Someone explain "polished wrenches are easier to clean"

[GrantCee]

This comes up constantly in discussions of polished vs satin chrome: "polished wrenches are easier to clean".

I have both polished and satin chrome wrenches and ratchets from a variety of manufacturers and eras. All of them, regardless of finish, clean easily with a single swipe of a rag. After doing so, the polished wrenches are no more clean than the satin equivalents. If anything, the polished wrenches are less clean because there are always smudges and fingerprints that show in their mirrored finishes even with careful use of the rag.

So, someone who believes that polished wrenches are easier to clean, tell me how and under what conditions. Because I've never seen any advantage in that regard.

 

[CS454]

Snappy Happy Fun Van Man said so

 

[1cargarage]

IDK which specific satin chrome you're used to, but I understand the conventional wisdom that polished chrome is easier to clean when the polished chrome is compared to a chromed 'rough forged' surface - e.g. the pebble surface of the old Craftsman raised panel wrenches.

With regards to the satin chrome found on some of the wrenches I own (Stahlwille), I agree that the difference in ease-of-cleaning is negligible.

 

[GrantCee]

Snappy Happy Fun Van Man said so

Probably the most accurate explanation!

 

[GrantCee]

IDK which specific satin chrome you're used to, but I understand the conventional wisdom that polished chrome is easier to clean when the polished chrome is compared to a chromed 'rough forged' surface - e.g. the pebble surface of the old Craftsman raised panel wrenches.

That I can understand, and even agree with — the CM raised panel wrenches are horrendous in many ways, especially for cleaning.

But I see this claim most often when people are discussing Wright wrenches (which are most commonly found in satin, although they do make polished versions) vs polished Williams or SO. We're not talking "as cast" surfaces any longer. Yet the claim persists.

(Since you asked, I have satin tools from Wright, Proto, P&C, Ko-Ken, and Geodore, and polished tools from Wright, Ko-Ken, SO, Proto, and Tekton.)

 

[jayemm]

WOW! Oh the horror! The difficulty of wiping down a wrench before throwing it back into the box. I swear, before joining GJ, I never realized how mundane **** could be elevated to a serious discussion point or an art form. Now to go kick the dog. Mumble mumble.

 

[Bubba Fett]

Brakleen is the great equalizer.

 

[four.cycle]

I'd worry about it, but the first time I ever heard the term "drawer rash" was after I joined here in 2015.
I've been throwing my tools back into the drawers in my tool box for over 50 years.
I should worry about a little bit of dirt?

 

[2ndGearRubber]

Brakleen is the great equalizer.

I always imagined if a wrench was dipped in mud, then the mud was allowed to harden - you could clean off the chrome finish easier.

My wright grips seem to clean off just fine.

 

[Sumboodie]

I'd worry about it, but the first time I ever heard the term "drawer rash" was after I joined here in 2015.
I've been throwing my tools back into the drawers in my tool box for over 50 years.
I should worry about a little bit of dirt?

My stuff has ground rash when it ends up jammed under the creeper.
Probably the only one that bummed me was an 80 tooth flex head ratchet, one of the few SnapOn tools I've bought new, fell out of my coat picket and my 75hp snowblower found it.

 

[neophyte]

Smooth surfaces wipe clean easier.
This is a fact.
“Satin” finishes have micro indents where oil and grease can collect, and that oil and grease will not easily wipe of the surface of the wrench or tool, unless you use a highly absorbent towel or cloth that will get down into those grooves or indents, or are using a solvent to dissolve the grease or oil to more easily remove it.
Fingerprints show up easier on smooth shiny chrome, because microscopically thin layers of dirt and oil are visible, especially when on a mirror smooth layer of chrome.
Satin or matte finish chrome wrenches scatter light so that the oil or dirt on the surface is less visible.
Matte and Satin finish chrome and nickel surfaces also vary, from mildly brushed, and almost smooth, to rough enough to sand wood with.
The rough textured wrenches will not wipe clean easily, and may remove fibers from the cloth used to wipe them.

 

[four.cycle]

Probably the only one that bummed me was an 80 tooth flex head ratchet, one of the few SnapOn tools I've bought new, fell out of my coat picket and my 75hp snowblower found it.

I hope it fared better than one of my favorite old "Challenger" screwdrivers when I found it with the lawnmower.

But seriously....

