For Cleaning Wrenches and Sockets

[David Jackson]

I thought this posted in tools section; but I don't see it.

For cleaning old tools, first the most obvious; carburetor cleaner; that should work great, no?

Second; how about a ride in the dishwasher? Any reason not to try that?

Regards,

 

[MJB24]

Dishwasher would be a very bad idea. What are you trying to wash off?

 

[NorCalWrenchin]

Naphtha bath!

 

[orca8589]

The dishwasher is NOT good for tools. I know this from experience.

Most dishwasher detergents have sodium hypochlorite (bleach) in them, and it can eat through plating fast and it WILL darken and/or rust carbon steels, and some stainless as well.

As MJB24 asked, what are you trying to clean off? I just give any old or used tools I buy a good wipedown with Simple Green, and then either a light scrubbing with steel wool, or a fine wire brush. That's usually enough.

~Chris

 

[SASORacing]

I soak (impact or chrome) in lacquer thinner or mineral spirits (to remove grease and clean them) in a large bowl and stir and shake them around. After i empty them onto a towell and replace the dirty liquid in the bowl with some light oil or WD-40. Then put all sockets back into bowl and shake again to cover, this think coating of oil protects them for months. Lastly dump sockets out for the second time onto a towell and give a quick pat down, after this they go back onto socket rails and are organized. Good luck!

 

[bigfunwmu]

Solvent & a brush, blow dry with air. Solvent parts washer makes it super easy. If you don't have one of those, soaking a bunch of stuff in a solvent or mineral spirits bucket over night, then cleaning with a brush and blowing dry works well too.

We also have a couple Cuda hot water parts washers at the shop. These are like a large industrial dishwasher for cleaning parts. The soap that goes in them is much like powdered dishwasher soap, it plays merry hell if you wash ratchets in it. It doesn't clean the insides of deep sockets well, but it softens the crud inside them with the heat. Shallow sockets are OK, chrome cleans nicely, but nothing usually stays in there for more than 5-10 minutes tops and is then promptly oiled to prevent flash rusting. Tools only end up here when they get absolutely slimed or covered in manure.

I wouldn't want to use the dishes out of that dishwasher for a while if I washed that stuff in there.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Could even use some orange cleaner (degreaser) for a less harmful start. Rust will have to be gone over with steel wool or a wire brush.

I'm a huge fan of CLP gun oil for a final coat on seldom used tools. A little on, and then wiped dry after 24 hours of drying.

 

[candikid]

If the only downside of using the dishwasher is the bleach contained in most detergents; I'd suggest finding a detergent NOT containing bleach and use the hell out of that dishwasher.
With the selection of detergents you have in the states I can't imagine it being hard to find a detergent like that, they're advertised a lot here in Norway at least...

 

[IOWNJUNK]

Its not the bleach, or what detergent to use, or the tools rusting after. It's getting the plastic in the dishwasher clean again and the hot steamy smell of grease and oil in the house.

 

[txbonds]

Try Gojo wipes and blue shop towels to dry. Seems to work well for me and you can reach inside sockets by twisting the towels up.

 

[Shadowdog500]

I send mine to the dry cleaners!

Just wipe them with a rag and you are done? If you get them too clean they can rust.

Chris

 

[outdoorsman310]

I use a rag. on rare occasions I have used carb or brake cleaner. watch out for labels and melting handles.

 

[espyking83]

I use mineral spirits or toluene. Then I put some Marvel on and let it sit for about 30 minutes before I wipe it off.

 

[wvrailroader]

Gunk makes a tool cleaner and degreaser that I buy at AAP. It has always worked really well for me and doesn't have a terrible odor. Is also has a rust inhibitor, which is a big plus.

 

[Wakefield]

Kerosine or varsol work well for ordinary greasy mess. Might not need the stronger stuff.
Turpentine? (smells good)

 

[Murphy4570]

Naphtha bath!

Only with proper PPE. Naphtha contains sulfur and can give off H2S gasses. It is also carcinogenic. Where are yo finding naphtha outside of an oil refinery anyways?

 

[Davefr]

Second; how about a ride in the dishwasher? Any reason not to try that?

Regards,

The wife will be so mad you'll be ******* your hand for the next month.

 

[bart1]

Citrus degreaser - I use Xenit.

If it's harder core than that, I will use a brass brush on the bench grinder.

 

[zcbauer89]

Don't forget tin foil (shiny side) for light surface rust.

 

[BlackjackNA]

And don't forget a lite spray and rub-down of Fluid Film prior to their return to the drawers.

