Catching **** for cleaning tools...

[GoBlue]

I wipe my tools down and put them back in their place between jobs. This keeps them clean, functioning, and has saved me thousands in lost tools that i would have otherwise left under hoods and what not. I get a bit of gruff for such a neat, tidy box, but when someone needs to borrow something they always come to me.

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

hey , a lot of the guys in the car business had been told they would never amount to ANYTHING ..and they worked hard , got to the top of their trade and made some money.. all without changing their basic philosophy

counterculture is the foundation of this business ..lighten up francis , we break balls

 

[bgott]

Your co-workers sound like idiots but then again, not everybody has the same set of priorities. When i started helping my old man service the engines of truck fleet, and used HIS tools, i would get reamed if i didn't wipe them down with a rag and lacquer thinner when done.

I'm from California, too. I lived in Nevada for a few years, also, low humidity in both places. Cleaned my tools with laquer thinner just about every night. Then I moved to Houston, TX. After I was here about three weeks we had a stretch of 100% humidity days with big temperature swings. Had a three day weekend and came in to a toolbox full of rusty tools! I just lightly wipe 'em down now, if it is something that I don't use much, or has a black oxide finish, or has been previously rusted to pits, I just stick it in the drawer as long as as it is not totally nasty. I buy a lot of used tools from pawn shops and flea markets so I have a few tools that show signs of having previously been rusted. Back home tools like that would invite comments about how you care for your tools, here, not so much.

 

[G_P]

I always wipe down tools before putting them away if they are dirty. I cannot stand reaching into my box and picking up a tool and ending up with grease all over my hands.

Sockets get a wipe of the outside but if they really get packed up with **** inside I will drop them in a jar of brake cleaner.

I have had to work with people who never clean their tools and I dont know how they do it. It would drive me insane to have a box full of rusty and or grimy tools.

 

[Winneratalosinggame]

Nothing goes back in my box unless it is reasonably clean. Do I get every speck of in every nook and cranny? no, but reasonably close. Certainly I'm not going to feel oil or grime on a tool by picking it up out of the box, and no very few of my tools look "brand new" They are tools, and they get used.

I'm also insistent that ever tool goes back where it was found. I'm actually this close to telling my son to use his tools (which are in his room) if he can't put mine back in order when working in the garage...

I'm that way. My manager will grab a tool use it then drop it any which way back in my drawer usually still dirty! Sometimes want to beat him!

I wipe my tools down at the end of the day, And have a place for everything..
I catch **** from the other mechanic about it... He is a slob tools filthy, His bays sloppy. 6 bay shop I have first bay he has second, I have 3rd and so on.. 1st, 3rd and 5th bays are always clean his 3 bays are pig pens!

 

[Bad Jackson]

Keep you tools neat, clean, and organized. You will be faster and your orders will leave the bay looking good.
When the guys try to give me **** over something like that, I laugh (even if it is just in my own head), knowing that I have a sense of pride in my work.

Keep it clean.
Munsk.

 

[MattT]

I've never given a guy **** for cleaning tools. But there's a fine line between cleaning and polishing

 

[JASTECH]

9240, +1..I have always kept my box and tools clean. All my corded drills 3/8" & 1/2" T-handle all get wiped down then rolled up in a blue OR rag, I get a mess of comments about that everytime. But my drills all look new after 20+ years. I wax my box's too, more lips move again, I make a living with my tools, so I respect them and clean them, then put them to seepy-by until needed.

 

[babewatcher]

do it on your own time ..and waxing tool boxes ? oh brother

Geez, how long does it take to wipe down your tools? Takes me ten minutes at most. Drink coffee on your own time. Take a leak on your own time. Fart on your own time.

 

[BloodySinner]

Why the hell not? I paid good money for my tools, and I intend on keeping 'em for a long *** time.

