For all you screwdriver polishers

[jabberwoki]

 

[paulsomlo]

Leave it in there for a while and you won't have to worry about that handle at all.

 

[Junkman]

A bunch of my plastic handles have a white "mold" on them that I can scratch off with a scrubby pad and dishwashing liquid. I don't know where it comes from, or an easy way to remove it without scratching the plastic. Any suggestions?

 

[cody1325]

Weirdly enough, I had a ton of screwdrivers with nasty-looking handles. Seems that something in the Evaporust I used also removed that oxidation of the plastic and made them look almost new.

 

[four.cycle]

^ I haven't kept Acetone in my house for over 50 years. Nasty stuff.

 

[bonneyman]

A bunch of my plastic handles have a white "mold" on them that I can scratch off with a scrubby pad and dishwashing liquid. I don't know where it comes from, or an easy way to remove it without scratching the plastic. Any suggestions?

Clean off any loose white powder, then soak it in Ballistol and water for 10 minutes. Wipe dry and toss in the toolbox. Should keep the vomit smell and further deterioration away for at least a month. Repeat as needed.

Ballistol Multi-purpose Oil | All Use Medicated Oil

Discover Ballistol multi-purpose oil that cleans, lubricates & protects metal, wood, leather, rubber & plastic. Eco‑friendly & rust‑preventive. Shop now!

ballistol.com

 

[Private Lugnutz]

A bunch of my plastic handles have a white "mold" on them that I can scratch off with a scrubby pad and dishwashing liquid. I don't know where it comes from,

It comes from the plastic, probably CAB, or Tenite I, offgassing. Also the source of a smell, if they smell. They will eventually all deteriorate.

...or an easy way to remove it without scratching the plastic. Any suggestions?

The periodic penetrating oil treatment, as @bonneyman suggests above, works. A permanent solution is to seal them with a clear acrylic or polyurethane (but not if they're white, which will yellow).

 

[ecotec]

It comes from the plastic, probably CAB, or Tenite I, offgassing. Also the source of a smell, if they smell. They will eventually all deteriorate.

The periodic penetrating oil treatment, as @bonneyman suggests above, works. A permanent solution is to seal them with a clear acrylic or polyurethane (but not if they're white, which will yellow).

Only some of the forms of plastic breakdown has the butyl vomit smell. The wood cellulose breakdown doesn’t.

A lot of vintage collectibles are having these problems.

I never see these issues with Bakelite or other plastics used in vintage razors.

Sealing the oxygen from getting into the tools will definitely slow down the breakdown, but I wouldn’t call it permanent.

It happens in very varied ways. I have seen handles that turned into a gooey mess and some that are a dry chalky mess. Some brands seem way more susceptible than others. I have had it happen to me most often with the old black Snap-on handles and old Craftman. Some change shape as they break down. It looks like mold growing outwards. Sometimes it just gets chalky and shrinks. Sometimes it looks like it’s melting. Sometimes it causes rust on the tools by it.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I wouldn’t call it permanent.

Well, I wouldn't argue with that, because permanent is such a... permanent word. I would say that it has severely retarded the deterioration of mine, and I suspect that they won't further deteriorate in my lifetime.

Some brands seem way more susceptible than others.

Agreed. Here's a chart you may find interesting.



And the full Stinkdriver Study and discussion starts here.

 

[bluedog225]

If they’re worth the effort, you can use acetone to save old camping gear. Like old backpacks or a tent fly that has the flexible finish on one side coming off. Just brush it on and work it in.

 

[ecotec]

A lot of collectors will ditch their deteriorating collectibles at the first sign of plastic breakdown, so they can get back what they have into them.

 

[Mintgrun]

Here's a chart you may find interesting.

You could add Kedman Quick-Wedge screw starters to that list. I read in one of their old catalogs that they used Tenite II. I'm not sure they all were though.

Soft faced hammers sometimes have the same issues. I bought an old tool box recently with two of them inside and one completely crumbled and caused flash rust on the box and other tools in that compartment. On the other one, the yellow faces just turned frosty, but I spun them off and threw them away. I might have tried to salvage them, but the previous owner had purchased replacement faces and they are in perfect condition, even though I suspect they're the same age.

EDIT-- here's the '69 page I read that on.

Kedman Quick-Wedge Screw-Holding Screwdrivers : 1969 : Kedman Co. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

1 p., illus., 27.4 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I saw that, too, and I will, for comprehensiveness. I've never seen a Q-W offgassing, falling apart or stinking, though. Have you?

 

[Mintgrun]

I'll look again when I pull them out to take photos for that thread, but I think one of the largest blue handled ones is getting frosty. I seem to recall scrubbing it off of a few others before putting them away, but I could be wrong. They're hanging out on a rack for display, so I haven't noticed a smell, like I might if they were inside a box.

I've got matching screwdrivers from the same era (not the same purchase), where one's breaking down and causing the shank to rust and the other seems just fine. That adds to my curiosity about them possibly reacting to something in their surroundings.

 

[ecotec]

This topic is one of the bigger bummers on GJ.

I just smelled the handles in my Xcelite service master NO 99 SM… and they smell like vomit…

 

[CoogarXR]

Like I said a million times, for my Xcelite collection- if one gets hazy, I just shoot the handle with windex, buff it with a harbor freight microfiber cloth, and it's good for months.

I don't keep any of them in blow-molded cases or anything "sealed". It seems like letting them breathe helps. I keep them in my drawer cabinets. They breathe enough in there.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That adds to my curiosity about them possibly reacting to something in their surroundings.