 

[greasemonkey44]

I use brake cleaner; it's pretty infrequent tho
Usually wiping them well with a rag works fine

 

[lilredex]

If you have a HP washer, make up one of these. This is where a hot water pump really shines. Years ago, a workplace had greasy bolts to clean and used to hot tank them..... then hit them, in a similar basket, with a steam hose......everything came out looking like new.


photoupload

 

[NorCalWrenchin]

Only with proper PPE. Naphtha contains sulfur and can give off H2S gasses. It is also carcinogenic. Where are yo finding naphtha outside of an oil refinery anyways?

Rub-O-Matic rubber cleaner. Tons of it around the indy tire shop I work at. I guess I shouldn't fill my Zippo with it anymore

 

[Adam.C]

Anyone saying the dishwasher is a bad idea doesn't know what they are talking about and likely have never done it. I put all kinds of stuff in our dishwasher. Works great. If you think about it, you put all kinds of greasy stuff in the DW. The dishwasher doesn't smell when it's done it's cycle.

Dishwasher advantage is the heat, detergents, and multiple rinses.

After the dry cycle, if something has flash rusted (never happened to me) you could just wipe it with mineral oil.

For those who prefer petrochemical baths, I'm with you too. I think this is a good idea. I use diesel or kerosene to soak tools in.

There are a couple great non toxic degreasers on the market slightly more powerful than simple green. Purple power is one.

For sockets, I find no soak really cleans them completely. I always soak, then clean the crud in the corners with a tooth pick or similar. Pipe cleaners can also be helpful.

 

[Dust Devil]

I just wipe my stuff off with a rag.

 

[ttpete]

Only with proper PPE. Naphtha contains sulfur and can give off H2S gasses. It is also carcinogenic. Where are yo finding naphtha outside of an oil refinery anyways?

Coleman lantern fuel is naphtha.

 

[David Jackson]

Don't forget tin foil (shiny side) for light surface rust.

How does that work? What do you do with tin foil?

 

[David Jackson]

Anyone saying the dishwasher is a bad idea doesn't know what they are talking about and likely have never done it. I put all kinds of stuff in our dishwasher. Works great. If you think about it, you put all kinds of greasy stuff in the DW. The dishwasher doesn't smell when it's done it's cycle.

Dishwasher advantage is the heat, detergents, and multiple rinses.

After the dry cycle, if something has flash rusted (never happened to me) you could just wipe it with mineral oil.

For those who prefer petrochemical baths, I'm with you too. I think this is a good idea. I use diesel or kerosene to soak tools in.

There are a couple great non toxic degreasers on the market slightly more powerful than simple green. Purple power is one.

For sockets, I find no soak really cleans them completely. I always soak, then clean the crud in the corners with a tooth pick or similar. Pipe cleaners can also be helpful.

I was not thinking of throwing absolutely filthy tools into the dishwasher; more of putting things in after vinegar or electrolysis and so on; to bring tools back to the shiny clean new appearance they had when new.

Does that work?

 

[kingston]

I throw mine out when they get dirty, just like my underwear, except I change my underwear every Saturday whether they're dirty or not. I know to some it could sound wasteful, but after a week, even if they don't look or smell dirty, they probably are…

 

[Adam.C]

I was not thinking of throwing absolutely filthy tools into the dishwasher; more of putting things in after vinegar or electrolysis and so on; to bring tools back to the shiny clean new appearance they had when new.

Does that work?

Not exactly. And we don't throw filthy dishes in the DW either, do you? We pre-rinse the gunk off. So, same with tools. You clean them as best you can, pre-degreasers can be a good idea. If there is crud, scrape it off.

For chrome sockets and stuff, the DW will not shine anything not already shiny. Let's not talk about this as if it is something we don't understand. You put greasy SS utensils in it. Animal grease, petro-chemical grease not that different.

For chrome, it will get 80-90% of the black greasy gunk out of the lettering. Nooks and crannies on the insides, less successful. But generally clean, ready for detailed cleaning.

AL foil is a great cleaning tip. It does stuff people don't generally understand. As a crumpled up ball, it will clean all manner of surfaces due to cutting edges formed by the wrinkles. Works well on chrome bumpers or electric coffee pots, stainless steel sinks, utensils, pots and pans.

Second, Al oxidizes quickly and easily. The dull side of Al foil is Al2O3(aluminum oxide or alumina). This is the same stuff used to make grinding wheels. It is a very hard abrasive, but fine enough to not produce noticable scratches. Rubbing with water yields very very fine abrasive slurry. Use of any acid (coca cola is commonly used, tho vinegar will work) helps.

Rubbing also causes the foil to break down, producing ions of pure Al (+3). These seek to bond and can strip electrons from rust destabilizing Fe2O3. The Al can also strip away the O3 and form Aluminum oxides that are attached to the base metal (steel for example). The result is that bits of Al can chemically replace some of the rust, filling in pores and scratches to create a more polished appearance.

