cleaning old filthy hand tools?

[n8n]

Was thinking about this today while cleaning up some old sockets to take pics of for sale... one of them was packed with some really old, hard mung - looked like mud but was hard as cement. Oven cleaner, toothbrush, a run through the dishwasher, some more oven cleaner, some digging with a toothpick, more scrubbing, etc. later and it looks "acceptable" but that's a lot of work. I think it was 1-5/8" which made it easier, were it a typical smallish 3/8" drive socket I'd have probably thrown it out in disgust.

Has anyone got a lazy man's way to clean up problem children like this? Was thinking maybe an ultrasonic cleaner might be the ticket for these? other ideas?

 

[AceofSpad3s]

If it was completely filled with mud, I would take a nail and hit it through the drive end to help knock some of the mud loose. Maybe try dropping them in boiling water to help loosen up the mud, not sure if it would mess with the heat treat, so I would be careful. I have some sockets like the ones you mention today so I would be interested in hearing what others got to say aswell.

 

[n8n]

wasn't completely full, just packed into all the crevices and into the "rings" around the base (Proto socket, had two circumferential grooves around the outside near the drive end) and into the whole area between the socket and the drive recess but you could drop an extension through it.

Really, it would be perfectly functional as a "user" tool but I would feel bad even giving it to someone as filthy as it was; it'd bother me to keep it in my own box.

This isn't completely irrelevant to my interests as I only cleaned up the dupes/extras today, I still have a full old 3/4" drive set that is "As bought" and that's where this socket came from.

I like the boiling water idea, might try that someday. Maybe I'll run over to Goodwill and get an old ugly saucepan to try it out. Maybe a little dish soap in the water would help it along?

I doubt ~212F would mess with heat treat as isnt the low end of heat treat temps for steel something like 5-600F? But I don't have real knowledge so if someone really knows please chime in.

 

[thecody59]

I would love a solution to u just got a huge set and he worked on engines I don't think they have been cleaned once.

 

[Kirbot]

An ultrasonic cleaner full of purple power gets my vote.

The boiling sounds like a worthy idea though.

 

[warweapon762]

An ultrasonic cleaner full of purple power gets my vote.

The boiling sounds like a worthy idea though.

old crock pot + straight antifreeze = cleans EVERYTHING off

 

[Bryan Burns]

Perhaps it was concrete (or what you called "cement") .

 

[n8n]

old crock pot + straight antifreeze = cleans EVERYTHING off

heated or just let to sit?

 

[n8n]

Perhaps it was concrete (or what you called "cement") .

Definite brown tinge though. Guessing clay/field mud. One of the sockets in the box was a specialty Budd wheel socket so am guessing the really filthy one got dropped at the side of the road/in a field/wherever the equipment being worked on happened to be and not cleaned soon enough afterwards.

 

[warweapon762]

heated or just let to sit?

boiling

 

[Danglerb]

Haven't tried it yet, but I picked up a McCulloch steamer at the swap meet, and friends who use them say the steam from water does the job most of the time.

Right now I use WD40 and a rag, if its really nasty maybe simple green and hot water first.