What do you use to clean your tools?

[babzog]

After you've been working with your nice clean wrenches and pliers and whatnot, what do you do to get them looking new again? I find that the grime just cakes on and it's a PITA to remove. Brake cleaner does a good job but is a slow process (since it must first eat through the grime and then I have to remove it before it dries and the grime re-cakes on).

 

[nate379]

A rag and some paint thinner or solvent. I just wipe them down before putting stuff back in teh box at the end of hte day.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

Typically, brake cleaner or Simple green, kept around to not let them get so dirty. Prevention, is easier then after the fact.

 

[mattwgrizwald]

honestly I just started using wd-40 and works really good to clean those rubber grips on my snap on ratchtes and screwdriver handles and it protects well

 

[porschedude996TT]

I have used a cleaning cloth by Wurth what is very agressive and cleans the tools with just enough solvent.

 

[Diesel-Mech]

WD40, BrakeKleen, or the solvent washer tank take care of everything as well as a wipe down before storage.

 

[krusty the clown]

wipe them off with a shop towel

 

[Gary S]

You are kidding, right?
Real men use their tools to get work done, and real work gets tools greasy. Grease protects the tools from rust. You see where I'm going here?

 

[Diesel-Mech]

You are kidding, right?
Real men use their tools to get work done, and real work gets tools greasy. Grease protects the tools from rust. You see where I'm going here?

Sure do, then you get some of that grease in the interior of a truck that costs more than many homes and then get reamed by the foreman the next day....sounds like fun.

 

[skeletonizer]

If I get gunk on them they get wiped down right away with just a rag.

If I find an old tool or one of my own that wandered off and developed a rash I use a little ball of Nevrdull http://www.nevrdull.com/

It works best on chrome tools but the solvent in it will take just about any crud off metal including light surface rust.

 

[rsanter]

wrenches and sockets go in the solvent tank. ratchets get a shot of carm or brake cleaner and then a good wipe down

bob

 

[nate379]

Sure, but one thing I hate is grabbing a wrench and it's all oily/greasy or whatever from the last thing I was working on.

I don't get carried away with it of course. Just damp a rag with solvent and wipe the tools off before throwing them in the box.

You are kidding, right?
Real men use their tools to get work done, and real work gets tools greasy. Grease protects the tools from rust. You see where I'm going here?

 

[mattwgrizwald]

maybe it's just me but it has been slow in the shop and I've been cleaning the little grooves of my snap on ratchets and pretty much of all of my tools have been spotless

 

[ProGun3400]

Washed up in the Safety Kleen solvent tank. Wiped down and put away.

 

[babzog]

You are kidding, right?
Real men use their tools to get work done, and real work gets tools greasy. Grease protects the tools from rust. You see where I'm going here?

Oiled tools are acceptable. Dirty tools require cleaning. I was taught as a kid to always take care of my tools. As well, I use some of them in the house, in the wood shop as well as the garage so keeping them (at least the commonly used ones) clean, is essential.

 

[jkherd]

I just try to wipe them down after a job is finished with a shop rag and alittle wd-40 and put em away. Some of these tools are pretty old (some belonged to my Dad) but still look pretty good

 

[malibu101]

I complain to myself when I grab a socket that was previously used on a gunky nut and not cleaned, as in still has grease up in the hex.
Use it and now a clean nut is covered in grease.
I clean off the heavy dirt on the front end rather than dirty everything up.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

I usually just wipe them down with a shop rag and put em back in da box. Evey once in a while, I will take everything out of a drawer and clean the heck out of em till they shine, and then put em back in.

 

[vette-kid]

You are kidding, right?
Real men use their tools to get work done, and real work gets tools greasy. Grease protects the tools from rust. You see where I'm going here?

No way will I let greasy tools anywhere near the interior of my car! Or my truck for that matter. for light jobs I found simple green works pretty well. A couple of items I bought off of CL or Ebay were EXTREMELY dirty, I had to let them soak in solvent (acetone substitute), then use super kleen and a toothbrush, and a bore brush for inside of sockets. Then rinse with water and dry them with the motorcycle dryer. Im suprised at how dirty some people let their tools get. One deep well was so packed with gunk that it was effectively no longer a deep well! Im not sure I could have gotten it over the head of a bolt at all

 

[Jononon]

You are kidding, right?
Real men use their tools to get work done, and real work gets tools greasy. Grease protects the tools from rust. You see where I'm going here?

Down the road towards a £70 1/2" ratchet that's sold as 'broken' because there's so much grease and grime inside it that it's completely solid, which is then bought by me for a fiver, soaked in paraffin overnight, lubricated, and put back into use ?

I don't feel the need to maintain a drawer full of finely polished tools, each one loving stripped and RLLd, but to put tools away after a brake job without at least giving them a wipe down with a WD40 soaked rag is to invite trouble.

 

[-B-]

Safety Kleen orange wipes when they get real bad usually it is clan oil and grease that is easly wiped off with a rag. My thread tools get cleaned with a solvent and then coated with oil.

