Cleaning and oiling hand tools, some with surface rust

[thool]

I usually clean my tools, but don't CLEAN them. My OCD kicked in and I decided to check in with GJ on some tactics for the types of tools I'm trying to clean up and preserve.

For my combination wrenches, I'm using a q-tip with carb cleaner to clean up the 12-point grooves. Anything with surface rust, even the discoloration that means rust is in the early stages, gets a brass wire brush on that area. Then the tool gets a wipe down with a rag that has a small amount of 3-in-1 oil. My GW ratchets will get an internal cleaning and the 3-in-1 light oiling (not a fan of grease in there).

I'm looking for suggestions on tackling my sockets next. I have deep and shallow 1/4" and 3/8" SAE and metric, GW 6 points. Can they be soaked in chem dip cleaner? They're not nasty, just looking for an effective method.

The problem we have is that my tools are stored in the unheated garage, and with salty cars parked in there, and our days with 20 degree swings, the environment is one that allows condensation to form. Is an annual oiling a decent move, or are there any other suggestions?

 

[lardy1]

I use my Safety Clean parts washer with a stiff brush, whatever is necessary to get it deep clean, then an overnight in the Evaporust bath makes old sockets look sweet.

 

[81turbota]

Evaporust and a bath in the ultrasonic cleans the sockets very well.

Just don’t make my mistake- throwing slightly rusty black oxide Allen keys into evaporust. They come out nice clean bare steel.

 

[thool]

Evaporust and a bath in the ultrasonic cleans the sockets very well.

Just don’t make my mistake- throwing slightly rusty black oxide Allen keys into evaporust. They come out nice clean bare steel.

Thanks, never heard of Evapo-Rust until now. They have it at my TSC it appears. No ultrasonic cleaner, but a soak will address the surface rust I'm sure. My oxide impact sockets and allen wrenches will just get the brass brush and oil, thanks for the tip there!

Does Evapo-Rust also remove the grease from grooves? If not, that's why I was asking about the parts cleaner.

 

[lardy1]

Personally, I get things as clean as possible and manually remove as much rust as possible before the Evaporust. It makes the solution last longer.

 

[kctyphoon]

You can make a vibrating ‘ultasonic’ cleaner pretty easily with a plastic container and screwing a palm sander to the side if it. Fill it with your choice of liquid cleaner. Look on YouTube for videos. Or you can buy an actual vibrating cleaner with media, or a cheap ebay ultrasonic cleaner that gets good reviews. (Both all over youtube). Other than that maybe try a dremel with a tiny brush and do it one at a time.

 

[thool]

I ended up cleaning the tools with carb cleaner and a small brass brush, then a soak in Evapo-Rust, a rinse, and then drying in the oven at 250F for about 30 minutes. Nothing with gaskets or rubber went into the oven, instead got an air dry over a floor vent. Then with a q-tip I oiled the socket interiors (6 point) with 3-in-1 oil, wiped with a rag that had the same oil, and then finished off with a paper towel to remove most of the surface oil. The interiors of the sockets just got a wipe down with a mostly dry q-tip because I want those surfaces to retain a coating.

I like the 3-in-1 oil because it flows well and is not sticky.

Yeah, kind of OCD. Took me about 8 hours of effort. I think there were maybe 300 items if you count all the sockets and driver bits.

 

[seagull369]

Either take the tools out of the garage or keep the cars out of there and half your problems will be solved. Any kind of salt or ice melter, no matter the claim on how safe it is, will inevitably waft its way onto your tools and eat away at them.

If you continue to keep your tools in the garage, or other non-humidity controlled environment, invest in a couple of job boxes and put your tools in there along with a desiccant that gets changed regularly. Make sure to plug up any leaks you might see in the boxes and put some weather stripping tape around where the lid meets the box for a good seal once you close it.

Aside from that, it would help to coat any tools that are bare steel, or have something like an otherwise weak rust protective coating (such as phosphate) with oil. You can use your 3 in 1, though I have found better results with plain old used motor oil. If you want to take it 1 step further, soak a rag in oil, wring it out some, then toss it in a given toolbox that's inside in your job box.

 

[n8n]

I've cleaned sockets with carb dip before then run them through the dishwasher (seriously!) and then finally sprayed them with Boeshield T-9. Does leave a noticeable waxy coating on the tools. A cheap farmer trick for this would be to use an old coffee can full of Diesel fuel to both clean and coat. Just set the tools after cleaning on a rag to air dry, there's enough paraffin in the Diesel to eave a light coating on the tools.

 

[ZRX61]

Gotta be careful with ritalin prescriptions

 

[toolenthusiast]

I've cleaned sockets with carb dip before then run them through the dishwasher (seriously!) and then finally sprayed them with Boeshield T-9. Does leave a noticeable waxy coating on the tools. A cheap farmer trick for this would be to use an old coffee can full of Diesel fuel to both clean and coat. Just set the tools after cleaning on a rag to air dry, there's enough paraffin in the Diesel to eave a light coating on the tools.

Maybe “cheap farmers” DO use “old coffee cans full of diesel” to clean their tools... but it’s such a stupid idea that no one should even repeat that story, let alone recommend the practice.

 

[n8n]

Maybe “cheap farmers” DO use “old coffee cans full of diesel” to clean their tools... but it’s such a stupid idea that no one should even repeat that story, let alone recommend the practice.

I'm not sure what's stupid about the idea... I mean they even used to wipe down tractors and other equipment with it because it really is a one step wash and wax. If you're implying that it's volatile, yes it is, so you should either put a lid on it or pour it back into a better container when done, but people have been using carb dip (which is much more volatile) for decades that comes in a container indistinguishable from... a coffee can.

 

[seagull369]

toolenthusiast, there's enough people acting like jerks in the world, so there's no need to add to the problem. Most of us are on here simply to help others, not to be insulted.

And, by the way, I see no problem with what n8n recommended.

 

[M6erfan]

thool; on Evaporust try to clean the parts as best possible, including rust, before soaking. Evaporust can be used over and over again but will expire when it has absorbed a certain amount of rust (1lb rust per gallon of Evaporust IIRC) so having the parts as rust free as possible will extend its life.

Evaporust is not a degreaser.

 

[M6erfan]

I've cleaned sockets with carb dip before then run them through the dishwasher (seriously!) and then finally sprayed them with Boeshield T-9. Does leave a noticeable waxy coating on the tools. A cheap farmer trick for this would be to use an old coffee can full of Diesel fuel to both clean and coat. Just set the tools after cleaning on a rag to air dry, there's enough paraffin in the Diesel to eave a light coating on the tools.

I must be a farmer too. I use old 2stroke fuel, mineral spirits, and kerosene as cleaners.