tips on cleaning up old tools

[klhitman]

i have these and many more and would like to clean them up but not sure how? any tips?

 

[ZRX61]

When I pick up old interesting look wrenches I beadblast them, then give them the blow torch/oil treatment...

Before bead:

After bead:

After heat/oil treatment:

 

[Wakefield]

I think you can't hurt anything by wiping them with some WD 40 on rags.

 

[JSBriggs]

An overnight soak in vinegar gets the rust off.

-Jeff

 

[brent5631]

When I pick up old interesting look wrenches I beadblast them, then give them the blow torch/oil treatment...

Do you just get them hot and dunk them or what?

 

[ZRX61]

Yup, grip one end with visegrips, heat/dunk/heat/dunk repeat etc.. when one end turns black, change ends. do it outside: Lot of smoke & flames... NOT on the patio, burning oil drips stain the concrete etc..
They look a bit mottled at first, but once they start to look good let em cool down & do the soft cloth/lemon Pledge deal & they look ****.

 

[Coolabah]

Yup, grip one end with visegrips, heat/dunk/heat/dunk repeat etc.. when one end turns black, change ends. do it outside: Lot of smoke & flames... NOT on the patio, burning oil drips stain the concrete etc..
They look a bit mottled at first, but once they start to look good let em cool down & do the soft cloth/lemon Pledge deal & they look ****.

Good post !! ... just for the newbies and those maybe less experienced in this process, I think I should point out that you do NOT want to change the hardened/tempered qualities of the steel !! Do not overheat is I guess the easy thing to say. You need to google "bluing" (I too have had great results doing this process BTW !! )

 

[Bolster]

Now THAT is a process I would enjoy watching! Sounds very manly.

 

[Coolabah]

Now THAT is a process I would enjoy watching! Sounds very manly.

LOL, Bolster I really enjoy your sense of humour... you must have some Aussie blood ?? ) ....... Just putting it out there as my kids would say. The only manly thing I can think of in this whole process- when you dip your hand in the hot oil instead of the tool, as you do from time to time after a few beers, be sure to cool the burn with a cold beer instead of that sissy ice & running water stuff , even though that might work better....

 

[ZRX61]

Now THAT is a process I would enjoy watching! Sounds very manly.

Last time I did it, I got a "Dude! WTF are you BBQ'ing??" from my neighbor on the other side of my garage...

 

[Coolabah]

Last time I did it, I got a "Dude! WTF are you BBQ'ing??" from my neighbor on the other side of my garage...

"my fingers"

 

[ZRX61]

"my fingers"

"Your cat!" LOL!

 

[ZRX61]

back on topic...

Wirewheeling the wrench after blasting results in a shinier black finish... Picked up an old Billings & an old Williams today... pics over the weekend... They're already blasted/wheeled

 

[willy3486]

I use the Electrolytic rust removal method. A good writeup is here.

http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/rust/electrolytic_derusting.htm

I restore all kinds of old tools. I use it for old woodworking stuff, drawknifes,hand planers,etc. Don't use it on chrome or plated stuff. It will come off. If a tool has wood on it don't let the wood get in it. It will turn the wood black. It works really good. Its better than sanding because it doesn't remove the metal. It causes the oxidation to release. It will not put back but it will not remove the metal either. Around here I have known some civil war collectors that use it to clean guns,belt buckles and other items they find that is metal. I had some shaper bits I found that had water in the bucket they were in . I cleaned them this way and you could feel the sharp edge. I have had the best luck with this method. When it gets done its clean but it sometimes has a black coating you can get it off with a scotch brite pad.

 

[texasOFT]

Mixture of vinegar, lemon juice and turpentine works pretty well on steel items.

 

[Bolster]

Don't know what the turpentine does for the mix, but the lemon juice and vinegar are redundant acids. Acid treatments, of course, remove the metal beneath the rust, not just the rust. So acid treatments are not the preferred course if you are trying to preserve the metal beneath.

 

[BigMike782]

I use electrolysis or phosphoric acid.

 

[marpat]

I personally use muriatic acid a lot, considering I work at a pool, but a less harsh alternative would be naval jelly.

 

[littlekillertoad]

I've heard that naval jelly can eat the chrome off, so I've never tried it. From the looks of those though, naval jelly should work just fine.
I've had ok luck with straight CLR or an overnight soak in vinegar on tools like that. Since I've never heard any one else recommend CLR here, it's probably not the best thing to use. I'd use evapo-rust but I haven't been able to find any around town.

 

[6530]

Yup, grip one end with visegrips, heat/dunk/heat/dunk repeat etc.. when one end turns black, change ends. do it outside: Lot of smoke & flames... NOT on the patio, burning oil drips stain the concrete etc..
They look a bit mottled at first, but once they start to look good let em cool down & do the soft cloth/lemon Pledge deal & they look ****.

Doesn't that change the heat treat of the material?

 

[dodge610]

Bead blasting is the way to go ive done bead blasting on the side for extra money for years i also do powdercoating i did a set of wrenches for a guy and powdercoated them a purple color for him they turned out great and still look good dont know why he chose purple but he uses them in his job so yes beadblast will permanently get rid of the rust and if you so choose you can have a great lookin tool box with color coded wrenches lead the band dont follow it like my dad use to say.

 

[ZRX61]

Doesn't that change the heat treat of the material?

No need to get them that hot, just warm enough to incinerate oil. It's actually a form of case hardening.

 

[ServiceWithIntegrity]

I've had great luck restoring old corroded tools (i.e. wrenches/ratchets) by soaking them in StrongArmSpray cleaner or BreakFreeCLP.

 

[64cheb]

Steel wool usually gets my old Crafstmans and Armstrongs clean, I've done it on every tool I find on the side of the road or in my junkyard.