It's not magic and its effect can be subtle. Use of buffing compound on an electric buffer (also Aluminum oxide) can have a similar effect. But Al foil is a quick, cheap thing you can do. I have done it to scratched up wrenches without a dramatic improvement beyind that which a fgood cleaning produces. But worth a try.

 

[wafrederick]

Automatic transmission fluid,have to wash off with brake clean or mineral spirits.Does not wipe off easy at all.Brake fluid,brake clean or rinse the brake fluid off with water.

 

[skippy24]

Boy, I must be a doing everything wrong. I just wipe stuff down with a rag or blue shop towel. Maybe I might give wrenches or sockets a quick spray of WD40 first.

 

[David Jackson]

Not exactly. And we don't throw filthy dishes in the DW either, do you? We pre-rinse the gunk off. So, same with tools. You clean them as best you can, pre-degreasers can be a good idea. If there is crud, scrape it off.

For chrome sockets and stuff, the DW will not shine anything not already shiny. Let's not talk about this as if it is something we don't understand. You put greasy SS utensils in it. Animal grease, petro-chemical grease not that different.

For chrome, it will get 80-90% of the black greasy gunk out of the lettering. Nooks and crannies on the insides, less successful. But generally clean, ready for detailed cleaning.

AL foil is a great cleaning tip. It does stuff people don't generally understand. As a crumpled up ball, it will clean all manner of surfaces due to cutting edges formed by the wrinkles. Works well on chrome bumpers or electric coffee pots, stainless steel sinks, utensils, pots and pans.

Second, Al oxidizes quickly and easily. The dull side of Al foil is Al2O3(aluminum oxide or alumina). This is the same stuff used to make grinding wheels. It is a very hard abrasive, but fine enough to not produce noticable scratches. Rubbing with water yields very very fine abrasive slurry. Use of any acid (coca cola is commonly used, tho vinegar will work) helps.

Rubbing also causes the foil to break down, producing ions of pure Al (+3). These seek to bond and can strip electrons from rust destabilizing Fe2O3. The Al can also strip away the O3 and form Aluminum oxides that are attached to the base metal (steel for example). The result is that bits of Al can chemically replace some of the rust, filling in pores and scratches to create a more polished appearance.

It's not magic and its effect can be subtle. Use of buffing compound on an electric buffer (also Aluminum oxide) can have a similar effect. But Al foil is a quick, cheap thing you can do. I have done it to scratched up wrenches without a dramatic improvement beyind that which a fgood cleaning produces. But worth a try.

No I surely don't put greasy stuff in the dishwasher. I grew up in the 1950s and in those days dishes had to be pretty clean before they went into the dishwasher; in fact I complained as a kid "Why do we have a dishwasher if I have to clean up stuff before it goes into it?" I still clean stuff up before I put it into the dishwasher.

I am thinking more of the kind of patina that uncoated steel gets after some decades; I am wondering if a dishwasher will remove that and restore the original color to the metal.

Do I understand you correctly about aluminum foil? You make it into a ball and more or less scrub tools with it?

 

[orca8589]

Anyone saying the dishwasher is a bad idea doesn't know what they are talking about and likely have never done it.

With all due respect, I do know what I'm talking about, and I have done it, with regular dishwasher detergent. I bought a bucket full of old tools at a flea market and ran the sockets through the dishwasher after a good wipedown; they sit rather nicely over the posts sticking up in the upper rack. The outside of the [chromed] sockets got pretty clean, but the insides starting rusting almost immediately - I took them out of the dishwasher the following morning. (I used old rifle cleaning brushes to clean up the inside of the smaller sockets, and a battery terminal brush on the larger sizes.) My old wrenches did the same thing, with tiny rust spots all over, but they cleaned up nicely with 0000 steel wool.

Everything got clean & fairly shiny, but it took a lot more effort than I wanted to put into it. Now I just wipe down with Simple Green & steel wool.

Again, this is with regular dishwasher detergent, most of which has sodium hypochlorite in it. Some of the things I've run through the dishwasher did rust through the plating, and things that weren't plated rusted fairly quickly. It may be that our water chemistry played a role in this, but I don't know enough about chemistry to say for sure.

One trick I read a while back is to use vinegar in the dishwasher: no detergent, let the cycle start, then add several cups of vinegar and let it run. Apparently it will get things really clean, but it also stinks up the house too.

Edited to add: the aluminum foil thing does work - my wife does something similar for some the jewelry she has for her business.

