Mask Rust

[Sprout]

I have had a Prieur mask, not the FIE model, but still supposedly a good one, for about 10 months. 3 times I have found rust on it, scraped it off and repainted that part with Rustolium. This is not my first mask, and I have not noticed rust before on any of my older masks. No, I do not store my mask in a damp place, or put my sweaty whites on/in it. I simply sweat a lot. Is this normal? (the rust, not the sweating part) Is it safe? The rust just flakes off when I use a wire brush on it. Should I just write off the mask and get another, or is there something I can do about it? I fence epee, and get hid hard in the mask on a regular basis (unfortunatley).

Thanks for any advice you can give me!

[JEC]

I'm glad that you take care of your mask's rust promptly. Rust debilitates the strength of the steel mesh. Make sure that the mesh is aligned. Test your mask regularly with a 12kg test hand tool. If it fails even once, get a FIE mask. Epee is not a "toil", I mean a foil!

[Sprout]

Isn't the difference between quality non FIE masks and FIE masks the bib? Are there any masks made with stainless steel mesh? I am under the impression that stainless won't rust..

[JEC]

Stainless is rust resistent. FIE masks must be made of carbon stainless steel. (See Appendix A to the Material Rules - Chap.2)

[Mr.Piccolo22]

This is what I have done with my foil mask. I removed the rust with a dremel tool with a brass and wire wheel attachment. When all the rust was out I used thiners to clean out the mask. When the thiners were dry I used DCC Black epoxy primer paint. DCC is a car/truck paint. I haven't seen rust come back yet and I have been using the mask for now a year. I hope that this solves your problem. Good luck.

[JEC]

Test the mask in the areas that you used the dremmel before using it. The rust or the dremmel might have reduce the strength in those spots.

[Inquartata]

The brass wire brush wouldn't take off any steel, but if the rust were deep that might indeed have eroded it...

[BugabooX]

I also sweat quite easily, and my masks have suffered for it. It doesn't take long for epee (moreso than foil) to scratch the protective paint and open the metal for moisture damage. After my third mask was consumed by rust (or rather, got tired of inspecting every centimeter of the mesh every other day), I compared costs: one good stainless steel mask vs. two or three that had to be retired in the same amount of time. I haven't regretted my decision; the peace of mind at competition gear check-ins alone was worth the investment.

This leads to a related question: What methods and detergents work best for cleaning mask bibs? Suggestions, please.

Immediately after getting my new mask, I treated the bib with Scotch-Gard. It helped delay the onset of mildewy yellowness, but it succumbed anyway. I seem to get pretty good results from spraying Shout on the bib, scrubbing with a bristle brush, rinsing as thoroughly as possible, and drying in a warm air stream. Still, though -- the foam rubber material(?) inside the bib can be problematic in trapping moisture and spores.