My Indestro "Super" wrenches are all "satin" except for the polished heads, and there's no difficulty "cleaning" them at all. I suppose if they had a rougher finish that might be the case, but it's negliglble. Photos are from when I first joined here, before anybody told me you were supposed to "clean" tools - photos were taken just as they came out of the box I first put them into in 1971:

 

[dnschmidt]

Smooth surfaces wipe clean easier.
This is a fact.
“Satin” finishes have micro indents where oil and grease can collect, and that oil and grease will not easily wipe of the surface of the wrench or tool, unless you use a highly absorbent towel or cloth that will get down into those grooves or indents, or are using a solvent to dissolve the grease or oil to more easily remove it.
Fingerprints show up easier on smooth shiny chrome, because microscopically thin layers of dirt and oil are visible, especially when on a mirror smooth layer of chrome.
Satin or matte finish chrome wrenches scatter light so that the oil or dirt on the surface is less visible.
Matte and Satin finish chrome and nickel surfaces also vary, from mildly brushed, and almost smooth, to rough enough to sand wood with.
The rough textured wrenches will not wipe clean easily, and may remove fibers from the cloth used to wipe them.

All of these issues are negated by microfiber towels which you can buy at Costco for what seems like $12 a hundred. The microfiber easily gets into any hidden pores.

 

[seber]

The only one that doesn't clean up in my drawer is the SK with knurling. I just stopped using it years ago.

 

[JradM]

Maybe it depends on what you mean by "clean"?

I like satin chrome, but I consider polished chrome to be easier to clean too. Neophyte did a great job explaining why. Doesn't mean the results of wiping off satin chrome are "unacceptable" though.

Satin chrome isn't all the same either. E.g. the aforementioned Craftsman raised-panels are rough, Toptul's satin finish is very fine. Guess which one is easier to clean...

 

[four.cycle]

^ oh boy.. you can spend all afternoon with a wire brush working grease out of knurled handles!

 

[dnschmidt]

^ oh boy.. you can spend all afternoon with a wire brush working grease out of knurled handles!

OK, I'll play. Ever consider spraying it down with Brakekleen?

 

[four.cycle]

^ doesn't work when it's baked in for 50-60 years. took a brass brush and "Simple Green" and several hours to clean the small handle of a 1/4" drive breaker.

 

[Wamsutta]

I find that if my hands are clammy, the polished chrome sticks better offering more grip.

 

[lolaetype]

OK, I'll play. Ever consider spraying it down with Brakekleen?

Just wait until your wife is going somewhere for a few hours and put all the wrenches and sockets in the dish washer.

Pro Tip: Let everything cool before you try to take them out. Ask me how I know this.

 

[scooby074]

Satin is a non issue. Brakekleen, diesel, gas or whatever will clean satin just as well as polished.

 

[finn]

Ultrasonic cleaner to the rescue.

Seriously, why do we seal porous countertops? Because a rough surface is hard to clean. Ever try to clean a toilet that has a rough surface.

In my world, satin finish tools have one advantage. They aren’t as slippery when your hands are oily. They’re harder to clean, but that’s not a real issue, as they’re good enough with a shot of brake clean at worst. I usually use a paper rag and whatever general purpose spray bottle of cleaner was on sale.

I sort of dislike the polished finish on my Wrights. Prefer my forty year old Craftsman.

 

[CS454]

Leave satin tools oily until planned resale.

 

[scooby074]

Just how clean are you guys wanting your tools? Unless youre in a clean room or using them for surgery theyre going to be clean enough with a wipe from a rag and some brake clean

 

[woody 73]

Not what the op is looking for, because I have no idea how to even answer his question in the first place. But I will say that I have never cleaned a wrench before. Let me explain why. I leave as much grease & oil them when i put them away because I have to deal with high humidity in my garage and it keeps the rust at bay. True they slip in my hands and that *****, but better that then fighting all the rust 24/7.

I just bought a few wrenches today that are full of rust, and they are soaking in some evaporust. when finished I will clean them up and give them a good oil bath. Just a never-ending thing, I guess.

 

[dchawk81]

I prefer the industrial coatings. They're not as appealing to meth head thieves.

Everything cleans up just fine with Tub O Towels wipes though. Brakleen for the nooks and crannies.

 

[SamAdams]

This comes up constantly in discussions of polished vs satin chrome: "polished wrenches are easier to clean".

