Cleaning sockets and wrenches

[jywilli69]

I have always had sockets and wrenches since I got married in 93. I was never in profession of turning wrenches or building things. Got my first tool box combo 4yrs ago and just threw the tools in it. I got these tools in a MAC tool box. How do you remove rust from your tools and boxes? I want to restore the Craftsman and MAC Tool Boxes. Any ideas and help would be appreciated.

Jayson

 

[fang123]

I have always had sockets and wrenches since I got married in 93. I was never in profession of turning wrenches or building things. Got my first tool box combo 4yrs ago and just threw the tools in it. I got these tools in a MAC tool box. How do you remove rust from your tools and boxes? I want to restore the Craftsman and MAC Tool Boxes. Any ideas and help would be appreciated.

Jayson

Evaporust and a large ziplock bag with 3 in One oil and 10w-30 mixture.

 

[jywilli69]

Evaporust and a large ziplock bag with 3 in One oil and 10w-30 mixture.

I really appreciate the help!

 

[Hauser day goofball]

Evaporate seconded

 

[mikey03]

Evaporust and a large ziplock bag with 3 in One oil and 10w-30 mixture.

All in one container mixed up or is it two steps with the oil second

 

[peejay75]

Been looking for a solution like this myself, but been leery since 'ruining' the finish of one of my wrenches using baking soda and vinegar, (i think that's the brew i used), the 10mm wrench (11 shown for comparison, no treatment). Is Evaporust not harmful to finishes?

 

[woody 73]

I use evaporust on everything, like the commercial says I put that **** on everything. But I did learn something this week, as I was soaking some screwdrivers it took the words right off the plastic handle which surprised me. I guess it is just that strong.

 

[mreisner]

Strong, but safe. Most likely the words used an oxide for a pigment and it just removed that, like it does with Bluing on steel also.

 

[autobon7]

Evaporust or electrolysis. I prefer electrolysis but others may not.

 

[Bubba Fett]

Evaporust is the answer. I no longer use vinegar, because it can eat into the metal.

 

[ecotec]

Sometimes, I just leave it if is more patina than living rust. That is just paint on the adjustable.

Sometimes I use a wire wheel then Fluid Film. Yesterday, I wire wheeled some rust out of a Snap-on/MAC (I have so many questions about this socket. I assume that it is a homemade tool.) double universal joint socket and then Fluid Filmed it.

 

[Tynee]

That long tap and the extension on the far right are the only 2 I would use chemicals on if they were mine. I'd clean everythign else up with a rag and/or a light wire wheel. Maybe some 0000 steel wool for oxidation.

The answer may depend too on what you want to do with them. If you're just looking to start collecting cool old tools and plan to keep these around, then be as aggressive as you feel is warranted. If you have anything there of value, proceed with caution as the more aggressive you get, the more likely you are to start to subtract from the potential collector's value.

 

[rust in the eye]

All in one container mixed up or is it two steps with the oil second

Not all together.
Wash with solvent to remove any oil before Evaporust. Further protection is a matter of preference, a light coating and wpie down with whatever oil happens to be around has worked fine for me.

 

[mjdarg]

Looks like a lot of those tools just have light patina on them. The punches and double open ended wrenches could get some 3 in 1 oil and scotchbrite or steel wool, but I've made some tools look worse after leaving them in Evaporust too long. The bare steel will darken and it is more of an eyesore than the rust that was there. I try to periodically oil my older tools that aren't coated. If the chrome on those sockets looks to be intact, you could dunk them into some Evaporust for a few hours max. Do NOT put anything with a black oxide coating in Evaporust. It will remove that completely.

 

[30-30remchester]

I have several of these and have no idea what they are or what they do. Does anyone know?

 

[AEAdam]

Old car restorers trick for chrome. Crumple up aluminum foil and use that to vigorously scrub with. The corners of the foil act like scrapers.

Dip in water, the aluminum starts to break down to form aluminum oxide which is a fine abrasive

Free Al ions will actually fill in scratches in the chrome and bond with bare steel making the chrome surface appear repaired.

I’ve done it on old chromed ratchets and it definitely works. But it’s not a quick fix.

What’s good about it is, you won’t abrade off or dull existing chrome like you might with scotch brite.

 

[64C10]

I have several of these and have no idea what they are or what they do. Does anyone know?

Those little Allen wrench/face spanner things used to come with faucets, they were for tightening/adjusting the cartridges.

 

[YoshiMoshi3]

Evapo rust works well. But how do I prevent the rust from coming back?
When I take parts out of Evap rust, there's no rust and looks great. A few hours later, there's rust again. Almost like "flash rust" I believe it's called. How do I stop that?

 

[zendriver]

If it chrome, 0000 steel wool

 

[ecotec]

Evapo rust works well. But how do I prevent the rust from coming back?
When I take parts out of Evap rust, there's no rust and looks great. A few hours later, there's rust again. Almost like "flash rust" I believe it's called. How do I stop that?

Fluid Film.

 

[YoshiMoshi3]

Fluid Film.

Thanks is there some product that will dry though and not leave a sticky residue. Like if I wanted to get rust off of brake caliper bolts. Should use a torque wrench, structural bolt, torque to spec. If I use fluid film, don't know how to adjust the torque spec.

 

[ecotec]

Thanks is there some product that will dry though and not leave a sticky residue. Like if I wanted to get rust off of brake caliper bolts. Should use a torque wrench, structural bolt, torque to spec. If I use fluid film, don't know how to adjust the torque spec.

I have never used fluid film on anything that I had to torque. That is a good question.

On brake caliper bolts, I just use brake cleaner and a paper towel. If there are any rubber parts, I remove them before I use the brake cleaner. I just clean the rubber parts with a clean paper towel.

If the head of the brake caliper bolt is super nasty, I might hit it with a wire brush for a second. This is pretty much never. I never even clean the threads.

 

[jd5000]

I have always had sockets and wrenches since I got married in 93. I was never in profession of turning wrenches or building things. Got my first tool box combo 4yrs ago and just threw the tools in it. I got these tools in a MAC tool box. How do you remove rust from your tools and boxes? I want to restore the Craftsman and MAC Tool Boxes. Any ideas and help would be appreciated.

Jayson

If you don't want to spend the money on Evaporust, you may want to try the DIY version:

Rust Removal

I came across this video on youtube. Looked interesting enough to give it a try. I was pretty surprised at the results for common household stuff - and I was quite skeptical dropping the first part in. Beyond Ballistics did a fantastic job here! The '57 Chevy truck door hinge was in the...

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