preserving your grip devices

[Rental_Shoes_]

Just a couple questions if anyone has any input:

||| Best temperature/humidity to store and use implements?

||| Difference in experience using rusted implements- versus new/rust free (easier or harder?)

||| Best way to clean rust off implements or bells?

Thanks!

[Rental_Shoes_]

i think i posted this in the wrong sub, sorry

[C8Myotome]

Check out vintageweightspgh on instagram he is a pro at restoring old weights and maintaining weights. He's on this site also @VintageWeightsPGH, he probably has the best answers out of anyone

Edited August 25, 2023 by C8Myotome

[VintageWeightsPGH]

7 hours ago, Rental_Shoes_ said:

Just a couple questions if anyone has any input:

||| Best temperature/humidity to store and use implements?

||| Difference in experience using rusted implements- versus new/rust free (easier or harder?)

||| Best way to clean rust off implements or bells?

Thanks!

Hey man. I follow you on Instagram. I recognize the name. So grip implements are an oddity with rust. “Seasoning” bare steel implements is welcomed by many lifters because it helps the lift. Setting aside paint that has texture to it, I generally find paint to be slicker. With that said, I’m sure there are many variances to whether certain implements are easier/harder, but generally, here’s my take.
Blobs, inch bells replicas: if it still has original paint or some amount of seasoning building up, I leave it alone - if repainted, depending on the paint, I may  strip bare (at least on handle or half of blob)

 

bare steel implements - I’ve been experimenting with how fast they’ll rust where I live (Pittsburgh, PA). If I put them outside with a salt solution rubbed on them, they usually rust within two weeks. I then wipe them down with a rag to remove any loose rust. Lastly, I rub chalk into them with the meaty part of my palm. In my home gym, they tend to start to rust and catch chalk better after about 6 months of regularly using them and not cleaning them at all. So for some I don’t put outside. I just use them. Only one has gone wild and I’m not sure what’s happening. 
 

For rust removal, it’s really case dependent. Shoot me a message and I can point you in the right direction. 

[Rental_Shoes_]

Thanks for the informative answer!

[climber511]

There are a couple threads on the Iron History Forum about restoring old bars and plates which you might find value in.  My grip items live in a garage which only has heat when I workout so all steel items "sweat" and obviously rust but in different manners.  I have found that different items develop rust at different rates and seemingly need different treatments to keep them in "lifting condition".  It varies from textured paints to actually having my Euro Pinch plates "chromed" with a commercial chrome process.  Different "oil" type treatments upon occasion of long term storage and then removal for times of use.  It's been a long term experiment that is still going on after the 20 years I have been in the sport.