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

Geez, how long does it take to wipe down your tools? Takes me ten minutes at most. Drink coffee on your own time. Take a leak on your own time. Fart on your own time.

flat rate =no breaks

 

[greasemonkey44]

i keep my stuff wiped clean; i work bare handed so i dont want grease and **** on me after i washed my hands
my tool box gets wiped down when i get a chance; usually just enough to get the greasy fingerprints off
any tools im using get tossed into the cart so they can get cleaned and reorganized from there; makes it faster and easier, until by the end of the day there is a mountain of tools there
one of the other guys leaves it all in his cart for a week then uses a parts washer to clean it all off
the other guy is just a piggy; his tools stay clean, but he is filthy by the end of the day.....its pretty damn funny

 

[Patrick Boyle]

In my opinion clean tools and an organized box reflect on the man as a whole. It's been my experience that guys who slap parts together so quick and dirty that you're surprised it ever works when it's all said and done, often have boxes and work spaces that reflect that.

If you've got attention to detail and actually give a **** about the end result of the work your doing, that bleeds over into how you care for your tools.

To the OP, let it in one ear and out the other. You can't let another man's shortcomings affect your life and work.

 

[babewatcher]

Quick story about a guy in our shop. He has OCD. The shop supplies each mechanic with two drain pans for oil changes. I've seen this guy do an oil change (vehicles use up to 30 quarts), dump the oil and then use three cans of brakleen to clean the pans spotless and put them under his bench. Then do ANOTHER oil change same day, dump the oil, use three cans of brakleen to clean the pans spotless and then put them under his bench. I've seen this guy polishing the trash can in his bay. A huge amount of effort goes to trying to prevent his uniform from getting dirt on it.
It's truly fascinating to watch.

 

[jethro29]

i clean and put away mine after every job.yea, i get teased by the other techs but they are the same ones that ask to borrow my tools everyday.

 

[ChvyC10]

flat rate =no breaks

 

[Matt018]

I wouldnt give someone **** for cleaning there tools, I wipe min off with a rag, and maybe spray some cleaner of sorts on anything that super filthy, But I think its super asinine to go through every tool and make sure its perfect when the next day your just going to take it back under a car and get it even dirtier than before.

 

[Altec]

flat rate =no breaks

Since when?

 

[Squints]

I wipe all my tools before they go back in my tool box.

To check for damage, I don't want to grab a greasy tool with clean hands next time, and my tools are an investment!

 

[zjrog]

I clean even my cheap tools. Wait, thats most of my tools. I haven't always done this. But then I didn't use them as much as I do now.

 

[sometoyotaguy]

I wipe mine off when I put them away. I don't understand how someone wouldn't want to at least keep gunk out of their tool box.

 

[airbatica]

Our boss may be a ****, but he gives us thirty minutes at the end of our shift to clean our tools, clean up, and do general housekeeping. We have to keep our tools clean, because you never know what you're going to be doing the next day. I could be working on First Class aircraft seats one day, and doing hydraulics or fuel the next.

 

[Drunken Yak inc]

I clean the dirt and grime off with a rag after every use, then about once a week or so I wipe down with a silicone cloth. It not only removes finger prints and oils, but it also adds a silicone coating for rust prevention.

http://www.copsplus.com/kleenbore_KB-GC-220.html

 

[junk4dummies]

I'm from California, too. I lived in Nevada for a few years, also, low humidity in both places. Cleaned my tools with laquer thinner just about every night. Then I moved to Houston, TX. After I was here about three weeks we had a stretch of 100% humidity days with big temperature swings. Had a three day weekend and came in to a toolbox full of rusty tools! I just lightly wipe 'em down now, if it is something that I don't use much, or has a black oxide finish, or has been previously rusted to pits, I just stick it in the drawer as long as as it is not totally nasty. I buy a lot of used tools from pawn shops and flea markets so I have a few tools that show signs of having previously been rusted. Back home tools like that would invite comments about how you care for your tools, here, not so much.

I grew up in Detroit and I had to put light oil on everything to keep it form rusting. I even had a rag in oil I wiped down my shovels and tools with. I never had rust on them. I have one of my shops in the pole building on my farm in Indiana. I have several tractors and mowers in there. Things wanted to rust all the time. It got so bad I put up walls and framed in the celing. I then insulated it and drywalled it all. I put in a dehumidifyer that runs all year long. Here in California nothing rust in the box. Never enough rust on the garden tools that one quick dip in the dirt will not clean off.
I always wipe my tools off when done. My boxes are spotless and I don't mind putting a swandwitch on my wrenches. LOL I really would rather not use them and get them dirty but that cant be done but lord knows I try. LOL