socket rust - question / poll

[cbracer]

So how many of you have rust inside your sockets?

If so what brand and age are they?

Does it bother you?

I'm sure many people will say no, and if you're working on rusted farm equipment then no worries. But when working on cars, it can be easy to impart rust growth on fasteners. Hence a lot of stainless screw drivers are being sold now, mostly in europe.

I ordered a set of Armstrong socket sets off ebay. The 1/4" set has 4 sockets with some rust. These don't have EYE-D etching, and a single detent. The 3/8" set had 7 sockets with rust. These have EYE-D but still a single detent. They are brand new stock, but older generations.

I looked out at some Craftsman sockets I had, and saw only a few with some small areas of rust, mostly in the detent area.

A lot of European sockets and tools are a satin finish rather than mirror chrome. And they seem to have less rust issues, as do newer Taiwan tools, than USA brands.

Cleaning them off after use, and some light oils can help prevent rust. Anyone make more stainless sockets? I wish I could start my own tool company making tools the way I want to.....

 

[JamesBill]

I bought some sockets off of craigslist with some rust so I dropped them in my case tumbler for a few hours. Cleans them up and takes off any rust without messing with the finish. Perfect for sockets.

 

[iroc409]

Some of my brand new stuff has had rust on it, mostly my 1/2" drive deep sockets.

 

[njride]

I don't really notice, lots of my stuff is and looks pretty broken in. I see immaculate hansen type trays on this site and wonder if its only mine that trap all kinds of dirt and grime in between the sockets and in the tray. I wouldn't be too happy if I bought some brand new sockets with rust on them though, I can definitely understand that.

 

[rlitman]

I don't worry too much about it either, but that's probably because I don't have rust issues in my sockets.

For the most part, I wipe my sockets with a rag sprayed in gun oil before I put them back in the tray, if I managed to get them really nasty (this protects the chrome, but also strips the grease better). I'll keep a large magnetic tray around where I'm working, and drop everything I've taken from the toolbox in there, and then when I'm all done, I do my cleaning if I think it needs it, before everything goes away.

 

[Dave.R]

I bought some sockets off of craigslist with some rust so I dropped them in my case tumbler for a few hours. Cleans them up and takes off any rust without messing with the finish. Perfect for sockets.

I got the large tumbler from HF and I use it for polishing Aluminum, but cleaning tools one day I threw some sockets in there with some corn cob and chrome polish overnight, came out great.

 

[cbracer]

If you take the rust off, it will come back. The only way to prevent rust is to have a coating over the steel. I suppose you can just continually clean them and spray them with wd-40 or whatever. Many people just clean the outside of the socket, but the inside does the work.

 

[bcradio]

The only way to prevent rust is to have a coating over the steel.

Actually the best way to prevent rust is to live in a dry climate like where I live. ZERO issues with rust here and I do absolutely nothing to try and prevent it since I don't have to. Other than that benefit, living in dry climate isn't that great.

Also, chrome does prevent rust just fine. Rust occurs on the insides of sockets where they don't have complete chrome (or where chrome has chipped).

 

[JamesBill]

I got the large tumbler from HF and I use it for polishing Aluminum, but cleaning tools one day I threw some sockets in there with some corn cob and chrome polish overnight, came out great.

It also does a great job of cleaning up sockets with very little effort. Will strip the grease, grit and grime out of old sockets quick.

 

[supersteve]

The brass tumbler is a great idea, never even thought of it.

This is a great forum, I've been here a week and already got more good ideas than in the previous year.

 

[plinker]

Most of my socket's have some surface rust in them, no matter the brand.
It's not a big issue with me, but I dont really like it.

Climate control plays a big part of it, example; when your tool's are well below 32* and you bring them in the shop which is 65* you get condensation (and moisture = rust).

A brake cleaner bath, followed by tumbling, should fix the issue.

 

[Joe B.]

I know the insides of sockets are painted and not chrome. Has anyone tried to re-paint the insides with the intent of reducing rust?