 

[nonhog]

My dad told me to leave them greasy so they wont rust because thats what his dad said. I always thought clean is better than unsafe. (slippery)

sorry dad

Just my 2 cents

 

[Uncle Buck]

My dad told me to leave them greasy so they wont rust because thats what his dad said. I always thought clean is better than unsafe. (slippery)

sorry dad

Just my 2 cents

Bet your dad was raised on a farm.

 

[NRChopshop]

brake cleaner.......floors, tools, benches, toolboxes etc etc. pretty much use that for anything it wont harm

 

[RRmech]

Unless they are super greasy, I just used a shop rag.
Solvent tank for the real greasy wrenches and sockets.

Steve

 

[Ray-CA]

I wipe all the tools used with a shop rag. If they are oily or greasy, I hit them with a shot of WD-40 and a wipe down.

Ray

 

[tatra]

at work, my apprentice...................

 

[1320stang]

Knotted wire cup brush on a 4" angle grinder.........

(I thought UB might beat me to it.)

 

[W-Cummins]

This one seems to be working ok for tool cleanup


William...

 

[MAD]

Monday and Wednesday- A good once-over with a feather duster.

Friday- Lemon Pledge.

Sometimes I put on a French maid costume to help focus my mind to the task at hand.

 

[Coach James]

Wipe off with shop rag or blue paper towel. If really dirty I use a tooth brush to get off grime etc.

Coach

 

[Coach James]

Monday and Wednesday- A good once-over with a feather duster.

Friday- Lemon Pledge.

Sometimes I put on a French maid costume to help focus my mind to the task at hand.


Must get that image out of my mind!!!!!

Coach

 

[babzog]

Now that I have a place to store my tools, I'd like to get hold of some of these solvents and such. As a non-professional, can I even buy this stuff (solvents) and where would I go to purchase it? I'd like to let a few things (my inherited sockets, in particular) soak for a bit since some of them have years worth of accumulation. I don't have a solvent tank so I'll have to just let everything sit in a bucket.

Also, for chromed sockets and wrenches (ie: Gray, SO, etc), is it possible to remove the surface rust and restore the finish or is the best I can hope for is to just clean 'em up? Some of the inscribings are very hard to read due to the rust.

 

[ZRX61]

I've been known to use pledge or plexus on the plastic handles of some pliers & screwdrivers, otherwise just a wipe with a shop rag.

 

[Craftsman]

Simple Green as a degreaser/cleaning agent, then wiped down with Gibbs (GIBBS Brand)

 

[Art From De Leon]

Throw them in the parts washer, wipe off with a rag.

 

[babzog]

I'd love to toss mine in a parts washer but that's a piece of kit I don't have. I was thinking of just throwing them all into a bucket full of some kind of solvent and letting them sit for a time. Would the parts washer solvents work in this fashion? What about a good soak in mineral spirits?

I should try and see if I can source some of that Simple Green and Gibbs products in Canada. I've seen guys here recommend them more than once.

 

[White 99]

babzog,

I have asked the question about solvent before and am still unsure what is was. Seems like I can't find anything called solvent anymore. Mineral spirits or paint thinner, which seem to be the same thing, are about the same as solvent used to be from what I can tell.

I have used some of the cheap HF water based cleaner (solvent) and found it to cause rust if the parts are not blown dry and oiled quickly afterwards.

I think the simple green would need to be followed up with an oiling to prevent rust.

Kerosene would clean and leave a little oily film behind.

 

[Craftsman]

babzog,

I have asked the question about solvent before and am still unsure what is was. Seems like I can't find anything called solvent anymore. Mineral spirits or paint thinner, which seem to be the same thing, are about the same as solvent used to be from what I can tell.

I have used some of the cheap HF water based cleaner (solvent) and found it to cause rust if the parts are not blown dry and oiled quickly afterwards.

I think the simple green would need to be followed up with an oiling to prevent rust.

Kerosene would clean and leave a little oily film behind.

Sounds right to me. In my experience, Simple Green works great as a cleaner/degreaser (an old pro gunsmith recommended it to me as an alternative to the more harsh solvents normally used to clean firearm parts). It strips any oil/grease/dirt off down to the bare metal. Its also non-toxic and biodegradable.

 

[Craftsman]

I should try and see if I can source some of that Simple Green and Gibbs products in Canada. I've seen guys here recommend them more than once.

Here's the Simple Green Canada website link:

http://canada.simplegreen.com/home_en.php

Simple Green Retailers
Below is a list of Canadian retailers that carry Simple Green® products. Click on the retailer’s name to find a store near you. Not all stores are guaranteed to carry Simple Green.

Canadian Tire
Federated Co-Op
Home Hardware Stores
Kent Building Supplies
KT Products
Linens & Things
Costco
Revy Home & Garden
TruServ
TSC Stores
Zellers

Gibbs Canada: Gibbs Brand Lubricants Canada