What to do with old chromed tools for rust?

[pauls_workshop]

Hey Guys, like many here from the humid MidWest, I got a lot of old vintage chromed tools, some of which are still in perfect chromed shape and most others of which have either:

A. Minor Surface Rust
B. Major Rust, chrome gone in spots
C. Not much any chrome left, functional but rough from rust!
D. Chrome chipped out here or there but still present

Now I am a fan of Evaporust and also Vinegar/Salt to derust, which is fine. And I know about various methods of rust prevention coatings/sprays that can be applied after rust is removed, including but not limited to:

1. Dip again in Evaporust and don't wipe it off.
2. Spray paint the tool.
3. ATF/Acetone mix
4. Jig A Loo
5. Wax of some sort, Boeshield
6. Linseed Oil

What I'm wondering about for chromed tools is whether there is a good way to "restore" the tool to a much nicer finish and original-like ability to resist rust again for 20-30 years or so? Other methods than aboe 1-6 to consider?

Anyone ever re-chrome plate tools chemically at a plating shop? Does that work? Cost effective? Anyone ever try one of the self service kits for restoring black oxide to tools? I'm thinking about one of those for older black oxide or unplated tools I have, but what about doing that on top of chrome plating? Would it work to turn them into black oxide coated tools? What else to consider? thx-Paul

 

[sberry]

Its damaged, use them till they wear a better finish.

 

[crerus75]

I don't necessarily recommend my methods, but I acid dip a lot of rusty tools. I just refinished a pair of Thomas & Betts cable shears a couple of days ago. What I do is:

-For heavy rust or pitting, dunk in muriatic acid. I have a 5 gallon bucket that is 3/4 full of The Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner from Dollar Tree. It's 15-25% hydrochloric (muriatic) acid, and at $1/quart, it's cheaper than hardware store muriatic acid. Warning: Acid WILL strip chrome, and it hurts like hell in an open cut. I use it to rescue tools that have moderate to serious rust. For light rust and mostly intact chrome, wire brushing with a not-too-aggressive wire wheel is probably better.

-Take out of acid and rinse thoroughly with water. I blow dry with an air nozzle and hit the tool with a wire wheel, then IMMEDIATELY wipe clean and coat with WD40 or the like. An acid-dipped tool will surface-rust before your eyes unless it's wiped down with oil, even if all the acid is rinsed off. I don't bother neutralizing the acid, but some people rinse in a baking soda solution. Here's a pic of the T&B cable cutter jaws, before and after acid dipping for a couple of hours and then wire brushing:

This is with NO polishing at all, just wire brushing. I wire brushed the pivot bolt and used Birchwood Casey Super Blue to apply a blued finish (just for fun). The handles were painted a shade similar to Jack Olsen Green (thanks to Jack for showing me how cool that color could be). I lubed everything with 3-in-1 aerosol oil and wiped the jaws down to protect from rust. I may wipe them down with linseed oil, but this is a working set of cutters and I'm not going to go nuts.

Here's what I can tell you:
-Chemical bluing like Oxpho and the Birchwood Casey stuff I used will not work on chrome plating. It requires clean, unplated steel to work. Buffing after bluing gives a nice finish, but it isn't very rust resistant unless you oil it occasionally.

-I've seen people wipe bare steel down with Penetrol as a rust preventative. Don't know how it works, so I can't recommend, but I may try it.

-After acid-dipping and rinsing a few old pliers I had, I dunked them in ATF and then wiped the excess away with rags. This gets into the nooks and crannies and seems to keep the rust well at bay, but the pliers drool ATF forever. Still, it's cheap and easy.

-I've never had anything plated, but you probably want something thicker than decorative chrome for a working tool. Talk to your local metal finisher about this.

 

[thebeekeeper1]

I just use EvapoRust and leave it at that. For sure, it's not cost effective to have them rechromed. No way.

 

[pauls_workshop]

I just use EvapoRust and leave it at that. For sure, it's not cost effective to have them rechromed. No way.

Well, wondering if you had a bunch of tools done at a plater shop when they happen to be doing other jobs if it might make sense. I did a little reading yesterday though and found you can't just plate on top of previous chrome plating, which is what I was thinking. You would have to first remove all that chrome plating, then replate. Probably not worth it as you say. - Paul

 

[pauls_workshop]

I don't necessarily recommend my methods, but I acid dip a lot of rusty tools. I just refinished a pair of Thomas & Betts cable shears a couple of days ago. What I do is:

-For heavy rust or pitting, dunk in muriatic acid. I have a 5 gallon bucket that is 3/4 full of The Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner from Dollar Tree. It's 15-25% hydrochloric (muriatic) acid, and at $1/quart, it's cheaper than hardware store muriatic acid. Warning: Acid WILL strip chrome, and it hurts like hell in an open cut. I use it to rescue tools that have moderate to serious rust. For light rust and mostly intact chrome, wire brushing with a not-too-aggressive wire wheel is probably better.

