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 metalloid ...

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 or wire sponge, is a bundle of very fine and flexible sharp-edged steel filaments. It is the most common type of wire wool and is often the type meant when wire wool is mentioned. It was described as a new pro ...

, 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(OH) ...

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

magnetic Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that occur through a magnetic field, which allows objects to attract or repel each other. Because both electric currents and magnetic moments of elementary particles give rise to a magnetic field, m ...

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

Steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

can also discolor some materials, such as

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

. This discoloration results from a reaction between the tannates in the oak and the

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () 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, forming much of Earth's o ...

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. For cost reasons, bronze wool has largely been replaced by plastic mesh abrasives from makers such as Webrax and 3M

Scotch-Brite Scotch-Brite is a line of abrasive products produced by 3M. The product line includes scouring pads and tools for home uses such as dish washing and scrubbing, as well as various types of surfaces for industrial applications, such as discs, be ...

. These use grains of

aluminium oxide Aluminium oxide (or aluminium(III) oxide) is a chemical compound of aluminium and oxygen with the chemical formula . It is the most commonly occurring of several Aluminium oxide (compounds), aluminium oxides, and specifically identified as alum ...

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

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

References

Abrasives Cleaning products Bronze objects {{Woodworking-stub