What do you use to clean your hand tools?

[Okie Pete]

Have a friend who had a fire in his shop. Alot of the tools are covered in soot and some rust . What would be the best way to clean them ?

 

[geologist]

Have a friend who had a fire in his shop. Alot of the tools are covered in soot and some rust . What would be the best way to clean them ?

Soak them in sulfated molasses (feed store variety) and water. The mix is usually about 8 water to 1 molasses. This works kind of slow (sometimes takes a few days or so), but the rust will brush away easily in a few days with a decent stiff plastic scrub brush. The key is to keep it agitated as much as possible. He might also consider electrolysis for removing the rust.

As for the soot, he's probably going to want to soak them in diesel or kerosene to loosen it up a bit.

 

[Crow Horse]

After a wipe down with a rag to get the big grunge off, I use an ultrasonic cleaner with an appropriate cleaner added to the water. Works awesome......

 

[PeteMoore]

cheap baby wipes from the £ store

Removes ALL grease, dirt and contaminants easily and quickly

Much the same as hammergodthor

 

[camarotoolman]

Used stuff I buy I wire wheel it, then spraw GIBBS on it. Purple Power is good too, it leave a nice shine. GIBBS is like wd40 only about 10 times better. gibbsbrandlubricate.com

 

[K9driver]

A product called gunzilla. It will clean, lube and protect. It smells a little funky but works great.

 

[Diffident]

I guess I'm the only one that just wipes their tools off on their pants.

 

[Dave.R]

Gojo works killer on rubbery grips, I generally spray mine with some Dry-lube, when its still wet it takes most filth off, and leaves a good finish, without being all greasy feeling.

If you just wanna polish/protect them, spray with the dry lube, wait till it hazes and wipe off with a rag.

 

[lowbucktruck]

Well, since you guys brought this thread back from the dead... I use LA's Totally Awesome Orange degreaser from the dollar store!!! Then a spritz of your favorite chemical lubricant/dry lube afterward (Liquid Wrench, WD-40, etc).

Second the Gojo (or Goop) on cleaning rubber tool grips, works great.

 

[jetmech09]

MEK to get the dirt off, then a quick rub down with LPS2

 

[351-C]

I may be preachin to an empty room here, but what ive found to work the best on my tools is Marvel Mystery Oil in a spray bottle. Tried a bunch of different oils [kroil, wd, pb] and they all seemed to leave a strong chemical odor. This stuff doesnt smell bad, is part solvent, contains lube for anti-rust and to keep moving parts moving. I dont use it on rubber handles though. Usually wipe those with a handy wipe. How the MM Oil would stand up in a salt water enviornment would be interesting to find out. I mainly work on pumps carrying anything from water to acid slurry and have never had an issue.

 

[jchetty]

Acetone.

 

[Armed Bear]

Engine Degreaser works perfect to get rid of stubborn grime/grease/dirt.

I use the one that comes in the spray can.

 

[nyrapscalion]

I have to think what I got on them to start with. Motor oil I use a clean wipe. Coolant or other fluid of the like, rinse with a wet rag then apply some WD-40. Usually in the spring and fall, I clean my ratchets with WD and wipe with a paper towel. Oil is what I used to keep the mechanism running smoothly.
Old sockets, caked with grease and such, I will break out the grease/dirt/whatever with a wooden pawl, scrape it all away. Sometimes I soak in WD, other times I wipe out with motor oil. I usually have some of that handy.

 

[Harwinton]

I just have at it with the wire wheel if I ever clean my tools, since most of the things I clean off of them are either paint or rust.

 

[creativecars]

I use my wifes *******, gotta watch out for the trans fluid spots though...

 

[mailpup]

I usually use a rag or paper towel to clean tools after a repair job but if it's particularly dirty, I use WD-40 for metal tools or metal parts of tools and hand cleaner like gojo (without any pumice or other gritty additives) for plastic coated handles. For ratchet heads that are getting dry or are crudding up inside, I soak them in transmission oil for a few days while working the drives back and forth occasionally. If I'm lazy, I'll wipe it off and just use the ratchet as is after that. Otherwise, I can disassemble, clean and relube the ratchet.

 

[warmpancakes]

it you are cleaning the handles on pliers or older snap on hardhandles a Mr clean magic eraser makes them look new

 

[cgv69]

I try to take care of my tools which means cleaning them and putting them away after I use them. Typically I just wipe them off with a clean rag which usually cleans off any dirt, oil or grease. If not then I use either Simple Green or Brakeleen depending on the tool. After that I give them a wipe down with a rag soaked in some type of preservative\rust inhibitor (WD-40, CLP or lately I've been using CRC 3-36)

 

[BreeStephany]

For general purpose cleaning of metal tools, I use a combination of a little bit of Awesome ($1 store citrus cleaner - probably cheap GoJo equiv.), WD40, and 3-In-1 Oil on a rag. I find this works great for providing surface protection in wet environments and also helps cut light rust.

For plastic handles and for most of my power tools, I use a combination of the Awesome, WD40 and a TINY bit of trichlorethylene. I find that this helps strip out any deep grease and dirt on handles, etc. After cleaning with trichlor, I ALWAYS wipe down all the plastic surfaces with a bit of Awesome and motor oil or 3-in-1.

For tools that may have acquired a heavy coat of rust, I will generally use oil and steel wool in most applications. For those applications where a tool is severely rusted, I use phosphoric acid. I try to use acid based cleaners as a last resort when cleaning tools, as they definitely take a toll on any finish.

As a general rule of thumb, any tool I clean with any sort of chemical (WD-40, citrus cleaner, etc.) will always get cleaned and coated with a thin film of heavy weight oil afterward for rust prevention.

I definitely like the idea of a Mr. Clean magic eraser for cleaning handles. I have always been surprised at what it can clean around the house, just never used it on my tools. Perhaps its time to change up my methods.

 

[bsaint]

Brake cleaner or acetone for non plastic tools.

 

[sberry]

I rarely get them very dirty., wipe anything off as I use them.

 

[drivesitfar]

I was cleaning off some tools today with the paper towel and simple green and getting ready to wipe down with a rag with WD 40 on it for now to keep the rust at bay.

so wondering if i can soak my dirty sockets in simple green over night or how long or will the chrome come off if i don't wipe off right away?

there was a lot of good ideas and most agree on the same treatments and chemicals so wondering if any new ones have hit the market since the end of 2012?

 

[Tinner]

I have a garage attendant who cleans the tools. If he fails in his duties, harming the finish on a tool, I dock his pay accordingly and strike him vigorously about the head and neck with the damaged tool.

Of course, if he were to hand me a dirty tool or return one to the toolbox uncleaned, there would be serious consequences.