A rusty tin?

[Headfry]

I have an old toffee tin that has just been, very kindly, returned to me. I think it has been stored in a loft and now has a powder coating of rust, I am told you can just see the badly worn picture on the lid.
How can I renovate my 'grandmas bun tin'
Grandma would bake us buns on a Saturday (we took turns to 'lick' out the mixing bowl) As she lived next door but one these little buns would be carried round in one of three of these tins. Each of us kids were given one when we set up home! I still make the same buns! I am a daft old sentimentalist
The picture is worn but I would love to have a rust free tin, maybe not to keep buns in though- any ideas please!

[organic]

If you'd like to restore it so it's as original as possible, I'd suggest trying to find a website or forum about restoring antiques. I'd have thought something about renovating old tin toys might be relevant, but also some boxes might be renovated too.

Hopefully someone on here will be able to advise, but my instinct would be to find out how specialists would tackle it and then decide if it's something you're able and inclined to do for yourself.

Good luck (and here's to sentiment!)

[Seahorse]

A long time ago and in a galaxy far, far away, I used to be a conservator of historic artefacts. As I'm sure you know, rust damage can't be reversed but your best option is to gently remove any 'flaky' material, then make sure the tin is in a reasonably neutral environment (ie nowhere damp, nowhere with big fluctuations in temperature, nowhere either always hot or cold, etc). That way it at least shouldn't deteroriate any further. You might have to line it with a bit of tinfoil or greaseproof to make it a useful container again but I bet Grandma wouldn't mind that

[geoff]

There is a website for old camping stoves. The tin boxes that the stoves are carried in would be very similar to your tin. The stove restorers rennovate their tins by electrolysis, and it seems to be successful
Forum Index - Classic Camp Stoves - The online resource for the collector & enthusiast

[Jeanied]

I just had a look at a 'restoring tin toys' page on the internet - I am assuming you want to keep as much of the picture as possible - it suggests a gentle wash and a thorough dry to ward off the rust. WD40 should tackle that. As for uses - how about seeds?

[Snadger]

For car restoration you sometimes need to tackle rust. You used to be able to get a product called KureRust which when pasted on to a rusty area turned it black and stopped it rusting anymore. After that a coat of oil or wax would stop further deterioration.

[Headfry]

Thanks kind grapes, I am not worried about the picture, that was worn many years ago. It's the orange fingers you end up with when touching the tin.
The WD 40 sounds a good idea. I dont think I will store buns in it - bit to yucky! but seeds are a fab idea - thank you.

[organic]

Thinking about it - WD-40, while effective, is gonna stink. There are other options for stopping rust being an issue.

People who are into knives (I always carry one, but I'm not a collector) have a few ways of looking after carbon steel blades. When you use a knife, the idea is to clean it as soon as possible and then give it a wipe over with some kind of oil (linseed is a common one) - some also use something called Renaissance Wax (or something like that).
That might be better to use than something like WD-40.

Just be aware that linseed oil from the typical hardware shop is boiled with other chemicals. If you can get straight linseed oil, or boiled linseed without the chemicals it'd be a "food safe" finish. Also - rags soaked in linseed oil are considered a fire risk - they've been known to spontaneously combust so make sure you dispose of them safely if you do use this. That said - using a small corner of rag to wipe it over a tin probably isn't going to leave you with a burning rag later.

I believe renaissance wax is foodsafe too but might be mistaken there.

Just about any food-safe oil that doesn't go rancid would do the job.

[Creemteez]

I saw someone on TV renovate a REALLY rusty wok using nothing but a squirt of washing up liquid which was then rubbed into the rust with half a RAW POTATO!!
Honest, it worked a treat! Just kept rubbing as you would with a scourer in small circular motions until most of the rust is removed, rinse and repeat as required, then dry thoroughly and oil lightly. Worth a try!

[Headfry]

Thanks all, gonna give the washing up liquid and potato a go.
pick tin up in a few weeks, will post the outcome!