# Bronze wool

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**Bronze wool** is a bundle of very fine [bronze](/source/Bronze) filaments [citation needed], used in finishing and repair work to polish wood [citation needed] or metal objects.[1] Bronze wool is similar to [steel wool](/source/Steel_wool), but is used in its place to avoid some problems associated with broken filaments: steel [rusts](/source/Rust) quickly, especially in a marine environment. Furthermore, steel is [magnetic](/source/Magnetic) and can affect the operation of marine equipment, such as a compass. [Steel](/source/Steel) can also discolor some materials, such as [oak](/source/Oak). This discoloration results from a reaction between the [tannates](/source/Tannates) in the oak and the [iron](/source/Iron) 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For cost reasons, bronze wool has largely been replaced by plastic mesh abrasives from makers such as Webrax and [3M](/source/3M) [Scotch-Brite](/source/Scotch-Brite). These use grains of [aluminium oxide](/source/Aluminium_oxide) or [silicon carbide](/source/Silicon_carbide), bonded to a non-woven web of [nylon fibres](/source/Nylon). Like bronze wool, they avoid rust problems.

## References

1. Niemeyer, Shirley (1994). "NF94-139 Preservation of Metal Items". Historical Materials from University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension.

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