jgreen-fsi
Well-known member
That's bold! My wife would kill me when she found out. And you know she would find out.
tool cleaning
- Thread starter goldie lox
- Start date
That's bold! My wife would kill me when she found out. And you know she would find out.
ok i'll be serious this time...
i not sure what ya mean by cleaning tools.
if you mean the tools you/I use daily...
i dont know what y'all do to get tools dirty. i'm trying to think how my tools get dirty..oil,grease(old & new), lock-tite, antiseize, brake fluid, i get stuff like that on my tools all the time. if i'm doing a dirty job i'll have a couple red shop rags around for my hands anyhow so any tool that gets **** on it gets wiped off w/ a rag or my t-shirt(i wear bummy clothes if i know i'm gonna do a dirty job) before they go back in my tool box. everytime. so they do get dirty, but they dont stay dirty long enough to need a real cleaning.
machinist tools get a wipe down w/ rem-oil.
now if yer talking about some old tools you picked up on CL or as a hand me down that havent been touched or used in 20 years thats a whole different story.
i not sure what ya mean by cleaning tools.
if you mean the tools you/I use daily...
i dont know what y'all do to get tools dirty. i'm trying to think how my tools get dirty..oil,grease(old & new), lock-tite, antiseize, brake fluid, i get stuff like that on my tools all the time. if i'm doing a dirty job i'll have a couple red shop rags around for my hands anyhow so any tool that gets **** on it gets wiped off w/ a rag or my t-shirt(i wear bummy clothes if i know i'm gonna do a dirty job) before they go back in my tool box. everytime. so they do get dirty, but they dont stay dirty long enough to need a real cleaning.
machinist tools get a wipe down w/ rem-oil.
now if yer talking about some old tools you picked up on CL or as a hand me down that havent been touched or used in 20 years thats a whole different story.
Canadian Charlie
Banned
WD 40 and a rag
fsae0607
Well-known member
WD-40 and a clean rag. Always satisfying after a job to clean your tools and put them away while drinking a cold beer!
Dust Devil
Well-known member
I clean my tools with blood, sweat and tears.
Dishwashers remove food and grease from metal and other objects. If a dishwasher cycle spread grease on your dishes and was itself damaged by grease it wouldn't be much good now would it.
I have run many tools through the kitchen dishwasher. I don't typically add tools dripping with motor oil next to the china, but there's nothing wrong with running a set of sockets thru a cycle with the pots and pans.
What?You're new to this aren't you?Is there a reason to remove all the oil and grease from tools?There should be a protective oil/grease patina on tools.Wipe them with a rag sure, but why use a dishwasher?Why not just wipe them with some WD-40?It will clean,polish and dissolve **** all at the same time, it can even remove stuff like sticker glue easy.Use the right kind of fabric, an old terry cloth hand towel is the best.A small stiff paintbrush can get in all the hard to reach places easily.The main thing is to never have them all dry as in no oil/grease, that's when they start to rust.
Yes and no. I was just responding to the use of the dishwasher. Its not always the right approach. Its not always the best approach. But guys and their wives should have no hesitation about putting a dirty mechanic tool in the dishwasher. The dishwasher doesn't know the difference between animal grease with bits of food it in and petroleum based grease with bits of dirt in it. It washes all of it the same.
I used the DW when I redid my old rusty craftsman impacts. They needed to be degreased prior to bluing. The dw does that nicely. Bought an older set of Snap On soft grip screwdrivers, ran them thru the dishwasher. Lord knows what was on them. Its not magic, as you know. Some tough grease stains may require solvents to remove. But its a good first step.
So, sorry for any confusion. You are 100% correct. Stuff that comes out of the dishwasher is generally degreased and needs a light oil.
BTW, i don't do an oil change then run my tools thru the dishwasher. I've used it a couple times to do an initial clean or help degrease something I was refinishing.
jgreen-fsi
Well-known member
Tell that to my wife...
Well, modern oils have all kinds of additives that are supposed to do things like adhere to things like camshafts in all kinds of adverse conditions so I'd think they might still have some of those characteristics and adhere to things like forks or plates in the dishwasher.After all companies like Valvoline or Castrol spend millions of money perfecting stuff like this.Then these special chemicals when eaten off of the plates with food may have some effect.I know it's a far fetched idea.