I have both polished and satin chrome wrenches and ratchets from a variety of manufacturers and eras. All of them, regardless of finish, clean easily with a single swipe of a rag. After doing so, the polished wrenches are no more clean than the satin equivalents. If anything, the polished wrenches are less clean because there are always smudges and fingerprints that show in their mirrored finishes even with careful use of the rag.

So, someone who believes that polished wrenches are easier to clean, tell me how and under what conditions. Because I've never seen any advantage in that regard.

Keep using them until the chrome is nice and scratchy and you won't notice the smudges anymore!

 

[SamAdams]

Just how clean are you guys wanting your tools? Unless youre in a clean room or using them for surgery theyre going to be clean enough with a wipe from a rag and some brake clean

Well, tell me how are you going to signal rescue planes, start fires, or see if you have broccoli in your teeth without mirror finish tools?

Didn't think about that, did ya...

 

[yellowbox]

This comes up constantly in discussions of polished vs satin chrome: "polished wrenches are easier to clean".

I have both polished and satin chrome wrenches and ratchets from a variety of manufacturers and eras. All of them, regardless of finish, clean easily with a single swipe of a rag. After doing so, the polished wrenches are no more clean than the satin equivalents. If anything, the polished wrenches are less clean because there are always smudges and fingerprints that show in their mirrored finishes even with careful use of the rag.

So, someone who believes that polished wrenches are easier to clean, tell me how and under what conditions. Because I've never seen any advantage in that regard.

Why bother lol unless it's trashed I don't,

 

[isb cornbinder]

I have an ultrasonic parts cleaner. I clean any and all of my tools with ultrasonic. the cavitation kicks the microscopic dirt out of the smallest space.
EVAPO RUST works many time faster in an ultrasonic bath.

 

[Walkers]

This comes up constantly in discussions of polished vs satin chrome: "polished wrenches are easier to clean".

I have both polished and satin chrome wrenches and ratchets from a variety of manufacturers and eras. All of them, regardless of finish, clean easily with a single swipe of a rag. After doing so, the polished wrenches are no more clean than the satin equivalents. If anything, the polished wrenches are less clean because there are always smudges and fingerprints that show in their mirrored finishes even with careful use of the rag.

So, someone who believes that polished wrenches are easier to clean, tell me how and under what conditions. Because I've never seen any advantage in that regard.

Not sure where you are seeing this, but okay, I'll explain it to you. The textured surface of a satin wrench has greater surface area. Assuming the same force per square inch of surface area it therefor takes more effort to clean the satin wrench due to its greater area. The kicker though, is that polished chrome makes you feel cooler while you are wiping it down, which is like turbocharging the cleaning process making it feel like less effort.

 

[Fedwrench]

if my tools get real dirty, they take a bath in the cuda (hot water parts cleaner).

 

[purplezr2]

Who cares what cleans better, chrome just looks better.

 

[CS454]

Who cares what cleans better, chrome just looks better.

Chrome and satin have exhibited the same sort of response to being tappity tapped...with a sledge...

 

[JradM]

Arguably a satin chromed wrench has been "sealed" too. It's part of why I said that wiping down satin chrome also yields acceptable results. Any microscopic pores in the surface is filled-over by the chrome. Nevertheless, polished chrome is smoother and wipes easier.

It's like - what's easier to clean, a golf ball or a billiards ball?

 

[four.cycle]

^ they make machines to wash golf balls. not so with billiard balls - you have to wash them by hand.

 

[lolaetype]

I wipe all the wrenches and sockets and other tools I've used for a job with a dry shop towel and then put them back in their place.

 

[Junkdrawer Dog]

Full polish are easier to hide in with the silverware rack when your partner runs the dishwasher. Just have to be sly about retrieving wrenches before they unload the dishwasher.

 

[LWB]

Both Chrome and Satin are welcome in my toolbox. If anyone wants to get rid of theirs send me a PM.

 

[jayemm]

This thread just keeps getting better. An above post mentions the rougher surface may remove fibers from the cleaning cloth. Time to get out the electron microscope and examine for shop towel wear. Another mentions about greater force per unit area required due to increased surface area. Time for me to buy a load cell and check the veracity of that claim. Do I smell some engineers here. This unexpected degree of minutiae is overwhelming. LOL