Here are a few tips to take care of your competition kettlebell. It may be made of steel (and forged of fire?) and will last you a lifetime, but it still needs a little TLC every once in a while to stay that way.
Often on a brand new competition kettlebell, the handle is often coated in varnish to prevent the handle from rusting while it sits in storage. This layer of varnish needs to be stripped off and sanded down to use your kettlebell at its full potential. (Read below about how to do that.) You could leave it on, butttt imagine your Cleans and Snatches as if you are trying to handle a watermelon covered in Crisco. Not fun.
With the varnish stripped off, the handle is an exposed alloy. It will be more vulnerable to rusting over time since oxygen will cause it to do so. Here are some ways to keep your handle rust-free.
Most Helpful Tool: Green Scrub Pad
These green scrubbie pads (like Scotch-Brite Heavy Duty Scour Pads) are so helpful for daily maintenance. If you are a chalk person, you can scrub off excess or caked on chalk, but also get that tiny level of rust off if it has been sitting for a few days in a cold environment.
Keep a Few Strips of Fine Sandpaper Around
If your bells have been sitting unused for a while, or are kept outside/in a garage, rust is going to build up faster and thicker. Getting a few sheets of 120- to 220-grit is a good place to start. Cut them into 2 inch strips. You can thread the strip through the handle and run it back and forth to get underneath the handle. Just imagine you are shining a bowling ball or shoe. Get it shiny! Make sure to thoroughly wipe the handle afterwards with a rag so it doesn’t end up on your hands later.
CitriStrip
CitriStrip is a less toxic varnish stripper that works pretty well for competition kettlebells. This works for removing varnish from a brand new bell, or if there is a significant amount of rust that won’t come off with sandpaper. Make sure you wear gloves and protective eyewear while doing this in a well ventilated area. Use some painter’s tape to protect the edge of the paint that meets the handle. Then grab a brush to spread a good layer of CitriStrip along the handle. Give it about 30 minutes to react, then wipe the handle clean with paper towels and dispose. Once the handle is clean, you can run over the handle with several strips of sandpaper to get any remaining bits of varnish or rust. Give it a final run with a clean scrub pad and then a clean rag. Your bell will be ready for all the lifts after that.
Optional: Handle Hat
If you need to store your bell in the garage or just sits next to a window, you can curb rust build up by keeping the handle covered in between uses. I like using an extra hat I have lying around, but a towel will do!