What's a good way to clean this?

[Blt2Lst]

I have this old Stanley square that I've had since the '60s and it was old when I got it so I wouldn't be surprised if it's from the 40s or something.
Anyway I'm trying to clean up the blade with the graduations on it so that it's readable, looking for suggestions on how to do this without damaging the markings.
Blade appears to have surface rust on it and the handle part has a painted inlay and the Stanley is painted in Orange also, I really don't want to clean that paint off just leave that the way it is.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Davefr]

That's a tough one. I've purchased used machinist tools in the past and they are very prone to surface rust and pitting. You can remove the rust but the surface will be left pitted. Here's what I would do:

1. Give it an overnight soak in Evaporust
2. Polish the surface with WD40 and a Medium scotchbrite pad.
3. Take a black Sharpie and rub it over all the graduations and markings and immediate wipe it off. The ink will not wipe off the deeper engravings and this will help those areas stand out a little more.
4. Give it a coat of floor wax.

You can improve it a little but it won't be perfect. Maybe someone has a better method.

 

[3baygarage]

Evaporust would probably help. It removes paint and coatings, so I recommend not submerging the handle. I don’t know how long before the paint would be affected.

 

[neophyte]

DON’T USE EVAPORUST.

If steel has gotten rusted, the steel may be, and probably is, pitted.
Evaporust will remove all the corrosion, making the pitting way more obvious.
Any bluing on the blade will likely get lost.

I’m not sure whether the handle on that is aluminum or cast iron.
Cast iron seems to handle Evaporust well, as long as you make sure the item is evenly and completely soaked on all sides, but again, that would likely not be great for the blade.

A Very fine arkansas stone( Translucent or black) could be slowly rubbed across the blade to remove the surface corrosion, till the blade is shiny and polished on the flats. This may take a lot of time though.

Mark Novak, who used to appear on the C&Rsenal youtube gun channel, till he split off on his own channel, has had videos dealing with rusty firearms.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCM86hA7E1y3vOJuzdqCXh1Q/videos

The method he tends to use is rust conversion, were you boil the steel in water for an hour plus, then use a very fine steel wire wheel or brush(usually referred to as a carding wheel or carding brush) to remove the “converted rust” after you boiled it, ( the boiling changes the rust corrosion chemistry and makes the rust easier to remove)
He starts doing the rust conversion and removal at about 11:30 on this video.

I know he’s done the same process in other videos, but they tend to be long, and I don't want to search thru them all.
Brownells used to sell the carding brushes and wheels, and there was a thread on GJ from a member looking for an alternative source at one point. Maybe Brownells has a video showing the process as well?

 

[VFlorea]

I'd be careful with using any rust remover formulations like Evaporust. I recently cleaned some rusty Starret tap wrenches and a feeler gauge in Krud Kutter rust remover - the tap wrenches came out great, but the feeler gauge got covered in some black oxide layer and nothing i tried would get rid of it. Can no longer read the markings. Perfectly good tool ruined permanently.

 

[The Cobbler]

I'd be leery of chemicals on that cast aluminum head, I would probably just wet sand with 400 or so, a coat of boiled linseed oil or something and be happy

 

[CGarage]

I'd be leery of chemicals on that cast aluminum head, I would probably just wet sand with 400 or so, a coat of boiled linseed oil or something and be happy

Boiled linseed oil on metal? Really?

 

[RTM]

My vise has BLO on it everywhere.

Some shovels used to, may be worn off by now.

 

[lilredex]

I found a similar one in a parking lot mud hole and did a resto on it beacause it was marked in eighths....no metric BS. Procedure was much like Dave's suggestion but with the additional application of my coarse wire wheel to further clean it up..

 

[Jswain]

Bead blast or chemically remove the rust then a wire wheel on a bench grinder. Could also start with the wire wheel and see if that is good enough for you. Wipe clean then oil/wax/coat with something to prevent further rust

 

[Dave455]

I have a similar square. Decent tools. I much prefer them to the typical English pattern with a wooden stock.

Some observations - the stock is cast iron. Later ones were aluminium, but that’s an iron one.

I don’t think the blades were ever blued. I’ve never seen a new one so can’t be 100% sure, but the best condition ones I’ve seen have bright blades.

So, I’d go ahead and try the evaporust. I don’t think you have much to lose. I might even try the wire wheel first. After that I’d probably go with abrasive paper (progressively finer grades) and bring the blade back as well as I could. You might risk the graduations, but given the level of corrosion you probably have to.

Boiled linseed oil is fine. It’s been used by blacksmiths for years to protect metal surfaces. A lot of folks prefer to use some sort of wax polish.

 

[RTM]

I’d actually start with a razor blade and scrape off the gross rust, before any other method. Reduce the amount of work to be done later.

a final touch with Simichrome, Blue Coral, or whatever will make it nicer to the touch.

 

[robert6715]

Like the Cobbler said, wet sand with 400 grit. I will add that for the wet I like to use whatever penetrant I have on hand instead of water.

 

[Blt2Lst]

I'd be leery of chemicals on that cast aluminum head,

The head is actually steel or maybe cast iron, I already took a Scotch Brite to one of the faces on the handle and it comes up very nice.
Also there does appear to be some bluing on the blade so I got to be careful with whatever I do to try to retain some of that.

 

[The Cobbler]

I see now. the original pic looked like cast aluminum/

 

[Blt2Lst]

I’d actually start with a razor blade and scrape off the gross rust, before any other method.

I just tried a small section with that method, really does take off the bulk of the rust, great tip, thanks RTM.

 

[no704]

I would start with the least abrasive method possible. Soak in wd40 and hit it lightly with 0000 steel or better brass wool. You can always go harder, but not back.

 

[Xcursion88]

Rice cake it and use it.

Just easy on the pressure!!!!

I've cleaned up similar tools with rust and rice cake works good.
Fiber surface discs work too...and in your case probably a better idea

Then the whilte cloth wheel..

It won't be perfect but will be usable

 

[dwasifar]

Do you intend to keep using it, or are you cleaning it up for display?

 

[Blt2Lst]

Do you intend to keep using it, or are you cleaning it up for display?

I've actually been using it all along every now and then, just never been able to read the numbers on the scale. I plan on using it in the future too.

 

[robert6715]

Birchwood Casey cold blue in the gun section of Walmart would work well for re-blueing that blade after you get it cleaned up. Then some white Crayola crayon to fill in the numbers & scale, or whatever color your heart desires.

Rub the crayon over the engravings to fill them in & polish away the excess with an oily rag. Easy to redo as needed & works very well IMHO.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

I have and would again put the whole thing in Evaporust... I don't understand all the confusion around Evaporust: sounds misplaced.

 

[dwasifar]

I have and would again put the whole thing in Evaporust... I don't understand all the confusion around Evaporust: sounds misplaced.

Well, if it's pitted from rust, the Evapo-Rust exposes the pits.

But if you remove the rust mechanically instead, either the pits are still there but hidden under burnished rust; or else you took off enough material to remove the pits, in which case why not start with the chemical and save yourself some work.

 

[Al Borland]

Should have had a coat of clear lacquer when new, maybe wrap a paper towel wetted with vinegar around it and let sit. Follow up with steel wool. Wipe down with a cleaner, rub paint into the numbers/gradations, and re-clear when the numbers dry.