Clearly a factor. I think heat and humidity exacerbates the effects, but that's just a hunch, not science.

 

[Mintgrun]

I wonder about sunlight too.

 

[four.cycle]

Stinkdriver Study

posted in the "Lugzonian" thread

 

[bonneyman]

That adds to my curiosity about them possibly reacting to something in their surroundings.

I think that human sweat - being acidic - starts the deterioration of the cellulose acetate handles. Then being in an enclosed space concentrates the outgassing by-products, which exacerbates the decay.
Windex (being basic because of the ammonia in it) and Ballistol (which is slightly alkaline when mixed with water) neutralizes this acidity and stops (almost) the deterioration. I learned that Ballistol was designed to eliminate the acidic by-products of corrosive ammunition - and save gun barrels. I have not tested it with ph paper, but I might.

 

[Jacobs976]

I had a whole set, literally every single driver from Philips to specialty and picks, of Snap On black handles off gas and rust a drawer out from sitting too long after being cleaned. Wasn't out anything really fortunately, bought out a retired polisher so it was box plus everything in it at around the box resale value. Rust was surface and chewed through the powder coat but it cleaned up fair and I resealed it to prevent recurrence. Some drivers were powder while some were recoverable.

I clean any drivers I find with pb blaster, brass brush, and scotch pad then wipe and coat with 3 in 1 oil and let cure over a few days to weeks and they've been fine for about 10 years regardless of brand(Craftsman, snap on, misc, going back to the late 60s at most with most being 80s-90s).

The plastics can break down from a variety of things. Theoretically it could be trace compounds in air or the oils in them oxidizing beyond residues from hands or motor oil etc.. Might be worth checking what the plastics can react with if you're intending to collect them, there's a lot of trace compounds in the environments and they vary vastly depending on a ton of factors.

 

[toolmiser]

^ I haven't kept Acetone in my house for over 50 years. Nasty stuff.

No finger nail polish remover?

 

[four.cycle]

^ I don't paint my nails.

I have paint thinner, lacquer thinner, and mineral spirits. That's usually enough to accomplish the task.

When I was building kites down in the basement - blowing model airplane dope through a mouth atomizer (in an enclosed area, no less) I usually had plenty of acetone, lacquer thinner, and lots of other nasty stuff at hand.
All that came to a screeching halt and I got rid of all that stuff and stopped using those mediums.
50+ years later, I don't believe any of that stuff did me any favors.

 

[duddly]

(I hope this is the right place...) My old nose has never actually noticed the "stink" from the plastic handled screwdrivers/nutdrivers but I have certainly noticed the "white mold" - so I bought this little 1/4 set partially because of the amount of "white mold" - then I spent an enjoyable few hours on the internet looking for information and solutions. One guy on youtube convinced me that Ammonia is the cure! Spoiler alert: boy was he right! I soaked the beyond use (or display) handle in ammonia for a couple hours and used a rag and soft toothbrush to wipe away the white mold with zero abrasion, etc.
Ammonia for the win! And this opens a whole new set of opportunities for collecting and displaying tools that I thought were beyond hope.

 

[MiteyF]

^ I haven't kept Acetone in my house for over 50 years. Nasty stuff.

I use acetone all the time, on everything. Best solvent out there.

It's certainly not GOOD for you, but my wife (the PHD chemist) assures me it's "not as bad" as a lot of other common solvents.

But she may be trying to off me. Who knows.

 

[slowtwitch73]

^^ your wife is correct

 

[four.cycle]

@duddly -

^ That is SO weird. That Oxwall ratcheting driver grows hair. The Oxwall long-handle flex 1/4" square driver grows hair. The Oxwall 5-inch "flex handle" (breaker) grows hair.
The Oxwall stubby handle flex 1/4" square driver seems to NOT grow hair. But as far as I know, they only had one plant in Flushing, New York.

 

[natas2000]

I polish lots of things.....??? I need to try that trick on a Proto yellow handle I picked up, It's discontinued model that looks it was never used, I t has a few dirt marks on the handle from sitting somewhere. The shaft is untouched and new. But.....it you put it to your nose holy heck. Or they used it for something, well I won't go there. So I will try the Ballistol trick.

 

[bonneyman]

I polish lots of things.....??? I need to try that trick on a Proto yellow handle I picked up, It's discontinued model that looks it was never used, I t has a few dirt marks on the handle from sitting somewhere. The shaft is untouched and new. But.....it you put it to your nose holy heck. Or they used it for something, well I won't go there. So I will try the Ballistol trick.

Proto Bet R Grips - my favorite screwdriver! I've not had any smell from mine, but I have cleaned and polished the handles with car wax after thorough cleaning with Turtle Wax polishing compound. Great results!

 

[misterbill]

I finally had enough of the "stinkdriver" smell emanating from the Oxwall flat bladed screwdriver hanging on the pegboard in my garage. I chiseled and drove the handle off of the blade and turned a wooden replacement from a piece of black cherry that had been lying in my yard. The ferrule is a copper cap from Home Depot. Total cost of permanently removing the smell - $2.11 - and I still have the use of my favorite pry-driver!




Bill

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Well done, Bill.

 

[Leviton]

I finally had enough of the "stinkdriver" smell emanating from the Oxwall flat bladed screwdriver hanging on the pegboard in my garage. I chiseled and drove the handle off of the blade and turned a wooden replacement from a piece of black cherry that had been lying in my yard. The ferrule is a copper cap from Home Depot. Total cost of permanently removing the smell - $2.11 - and I still have the use of my favorite pry-driver!

Bill

I like your copper cap idea.