Ignoramus32654 wrote:
On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 15:05:39 -0800, Grant Erwin wrote:

Igor, the black smut is normal. Try running lukewarm water over the part in a
utility sink and rubbing on it with a 3M pad, the part should turn a nice matte
gray. Of course, a tie plate will most likely be pitted, no problem.


You were 100% right. I did what you suggested. No more rust, but the
surface is dull grey. I was kind of hoping that it would become shiny,
like newly ground/sawed iron. Any way to get to this point? What is
that grey coating?

It isn't really a coating, it's just the bare steel. It isn't shiny because the
surface has microscopic irregularities which reflect the light randomly. The
only way to get it shiny is to polish it, i.e. mechanically remove the surface
irregularities, and this can be a lot of trouble. If the part is precision
machined going in, it may come out shiny, but if it's like a tie plate, which
has never been shiny in all its life, you can't get there from here.

GWE