Bronze wool is a bundle of very fine

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

filaments , used in finishing and repair work to polish wood or metal objects. Niemeyer, Shirley (1994). "NF94-139 Preservation of Metal Items". Historical Materials from University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. Bronze wool is similar to

steel wool Steel wool, also known as iron wool, wire wool or wire sponge, is a bundle of very fine and flexible sharp-edged steel filaments. It was described as a new product in 1896.''Iron Age'', Vol. LVII, p.871, cited by ''Journal of the Iron and Steel ...

, but is used in its place to avoid some problems associated with broken filaments: steel

rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO( ...

s quickly, especially in a marine environment. Furthermore, steel is

magnetic Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particl ...

and can affect the operation of marine equipment, such as a compass.

Steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...

can also discolor some materials, such as oak. This discoloration results from a reaction between the tannates in the oak and the

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

in the steel, forming iron tannate, a black compound. Bronze wool also has uses for filter elements, again when rusting would be a problem. The main US retail supplier of bronze wool is Homax Group, under their Rhodes American brand. Bronze wool has largely been replaced for cost reasons, by plastic mesh abrasives from makers such as Webrax and 3M Scotch-Brite. These use grains of aluminium oxide or

silicon carbide Silicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum (), is a hard chemical compound containing silicon and carbon. A semiconductor, it occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite, but has been mass-produced as a powder and crystal s ...

, bonded to a non-woven web of nylon fibres. Like bronze wool, they avoid rust problems.

References

Abrasives Cleaning products Bronze objects {{Woodworking-stub