I don't know the details but lots of guys use dishwashers are parts cleaners. Probably a couple threads here about it. USAF uses Dawn to clean jet engines. I think hot soapy water works.
I agree with this. Synthetic lubes often carry warnings on the containers about toxins and recommend latex gloves warning about skin contact. Plain bearings have a soft lead alloy top layer that ends up in the oil which goes everywhere. I know dish washers make good parts cleaners but I think they should be dedicated for kitchen or shop. No one should use the same machine for tools and eating utensils.
I'll be contacting the wives of any GJ members who are doing this so you better stop now before you find yourselves in a lot of deep **** over this.
redbarron57
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2015
- Messages
- 124
To the above post: never clean your tools with anything that will strip the oil off it. When it comes to basic cleaning of any ferrous material use the cast iron frying pan rule. All you did when you washed grandma's frying pan was wipe all the crud out with a rag the coat the pan in lard or cooking oil. Same thing for tools. Cleaning tools with mineral spirits or other harsh solvents strip the protective coating of oil from your tools making them more prone to rust. If you do this make sure you use plenty of oil to coat every nook and cranny of the tool. Just use a little common sense and kiss.(keep it simple stupid). Remember you have to get the job done so once a week in the tool box cleaning with an oily rag is plenty.
Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Really Adam? REALLY?
I thought I could be "sensitive" but you've got me beat by miles. Who asked you to "appreciate" it? If you don't like someone's joke just move on. Unless it's religious or political I THINK(?) it's all allowed. Maybe YOURE the one who should bathe in some rose water or Unicorn tears, your sensibilities are so easily offended.
Back to our regularly scheduled program.
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JR 42
Well-known member
Holy Resurrection Batman! I clean my flea-market treasures in the kitchen sink with Dawn, old toothbrushes, a dental pick, pipe-cleaning brushes, brass-bristle brushes, acetone, and/ or paint thinner, then dry in the oven at 170 and oil copiously. Really rusty stuff gets a soak in vinegar first.
After use, wipe with an oily paper towel and put away... I've never polished a tool, I love a good patina.
On the dishwasher front, I could see having a dedicated beater in the shop for tool cleaning, but I wouldn't want to run grimy tools through the barely- adequate Hotpoint in my apartment.
JR
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nicksnothereman
Well-known member
Clean?
Hydrogen peroxide then water (not ratcheting) then dry then oiled. Otherwise...don't clean just oil. You could grease but then it's gonna be slippery okay for some stuff though.
NorCalWrenchin
Well-known member
Been using naphtha for the last couple years, no problems yet 
only thing is, it did take the Snap=On logo off the boot on the MG725, but even the comfort grip handles are like new.
only thing is, it did take the Snap=On logo off the boot on the MG725, but even the comfort grip handles are like new.
Since this thread is being resurrected, I'll chime in. WD40 and a rag. Even seems to clean up comfort handles. Otherwise some Simple Green then a wipe down with WD40. There are some tools that I only use once in a while. For those I take some Nevr-Dull and clean them with it. It leaves a coating that seems to help inhibit corrosion.
WD-40 is a solvent, so it will dissolve other greases well. But it leaves a film of essentially kerosene behind which may leave a soft grip handle feeling greasy later. The soft rubber (neoprene) of a tool handle should be degreased with something like simple green, or dawn. Household ammonia is an excellent degreaser that leaves nothing behind. Mix a 10% solution with water and you have an excellent household cleaner- especially good for furniture, woodwork etc, because it is gentle and leaves no residue.
If you want to use WD-40 on a tool handle like a soft grip Instinct, I recommend you follow it up with simple green or some such (reverse the procedure above). The resulting handle should feel almost sticky. If you hate that about your Instincts and prefer the hard grip feel, sprinkle the rubber with talcum powder. Talc is also a fairly good thing to do to rubber door and window seals. It functions almost as a sort of lubricant.
1950mercury
Well-known member
No need for all that... use wd40 on all my snappy soft handles.