Inorganic acid solutions (hydrochloric or sulphuric) containing organic corrosion inhibitors could be used to remove corrosion products from iron artifacts. The mechanism for this reaction is briefly described. An investigation is described, on the amount of base metal lost during the removal of corrosion products from mild steel using im sulphuric acid with benzotriazole (bta) or thiourea as inhibitor in different concentrations. These solutions are compared to different concentrations of citric and orthophosphoric acids. It was concluded that im sulphuric acid with bta or thiourea can be used as a method for removing corrosion products from iron artifacts. Tables, 8 references. Discussion of paper included.