I bought a black phosphate wrench today.

[Sumboodie]

I had to get rid of all my black phosphate when I moved to East Texas. The humidity here is always well above 80% and they were rusting faster than I could oil them. It's bad enough that the concrete garage floor sweats for several weeks every spring. One good thing is that I have learned what rustproofing strategies work and which ones don't. And before you ask, WD40 is one that does not. It is fine for temporary but not long lasting.

I just paint mine to keep them non rusty.

 

[oldschoolcraft]

I just paint mine to keep them non rusty.

Do you tape off the contact portions of the wrench to keep the paint from adding a layer on there? I'm not sure if it would make a difference, but there's people who say a 7/16" wrench can't interchange with 11mm because it 0.1mm larger, and I'm guessing paint would be 0.1mm or so added.

Then again I guess if it was too tight of a fit, the paint could just flake off the wrench as you put it to the fastener.

 

[Ton ton]

He's been busy babysitting his new grandson, OunceOunce that was born recently.

You guys are way ahead of me. I’m still single.

 

[908Jim]

Do you tape off the contact portions of the wrench to keep the paint from adding a layer on there? I'm not sure if it would make a difference, but there's people who say a 7/16" wrench can't interchange with 11mm because it 0.1mm larger, and I'm guessing paint would be 0.1mm or so added.

Then again I guess if it was too tight of a fit, the paint could just flake off the wrench as you put it to the fastener.

Makes zero difference as it will come right off. It is not uncommon to see black ox tools painted high-vis orange in industrial settings to ensure they aren't left behind.

 

[AEAdam]

All the tools in my machine shop are black oxide. I just thought it looked cool. And there’s something unique in the way they feel.

I’m wrapping up the rebuild of my bridgeport head. There are many gear shafts. I used Mobil 1 grease for bearings and mating surfaces. Mobil EP-1 for the internal gears. I had it together and took it apart to adjust a couple times. It was hot in the shop, and my hands were perma greased. But I didn’t drop a single wrench. I think the black wrenches are a little grippier than chrome, especially when working with these high pressure, high temp greases.

These aren’t my machine shop wrenches, but they look like this: I’ll take pics tomorrow.

FWIW, here’s where I am with the BP head. Working on the motor now:

 

[neophyte]

The black phosphate tools won't flake hard chrome bits into your hydraulic systems, either. One does need to keep them oily; way oil or chain saw bar oil helps.

This is one of the reasons the black oxide wrenches are available.
Flaking chrome or metal transfer from the plated surface can cause major and expensive issues in some industries.

 

[AEAdam]

This is one of the reasons the black oxide wrenches are available.
Flaking chrome or metal transfer from the plated surface can cause major and expensive issues in some industries.

People say flaking chrome creates FOD (foreign object damage) so aerospace mechanics use only black oxide tools. But in 34years in aerospace I’ve never seen anything but chrome tools.

 

[LopezBart]

People say flaking chrome creates FOD (foreign object damage) so aerospace mechanics use only black oxide tools. But in 34years in aerospace I’ve never seen anything but chrome tools.

I would imagine that assembly processes vary depending on the susceptibility of various systems to either chrome or nickle contamination, or FOD; I would also guess that many of the details are considered proprietary and not readily available on-line.

When I was in grad school, I was always surprised by the comments from the Applied Science folks about very high vacuum systems and constraints on materials, etc. A flake of chrome/nickle would probably lead to outgassing issues.

 

[LryFx1]

Back in 1980 or 81 I bought a full set of Proto black oxide combination wrenches. I liked the shape of the shanks better than the thinner Snap On combo wrenches. I got the black ones instead of chrome for a couple of reasons. One reason was that I knew I would likely be using a hammer on them now and then, and would feel better about doing that to an industrial finished tool rather than a chrome one. Another reason was that they were substantially less expensive than chrome ones, but still the same quality.

I still have that set today although it is not completely Proto any more. Some sizes have had to be replaced with other brands and finishes due to getting lost though the years. I too have always liked the feel of black oxide finished wrenches - they just feel nicer than chrome to me.