-one product that acts as a rust solvent and cleaner, in addition to a long term protective oil
Scotchbrite Scrubbing Pads – Available in large quantities, I almost exclusively use the gray ‘ultrafine’ grit for my needs
Clean(ish) Rag – this will be used for the final application of oil prior to storage
Dirty Rag – save your formerly clean rags! These will be used for the initial wipe down and post-scrub wipe down

The Technique

1. Wipe it down. Take your dirty rag, and wipe down the armor component to be cleaned. This will remove any of the surface dirty, grit and gunk that’s built up on your armor after use. You’re not trying to remove any rust or scour the surface just yet.

2. Rust Solvent. (In my case CLP is both the solvent and protective oil, if you’re using a separate rust solvent, use that here). Apply a few drops of CLP to the surface of the steel. A little goes a long way, and you can always add more as needed.

3. Scrub scrub scrub! Take your scotchbrite pad and begin to scrub the surface of the steel in circular motions. Spend more time on areas that have visible rust or stubborn grime. I can usually get away with just using the gray ultra-fine grit. If you need to use a more aggressive grit to remove stubborn rust, go ahead, but always work back progressively to the final grit that you want your armor to be finished at! If you don’t, you will leave unsightly dull patches on your armor where you used a lower grit, and it will probably be more prone to rust in the future.

4. Wipe it clean! Take that dirty rag from before and wipe all the dirt and rust that is now suspended in a nasty oil slick on the surface of your armor. It should leave the armor nice and clean. If it’s not, return to step 2 and repeat, use a more aggressive grit only if necessary.

5. Oil your clean rag. Take your clean rag and apply a few drops of CLP to to the rag. The clean ran is going to eventually get dirt, so don’t sweat it when it doesn’t come back clean after applying oil. Again, a little oil goes a long way, so error on the side of too little, you can always apply more later.

6. Oil the armor. Start to lightly rub your oily rag on the surface of the armor, making sure to cover everything in a very light and thin coat of oil. If you notice the oil is running out, apply a few more drops to the rag. It’s important not to over oil your armor, or you will just end up attracting more dust and dirt that will stick to the surface in the future and get inside articulations.

7. Store your armor! You’re done cleaning the steel components of your armor. Store the armor in a place with minimal humidity if you’re able. I personally keep my helmet and gauntlets on display on a bookshelf and have never had a problem with them getting rust (even after light handling) using the method described above. The rest of my armor gets stored in a large, plastic, heavy duty tote with the lid off in an air conditioned space, and again I’ve never had a problem with rust in long term storage. If you’re worried about, check on your armor every couple days and see how your storage method is working for you. If rust is forming, clean it, and adjust your method of storage.

Hey wait! What about the inside of the armor?!?!

The inside of your armor, especially your legs, will come into contact with the most sweat. I don’t wear any padding on my legs, so the only thing between the plate and my skin is a relatively thin layer of wool. Wool wicks moisture off my skin directly into the back of all my plate armor. It will probably see some rust. Some components may be painted on the inside (my helmet is painted black on the inside). This will prevent rust as long as the paint lasts. If your armor is not painted on the inside (like every other component in my harness), don’t panic. Just do the same thing on the inside of your armor as the outside. I really only clean the inside of my armor as needed when rust forms.

Here is the inside of my cuisses after 1 day of wear. I probably had the legs on for about 4 hrs. The armor was rust-free when I put it on, and this is what it looked like when I took it off. You’ll note that the rust is bright orange, which usually indicates new surface rust. This is not something to panic about. I left it in that state overnight (I didn’t unpack my vehicle until the next morning) and it was just fine.

Utilizing the same method described above, this is the result of about 3 minutes of work. The inside of the armor is still dark in color because it’s not polished, and left rough from hammering and heat treatment, but the important part is all the rust is gone with very little effort and the armor is not damaged at all. This is just routine rust removal.

Conclusion:

Like I said in the introduction, many people will have different methods and different products that they prefer to use when cleaning their armor. This is what works for me, and you’re more than welcome to use it, or adapt it to what you do. Another product people really like to use for long-lasting rust prevention on their armor is a product called ‘Renaissance Wax.’ I own a small jar of it, but I’ve never actually used it because I’m happy with my CLP. I may try it in the future just to do a review on it and compare it to the CLP.

Here is the video I did for my YouTube channel where I show you my process of maintaining armor in real-time:

Maintaining Your Plate Armor (In A Modern Fashion)

A Preventative Approach

The Products:

The Technique

Hey wait! What about the inside of the armor?!?!

Conclusion:

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Maintaining Your Plate Armor (In A Modern Fashion)

A Preventative Approach

The Products:

The Technique

Hey wait! What about the inside of the armor?!?!

Conclusion:

Search

Blog Categories

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