What's Your Preference? Satin Vs. Full Polish Combination Wrenches

[winlinmac]

I'm stuck between the Wright 752 and Wright 952. I notice full polish chrome scratches and picks up marks way too easily, even when they are attempted to be handled with as much care as practically possible (but tools have to be used, right?). What's Your Preference? Satin Vs. Full Polish Combination Wrenches, or Both?

Forgot to mention, Black Oxide Industrial finish

 

[Packard V8]

When I have the choice, I always go for the industrial finish.

FWIW, back in the beginning, the Blue Point wrenches were far from full polish, but a rough, as-forged surface. In the 1940s, the surface finish became smoother, in the '50s the name changed to Snap-on and the historians could enlighten us as to be introduction date of full polished.

jack vines

 

[decaf]

Full polish baby!!

 

[bobcatdan]

Don't really care as long as the wrench works. If given a choice like you have, I'd probably save a few dollars on satin finish. My Wrights are black industrial finish.

 

[HCNDM]

I have all three finishes. Makes no difference other than personal preference.

Far more important is the quality of the steel and the broaching.

I'm careful with all my tools and keep everything clean oiled and don't often drop stuff. That said if you use tools the are going to scratch, tarnish and maybe even rust. I always wipe down with a little oil after use.


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[unslow1]

I have mostly full polish. In my collection are probably only half a dozen satin but I really like the feel of them. I have one industrial black and don't really care for it. Mostly because I work in darker garages and it's harder to spot.

 

[winlinmac]

Curious to know, what oil do you prefer using?

I have all three finishes. Makes no difference other than personal preference.

Far more important is the quality of the steel and the broaching.

I'm careful with all my tools and keep everything clean oiled and don't often drop stuff. That said if you use tools the are going to scratch, tarnish and maybe even rust. I always wipe down with a little oil after use.


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[woody 73]

Merkava wow I see you are in good form today great to see you back! Hey last I heard you were living in California did you get tired of all that sunshine and decide to move back to the East coast for all that pizza?

 

[Fedwrench]

Scratches on tools are like callouses on a mechanics hands, or wrinkles on an old guy, they show use and experience. If you're worried about scratching tools, stop now and don't buy any.

Buying tools isn't that hard. It's not rocket science. There have been way too many threads lately with people wanting their hands held as they face such difficult decisions which ratchets, hex bits, wrenches, or fill in the blank tool to buy. Sometimes life requires trial and error, you need to get a tool, actually use it, and learn from your own experience.

As for the question at hand, full polish offers easier clean up but, may become slippery when covered in coolant or ATF. Satin finish may offer a better grip when covered in fluids but, tend to require a little more effort to clean up.
It's strictly a personal decision as it's your hands that will be actually using them or in this case polishing/dusting them.

 

[thegroundpounder99]

I prefer full polish, easy to clean with quick wipe of a rag and back in the box. Plus, it really gives a bling look opening the wrench drawer lol. Seriously though, I don't worry about the scratches or marks, it gives it character. Kind of like a race car, they look a lot better with tire marks on the door.


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[decaf]

I'm careful with all my tools and keep everything clean oiled and don't often drop stuff. That said if you use tools the are going to scratch, tarnish and maybe even rust. I always wipe down with a little oil after use.

I have respect for people that take care of their tools, there is too many out there that treat their tools like ****.
If i see a technician or mechanic that have their tools in good and sorted condition, i can feel safe that he/she is doing a good job. Taking pride in what they are doing....not many who does that nowdays...

So for not beeing too much OT, i would like to say that people use to say that full polished is more slippery then others, but, i don´t think so. Haven´t been an issue for me so far...

 

[superautobacs]

Merkava wow I see you are in good form today great to see you back! Hey last I heard you were living in California did you get tired of all that sunshine and decide to move back to the East coast for all that pizza?

 

[HCNDM]

I have respect for people that take care of their tools, there is too many out there that treat their tools like ****.
If i see a technician or mechanic that have their tools in good and sorted condition, i can feel safe that he/she is doing a good job. Taking pride in what they are doing....not many who does that nowdays...

So for not beeing too much OT, i would like to say that people use to say that full polished is more slippery then others, but, i don´t think so. Haven´t been an issue for me so far...

I learnt from a good friend and aviation mechanic… clean and organized made me feel a lot safer when test flying a plane he had just worked on.

Also an aviation thing... If there is oil everywhere take a minute to sand the floor a dash of brake cleaner on a rag will degrease your spanners, and clean nitrile gloves and your good to go.

 

[winlinmac]

So far its hard to tell by majority, great to see some healthy numbers here. Just by looking at some of my older Satin-finished wrenches, they definitely appear to be more prone to rust. Whereas Chrome holds up better. Not sure how Wright defines their Satin though, obviously "has to be" of higher quality.

