Removing years of patina on vintage Stanley square

[TheClaw]

I've used a number of methods to clean old tools and parts. This has got me stumped.

I have a nice vintage Stanley square that I found at the bottom of one of my drawers as I was moving from the old garage to the new shop. I'd like to clean this up enough to see the scale on the square. Any suggestions? I have some recycled EvapoRust laying around and thought I would try that baring any good ideas from the garage gang.

TIA,
Jeff

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Vinegar bath.

 

[BurtEggley]

run your fingernails over the Stanley scale. See if they are indented or on the surface. If indented you can make it shiny with steel wool and a buffer. Depends if you want the shiny look or the patina look. If you are going to sell it then be careful with patina. The buyer may be a patina person and not a restored person. I prefer things like new, so if it were mine where I would use it, I would steel wool or scotch brite it and oil it to stop the discoloration the next time.

 

[rsanter]

Evaporust

 

[finn]

Powdered citric acid diluted with water. Add some washing soda.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Since you already have some Evaporust, go with that first, it's the easy button. It will take a little scrubbing afterwards with steel wool or Scotchbrite but that should make a big difference.

 

[PoorUB]

Caution! I am pretty certain one leg of that square is aluminum, so any chemical had to be aluminum safe.

 

[4xdog]

I’d start wih Evapo-Rust, and possibly move to steel wool if that wasn’t giving results that made me happy. In fact, I’ve done exactly that on an old carpenter square.

And of course with Evapo-Rust make sure the ferrous metal is completely submerged. If it’s partially above the waterline a black band will form that will take mechanical removal to get rid of.

 

[TheClaw]

Vinegar bath.

In my experience, vinegar will turn it black. No?

 

[BillK]

I would be careful with chemicals. I seem to remember those squares had some type of alloy on the part that says Stanley on it.

I have hit many old tools like that in my glass bead cabinet and it makes them look almost like new.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

In my experience, vinegar will turn it black. No?

That is true. But iirc it rubs off with my fingers. Probably use a green pad to clean that black off. Never worried about it as I use what I clean. Tho I had a cheap tool turn into Swiss cheese, never had a problem with quality tools.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Evaporust is supposed to be safe for aluminum and other metals besides steel.

 

[TheClaw]

Evaporust is supposed to be safe for aluminum and other metals besides steel.

I checked with a magnet, both sections of the square are ferrous. No aluminum.

 

[Old tool guy]

Powdered citric acid diluted with water. Add some washing soda.

If you don’t mind … how much powder and how much water.

 

[finn]

most formulas call for a liter of water, 100 grams of citric acid, and 40 grams of washing soda.

i get the citric acid powder from Amazon, and the washing soda at Walgreens ( only because i saw it on the shelf when picking up a prescription.)

Truth be told, I usually draw a gallon of water and just dump some citric acid powder in until it “ feels right”

I never used to add washing soda, but it probably does help. It will foam when added, so don’t be alarmed.

a little dish detergent cuts residual grease and dirt.

 

[Old tool guy]

most formulas call for a liter of water, 100 grams of citric acid, and 40 grams of washing soda.

i get the citric acid powder from Amazon, and the washing soda at Walgreens ( only because i saw it on the shelf when picking up a prescription.)

Truth be told, I usually draw a gallon of water and just dump some citric acid powder in until it “ feels right”

I never used to add washing soda, but it probably does help. It will foam when added, so don’t be alarmed.

a little dish detergent cuts residual grease and dirt.

And then how long do you let it soak? Can you leave it in too long?

 

[alinc100]

In my experience, vinegar will turn it black. No?

If you are worried about it turning black Evaporust may not be the answer either.

 

[Stuart in MN]

If you are worried about it turning black Evaporust may not be the answer either.

The black residue left by Evaporust usually scrubs off easily with Scotchbrite.

 

[finn]

And then how long do you let it soak? Can you leave it in too long?

That’s pretty heavy wall, so I don’t think you can hurt it.

I use a bristle brush, Scotchbrite pads, and sometimes a Brillo pad after an hour or two to check progress.

lately I have been slitting the side off a paint thinner jug or antifreeze jug to make a shallow, zero cost soaking pan for small items, with a partial batch of elixir, and placing the container in the bottom of my laundry tub turned slop sink. That way I can rinse off my workpiece as I go to check progress.

I don’t think I have ruined anything yet, and I know I have left crusty nuts and bolts in there for weeks.

For a lot of small items, I eventually transfer them to a HF vibratory tumbler bowl (the big one), with the ceramic pyramid media and add some dish soap (not too much or it makes a foamy mess). I let that run maybe an hour.

The only problem I have seen with the tumbler is that the drain tube gets packed solid with fines, ie mud and rust. It takes some additional work to clean out the drain hose.

The media has to be flushed with fresh water every couple of days, depending on how much you use it.

I’ve been cleaning assorted parts from a crusty 66 Mustang and 36 Ford coupe, both basket cases. It works surprisingly well, considering what I started with. Chrome and garbage die cast parts, tail light buckets that are anodized or cad plated, etc are clean and easy to handle.

I still need the wire wheel for crusty lug nuts, etc, and sometimes they go in the bath a couple of times.

I went from five tubs of filthy junk last fall to five tubs of more or less useable parts.