Bronze wool

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Bronze wool is a bundle of very fine bronze filaments [ citation needed ], used in finishing and repair work to polish wood [ citation needed ] or metal objects. [1] Bronze wool is similar to steel wool, but is used in its place to avoid some problems associated with broken filaments: steel rusts quickly, especially in a marine environment. Furthermore, steel is magnetic and can affect the operation of marine equipment, such as a compass. Steel can also discolor some materials, such as oak. This discoloration results from a reaction between the tannates in the oak and the iron in the steel, forming iron tannate, a black compound.

Bronze wool also has uses for filter elements, again when rusting would be a problem.

The main US retail supplier of bronze wool is Homax Group, under their Rhodes American brand.

Bronze wool has largely been replaced for cost reasons, by plastic mesh abrasives from makers such as Webrax and 3M Scotch-Brite. These use grains of aluminium oxide or silicon carbide, bonded to a non-woven web of nylon fibres. Like bronze wool, they avoid rust problems.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cookware and bakeware</span> Food preparation containers

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Steel wool, also known as iron wool, wire wool or wire sponge, is a bundle of very fine and flexible sharp-edged steel filaments. It was described as a new product in 1896. It is used as an abrasive in finishing and repair work for polishing wood or metal objects, cleaning household cookware, cleaning windows, and sanding surfaces.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heat bending of wood</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galvanic corrosion</span> Electrochemical process

Galvanic corrosion is an electrochemical process in which one metal corrodes preferentially when it is in electrical contact with another, in the presence of an electrolyte. A similar galvanic reaction is exploited in primary cells to generate a useful electrical voltage to power portable devices.

After-rust is a form of rust which sometimes develops on a non-ferrous metal surface when that surface has been finished, deburred, or cleaned with a carbon steel brush or steel wool. It is caused by microscopic deposits of the steel which become embedded in the metal surface and which over time begin to oxidize. This oxidation causes the surface to become dull and may impart a brown color to it. After-rust can be avoided by cleaning such surfaces only with non-ferrous brushes/ wools including rustless bronze, aluminum, and stainless steel wool and nonferrous wools such as those made of brass.

References

  1.  Niemeyer, Shirley (1994). "NF94-139 Preservation of Metal Items". Historical Materials from University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension.