Pictures: These are the end products of the successful electrolytic reduction process. The grenade on the left was discovered in the Florida Keys and was fused to the bottom of the solid olitic limestone sea bed. During the process of removal it was damaged.  Initially, prior to cleaning, when it was recovered it was wrapped with burlap and had the remnants of protruding iron nails (pictured at the top of opening page) . The fuse was intact, later it was removed and placed in a solution and stored in a plastic container. The removal of the concretion or encrustation is accomplished by carefully chipping away with a small hammer and chisel tool. Once the major portion of the encrustation has been removed use 10% solution of muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid) and water to remove the residual calcareous deposits (keep a constant vigilante watch). In some situations you may decide not to chip at the object and use the acid process. By close observation, a trained eye knowledgeable of marine articles can identify encrusted objects prior to cleaning. Whichever approach you choose, most all the concretion/encrustation should be removed prior to the electrolytic reduction process. Iron recovered from salt water must have the salts/ chlorides removed. One of the most efficient ways to clean and preserve iron and other metals is called Electrolytic Reduction.

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