Advice on caring for wet tools

[shellback]

Hi everyone!
Went to the yard yesterday getting some parts for my project and was caught in a torrential rain storm. All my hand tools got wet and unbeknownst to me everything in my cheap plastic yard box was pooled in rainwater. Pretty much all metal hand tools, including sockets, wrenches, etc.
So how do I take care of this. I don't want to just wipe down and thats it. I'm afraid they will get ruined, especially my SO ratchets.

Thank you in advance and Happy Birthday America!

 

[Skin]

Spray them down liberally with WD40 (or something similar) and wipe off. Submerse the ratchet heads in oil if you don't want to open them.

 

[b7labelle]

I recently bought a gallon of WD40 and a can with a wide spray head. Dunked some pliers and such in it, and I use the wide spray to quickly coat things like channellocks and other large tools. I also have old rags I will soak with it, and just wipe everything down manually.

Also smells great to me.

 

[shellback]

Just picked up a couple of cans and went ahead and sprayed as mentioned above.
Thank you very much!

 

[Danglerb]

Its the best use of WD40. I'd blow off the tool with air, at least wipe it down with a rag, then hit it with the WD40 and leave it on a rag or newspaper in a DRY location.

 

[The Cobbler]

leave the ratchets in the sun for a day to vaporize and dry any water that got into the mechanism