Everyone's favorite auction house

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

A shout out to REA. At least they didn’t clean (alter???) it, before they sold it.

This is tongue-in-cheek, I assume, unless I missed the memo that says it's become not OK to clean stuff. I'm a memorabilia guy, and anybody is welcome to clean things before they sell them to me, other than game-used, of course. Lots of different kinds of "cleaning" are well accepted on the card side, right? We are talking about actual cleaning here, getting dirt and other foreign substances off?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Just curious.

From the original REA description, it sounds more like rust than grime.

"The offered sign (13.25 x 6 inches) displays heavy surface wear commensurate with its age and former use, including oxidation and small abrasions."

Does distilled water take off rust? If not, what does? I would imagine it would have to be something acidic although I am out of my depth.

[ALR-bishop]

Out of your depth Peter. Say it is not so

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

Out of your depth Peter. Say it is not so

Ha. I know nothing about this area but find it interesting nonetheless, thus the question and glad Steve has now offered his knowledge and hope others will as well. Might as well try to learn something new.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Just curious.

From the original REA description, it sounds more like rust than grime.

"The offered sign (13.25 x 6 inches) displays heavy surface wear commensurate with its age and former use, including oxidation and small abrasions."

Does distilled water take off rust? If not, what does? I would imagine it would have to be something acidic although I am out of my depth.

What was left after the cleaning was the more serious rust.

Some of the rest was probably also rust. Most surface finishes like paint and chrome are slightly porous, and water will get in and cause a bit of rust. Some of the rust appears as loose particles that gets on the surface, and can be cleaned off with water.
Distilled water can have a PH anywhere from 7 which is totally neutral to around 5.6 which is mildly acidic. It depends on how much CO2 the water has absorbed.(and at the 5.6 point, it's not much different from tapwater. )

Personally I'd have dried it with some heat afterwards, like a hairdryer. Then maybe a light wipe with oil or wax to seal it and keep the rust from getting worse. That all depends on the paint. Some paints won't do well with that some almost require it.
Like the old british 3 speed bikes, the paint by now is dried out, and often has a bit of rust showing through. A wipe down with some oil on a paper towel brings it back to almost like new.