-Take out of acid and rinse thoroughly with water. I blow dry with an air nozzle and hit the tool with a wire wheel, then IMMEDIATELY wipe clean and coat with WD40 or the like. An acid-dipped tool will surface-rust before your eyes unless it's wiped down with oil, even if all the acid is rinsed off. I don't bother neutralizing the acid, but some people rinse in a baking soda solution. Here's a pic of the T&B cable cutter jaws, before and after acid dipping for a couple of hours and then wire brushing:

This is with NO polishing at all, just wire brushing. I wire brushed the pivot bolt and used Birchwood Casey Super Blue to apply a blued finish (just for fun). The handles were painted a shade similar to Jack Olsen Green (thanks to Jack for showing me how cool that color could be). I lubed everything with 3-in-1 aerosol oil and wiped the jaws down to protect from rust. I may wipe them down with linseed oil, but this is a working set of cutters and I'm not going to go nuts.

Here's what I can tell you:
-Chemical bluing like Oxpho and the Birchwood Casey stuff I used will not work on chrome plating. It requires clean, unplated steel to work. Buffing after bluing gives a nice finish, but it isn't very rust resistant unless you oil it occasionally.

-I've seen people wipe bare steel down with Penetrol as a rust preventative. Don't know how it works, so I can't recommend, but I may try it.

-After acid-dipping and rinsing a few old pliers I had, I dunked them in ATF and then wiped the excess away with rags. This gets into the nooks and crannies and seems to keep the rust well at bay, but the pliers drool ATF forever. Still, it's cheap and easy.

-I've never had anything plated, but you probably want something thicker than decorative chrome for a working tool. Talk to your local metal finisher about this.

Thanks for the great imformative post. The hook you dipped in the acid turned out great! What I think I'm concluding so far is re-plating is not really going to work well with original chromed parts. Back to removing the rust, then doing one of the rust preventative approaches I listed above. Maybe some chrome colored paint could be used, then dip in clear epoxy for a nice antique tool for preservation, or just the chrome paint for working tools and oil on top of that. I think Bluing would be nice but not for originally chromed tools. Bare metal ones might turn out well with that or prevously black oxided. I've found Evaporust will remove black oxide rather readily, so don't use that on black oxided unless you want to remove it all and do something else then to the tool like bluing. How good is bluing or similar for rust prevention with oil on top? As good as or better than chrome for 20, 30 years on? - Paul

 

[crerus75]

Forget replating unless you can get a deal from a local plater. Even then, you need to make sure that the process they're using will be up to the task. Decorative chrome is fairly thin and may not stand up to the use that a tool will receive.

The cold-bluing that you can do at home with a bottle of Oxpho is not as rust resistant as real chrome. I've used cold-bluing on steel and it will stay rust-free in a relatively dry environment if it is oiled. I wouldn't expect it to stay rust-free in a more aggressive environment, like near the ocean, unless you are diligent about wiping your tools down with oil. Note that if you use these tools, the acids and humidity from your skin will cause them to rust as well. I've seen lots of tools with rust fingerprints on them.

If I were you and I had a tool that had chrome that was beyond saving, I'd strip the chrome, acid dip and/or wire brush as needed, and oil it. Acid and a wire wheel can leave an almost-polished finish, as you can see on the picture I posted earlier. If that didn't work, I'd investigate other avenues.

You won't get an original look on a chrome-plated tool unless you replate, and plating is probably not an option. Since you're talking about vintage tools that you will most likely use, experiment until you find a look that you like and run with it. Cold-bluing is removable with an acid dip and paint is removable with solvents, so feel free to experiment.

 

[LordPsychon]

I like the idea of acid dipping but I can tell you from experience with 6M HCl how bad that stuff stings on intact skin. Make sure you are wearing safety glasses, a breathing mask, acid-proof gloves, and acid-proof overalls before attempting this.

 

[F124C]

There are home nickel plating kits available, iirc some earlier wrenches etc were nickel plated, not quite as reflective as chrome but fairly durable afaik.

'porschedude996TT' has a current post 'Anyone do any home Zinc Plating' in which he mentions casswellplating.com as a supplier of home plating kits etc.

Al.

 

[pauls_workshop]

Thanks for the continued discussion guys. Great info to consider! Most of my tools are in the "functional" category, but I do have a few antique ones that are more special. Wanted to see how to best preserve those and look good. For functional, really the same thing when they have some chrome loss or damage or rust through. Appearance a little less important there, but do want a good protective treatment. Oiling all the time is less desireable really. Lots of good ideas here! If we've missed anything out there, keep posting! thx- Paul

 

[Adam.C]

Have you tried the aluminum foil trick? I don't know how well it really restores chrome. Or how durable the results are. I've done it and been happy with the result, but it takes some elbow grease.

 

[pauls_workshop]

Have you tried the aluminum foil trick? I don't know how well it really restores chrome. Or how durable the results are. I've done it and been happy with the result, but it takes some elbow grease.

I have not! Will do so! - Paul