~Chris

 

[ALREBEL]

I can't believe no one has listed one of the cheapest and best rust removers there is. A please don't laugh until you try it. You can put some in a spray bottle and spray it on, let it set for a few minutes and wash it off. you can take a bucket and put whatever it is over in it to soak. WARNING!!!! CHECK IT EVER SO OFTEN, ESPECIALLY IF THE METAL IS REAL THIN WHERE ITS RUSTY!! IT WILL EAT THROUGH THE METAL! Works great on pistons and such. Makes them look like new. It takes chrome and paint off as well if you leave it in there too long. ITS DISTILLED WHITE VINEGAR!!!! Use it full strength or dilute it, your choice. IT WORKS!!!!!

 

[fstbusa]

I use goo gone on a rag.... it has citrus oil in it to keep them lubed and cleans at the same time.

 

[Adam.C]

Most dishwasher detergents have sodium hypochlorite (bleach) in them, and it can eat through plating fast and it WILL darken and/or rust carbon steels, and some stainless as well.

This was what I was responding to. Dishwashers don't rust stainless steel. All our utensils are SS. Nor does it remove chrome. You may well have a water problem. Flash rusting can take place. Depends on climate. If you have bare steel tools (who has bare steel tools?) and you degrease them (by any means), they can flash rust.

You CAN remove chrome with bleach, but you need the bleach we use sparingly in the washing machine. No where near enough bleach in dishwasher detergent to remove chrome.

Vinegar is a strong acid. You can clean tools in vinegar. It's way stronger than anything in your dishwasher. We have very hard water and use straight white vinegar weekly to clean our electric kettle. One year on, chrome plate is fine.

Dishwasher is so effective, some guys have them in their shops as parts washers. I personally think nothing beats elbow grease. On that we can agree.

 

[orca8589]

Adam.C - My apologies if I came across as rude. We had some things going on here that had me a little wound up.

In hindsight, I think the plating I was dealing with was nickel, if that makes a difference; the tools were from older sets of ratchets & sockets. The look was definitely different from the nice bluish cast of the chrome plating we see today. And when I cleaned the 'bucket o' tools', we lived in San Francisco (mid-2000's), so who knows what the water chemistry was. My wife was/is fairly sensitive to water additives, and back then she had a tough time with the water in our building. And we did have an issue with our stainless flatware rusting, but it was only the table knives. (Maybe the alloy?)

I sold cabinet hardware at the time, and my boss thought the tools were probably nickel plated, considering their appearance & age; I now know that some were made as far back as the 1920's. I'm not sure if one finish is any tougher than the other. I just figured that plating on old & new sockets would all pretty much react the same way - but I think I've changed my mind on that now**.

As far as uncoated tools, I had a set of old car mfr. (Ford?) wrenches that the seller threw into the deal. They had dried crud on them that the dishwasher took off really well, but they had weird-smelling rust spots on them after.

My favorite tool bath is still a Simple Green solution and a coarse terry-cloth towel, maybe some 0000 steel wool for stubborn spots. I'm just not allowed to clean them in the kitchen sink anymore.

~Chris

**If my wife hammers on me for washing tools in the dishwasher, I'm blamin' you guys.

 

[Hornman]

Allow me to throw in something from left field. I bought two lots of tools at an estate sale thatcontained about 300 sockets. Inspecting them carefully indicated that the farmer using them bought sockets over at least a fifty year period. Many of the oldest sockets had significant chrome loss and lots of rust. Plus said farmer did not baby his tools : many of the sockets were completely plugged with mud and most of the sockets had large buildups of old, congealed, hardened grease. The problem: clean and derust 300 sockets. I started with a water rinse to flush away the gross contamination (mud). Then I placed a single layer of sockets, base up, in my 8 liter ultrasonic cleaner. One gallon of water with 2 tablespoons of Dawn dishwashing detergent, run for 30 minutes at 50 C. The next step it to load four pounds of sockets in my cartridge case tumbler with five pounds of .040 stainless steel rods, one gallon of water and two tablespoons of Dawn. Tumble for one hour. This tumbler turns pretty fast, so there is a lot of rubbing of the sockets and the ss rods. After an hour the water looks like crude oil. The sockets were water rinsed and drained. Then they were soaked in bulk WD-40 to displace the remining water and protect against rust. Result? Clean sockets, even inside in the corners. Rust removed and sockets polished (as much as possible under the circumstances). This process does scrub off loose chrome, but I consider that a plus. This is not a routine cleaning process, but is really at the extreme end of what could be done to clean up the worst dirty tools.

 

[ATC]

I just wipe my stuff off with a rag.

This



What the heck people? They are tools!
After wiping off the bigger globs and chunks of grease, anything left behind keeps the rust away...