Purposely Oxiding /Blacking Pliers? To protect from future rust?

[oldschoolcraft]

I have a 25 year old pair of Craftsman Linesman pliers that are nearly all black with oxidation. I believe it has prevented the tool from rusting, somehow it has a protective layer of rust I think. I dont think it was a black oxide tool, but it looks like a light blackish rust. I can post pictures later this week. Reminds me of something I saw recently where people seemed to be purposely doing something to damage the finish of their tools to create some protective layer. Might have been a black oxide type thing, I'm not sure.

It made me wonder if I should purposely do something like that to new pliers from Snap On and Knipex to protect them from the bad kind of deep red rust.

I think gun "bluing" is something to this effect of forcing some thin layer of protective "rust"/oxide, but I'm not really sure how it works or whether ti would be beneficial to tools, and which tools might benefit. I would want to keep the teeth on pliers preserved.

Can someone explain what I might be thinking about, since I dont really know what I'm talking about and it's me piecing together some stuff I've heard over the years.

 

[neophyte]

The “oxide” coating that forms on the surface is a type of “rust”, but it’s a way less problematic firm that brown, red or yellow rust.
One of the reasons this type of rust can be good, is that it absorbs oil which can then help prevent further rust.
There are treatments you can purchase to finish steel.

Caswell seems to be a good source.

Black Oxide Kits - Caswell Inc

caswellplating.com

A lot of tool companies now seem to coat their unplayed tools in some type of lacquer or other surface finish to prevent corrosion in shipping and storage before sold, and this might get in the way of surface treatment.
I believe Knipex does this with their unplated pliers.
I have no clue whether Snap-On foes, but Bahco, now owned by Snap-On does.
I know Channellock surface coats their pliers with some sort of plating.
The same goes for Facom fir their unplayed pliers.

To properly surface coat tools, you would need to remove the clearcoat, before chemical treatment.
I’m not sure that the chemical treatment to blacken or blue steel would damage the plastic/whatever grips on tools, but any chemical used for stripping the clearcoat might.

 

[MoonRise]

Black oxide (a form of 'rust') has minimal corrosion protection by itself.

As mentioned, it is typically the oil/grease that is applied to the (porous) black oxide that does the major corrosion protection and not the black oxide itself.

Bluing (or 'browning') are other iron oxide variants that work similarly, it is the applied oil/grease that provides the majority of the corrosion protection.

 

[JradM]

You can use gun bluing to get a similar finish without the complexity and expense of genuine black oxide. It's honestly not THAT different since you would be keeping them both oiled either way. Maybe less durable, but also very easy and fast to do and repair if need be.

The one downside is the smell - some people say they don't mind it (and it does dissipate over time), but I think it smells like cat urine. I still use it in certain applications, but it's not my preferred option for things I touch with bare hands.

I use it primarily for surfaces that need to stay bare but would benefit from some rust protection - an example that comes to mind is the bottom of my vise where it sits on the swivel. I don't touch that, it's hidden in use, paint would just wear off... bluing seems like a reasonable option.

If you don't mind the time and it seems appropriate, nickle plating is easy to DIY. That seems a bit over the top for your pliers, but it's durable, smell-free and not that challenging. There might be a risk the plating would freeze the pivot stuck though. I imagine you could just continually open and close the pliers while they are in the solution to mitigate that.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Many old tools have an accrued surface 'patina' that would be very hard to replicate other than through decades of use/abuse. They've gotten rusty, been wiped down with oil/steel wool/ whatever, doused in oils (including hand oils), etc etc, and they end up being fairly corrosion resistant beyond that point.

Get a new tool, and oxide it and it will rust sharpish... ditto bluing.

That's why I try not to use Evaporust on tools that need a clean up (unless really hairy with rust).. it removes everything and your left with that nasty grey bare metal.

I'd rather use steel wool, Scotchbrite pads, wire brushes, sandpaper, whatever and come back over with oil so they still have that accrued patina that is pretty resistant imo.

 

[Steve_P]

Knipex uses a conversion coating (the black area) and I believe they also clear coat. Same with NWS. The typical cold gun blue solution is **** IMO- I've tried everything, and outside of a proper hot phosphate treatment, which I can do, the best cold treatment I've found is Metal Prep by POR15. I've posted multiple pictures here of the results it gives over the years; it's the closest cold solution to a hot treatment that I've found.

 

[oldschoolcraft]

I've noticed a few of the tools that I've purchased recently, Sunex Torx Impact sockets, and some indexable pry bars came from the new packaging a shiny black, with an black oil that transferred to my hands when I touched it. I assume it's a black oxide finish, that they apply oil to, and the oil draws out of the surface black oxide particles.

What I did was wash them off with dish soap and water, wipe down with microfiber cloth, reapply new oil, and wipe that oil off with a microfiber cloth. I hope I didn't ruin them, but I assume the blackish oil is just a part of the manufacturing process. I did notice that some of the deep shiny blackness was removed by the dish soap, so I wonder if this is a mistake. Some of the tools become more of a dull gray.

 

[JradM]

the best cold treatment I've found is Metal Prep by POR15. I've posted multiple pictures here of the results it gives over the years; it's the closest cold solution to a hot treatment that I've found.

Really? I'll have to check that out. I just assumed it was an etching solution to help the paint adhere. I didn't realize it could be used to create a finish.