 

[Al Borland]

I really prefer the satin finish, the full polish is too damn shiny. They look like show pieces instead of something to be used.
As a plus, the satin finish helps hide the marks from the cheater pipe.

 

[bfm336]

I just picked up the Wrightgrips in satin for SAE and chromed for Metric - since I have them both in green SK tool holders in my box it makes it easier to quickly grab the right one.

I think I prefer the look of satin, personally, but since my tools sit out in a varied humidity garage (in Missouri) I think full polish will hold up better (the satin can hold dirt/grime and cause rust in my experience).

If Proto made a fully polish metric flare wrench set I would love it - because then my combos and flare nuts could be satin for SAE and polished for metric.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

I like the old rusty ones.

 

[Fedwrench]

If Proto made a fully polish metric flare wrench set I would love it - because then my combos and flare nuts could be satin for SAE and polished for metric.

They do. It just says MAC on the wrenches.

 

[sk farmer]

Merkava wow I see you are in good form today great to see you back! Hey last I heard you were living in California did you get tired of all that sunshine and decide to move back to the East coast for all that pizza?

hhhmmmmhhhhhhhh......................

nope, people like merk.

 

[KM223]

Full polish for me. Easy to clean.

 

[Empty Pockets]

I have both satin and polished, most of my wright are satin. Both types work as advertised, however, the polished wrenches clean up easier if you're working in a dirty/greasy environment.

Any light grade oil on a shop rag will clean up either

At the age of 5 or 6, #1 son insisted on helping me after the project was done. With the WD-40 and a shop rag, he would diligently "wash" the tools. I started him out early doing it right

 

[anndel]

Full polish, easier to clean.

 

[gdocktor3]

I think the results of the poll just about sums it up. A good tool comes in many forms and finish. It is up to the user to decide for themselves which is best.

 

[Jim Diesel]

Have to say full polish although i do own both.

 

[bcradio]

A good quality satin finish will be equal to or superior to a full polish tool in every aspect except the shiny factor.

-they will wipe clean just as easy
-they will show less fingerprints and other grime
-they are easier to grip when covered in oil
-they are equally durable finish wise
-they don't show scratches like full polish does

Don't believe me, buy some Toptul satin tools and you will see.

 

[winlinmac]

May be I should compare side by side a Toptul and Wright to see the quality differences in the satin-finish. My feeling is that they will be the same quality, what do you think?

A good quality satin finish will be equal to or superior to a full polish tool in every aspect except the shiny factor.

-they will wipe clean just as easy
-they will show less fingerprints and other grime
-they are easier to grip when covered in oil
-they are equally durable finish wise
-they don't show scratches like full polish does

Don't believe me, buy some Toptul satin tools and you will see.

 

[kkroger]

Having used both from several vendors, I have Proto Satin, Craftsman, Snap-On and Wright Full Polish, Having used all of them all day every day, I will say that I prefer the full polish over the satin, I've never noticed a "Grip" issue whether dry or grease covered difference between but I DID notice that the full polish wears on my hands less... I've worked on Cars, Trucks, Planes and Trains... (for the record I would rather change brakes on a train than a car)

 

[Sprintman]

Toptul satin. I don't do 'ricer'

 

[kkroger]

Toptul satin. I don't do 'ricer'

What does that mean?

 

[928'er]

I have both, but my "go to" wrenches are still a satin finish set of Thorsen metric combo's I bought back in '72 when I got out of the AF. Although, the satin finish set of Stahlwille deep offsets I recently got from Jens are looking pretty nice....

 

[Siteman25]

I have both, but prefer satin finish, as it is somewhat easier to grip with greasy hands, also when working outside in hot sun, the full polish can get hot if it sits for a while in the sun and it also can reflect light in your eyes if you work outside a lot.

 

[Sprintman]

What does that mean?

Google it

 

[kkroger]

Google it

I don't need to... it doesn't make any sense in this context... what do YOU mean by it?

 

[Sprintman]

I don't need to... it doesn't make any sense in this context... what do YOU mean by it?

Forget it, it was self explanatory

 

[bushmechanic]

I have both, but prefer satin finish, as it is somewhat easier to grip with greasy hands, also when working outside in hot sun, the full polish can get hot if it sits for a while in the sun and it also can reflect light in your eyes if you work outside a lot.

Oh my god... Useful information? Go away!

One more point to make in that regard:

As stupid as this may sound, fully polished tools can sometimes be difficult to spot outdoors when dropped or placed on the ground. The chrome may as well be camouflage; until you're in the engine bay. Then it's a laser beam.

That said, some things just aren't available the way you want them.

 

[bushmechanic]

There have been way too many threads lately with people wanting their hands held as they face such difficult decisions which ratchets, hex bits, wrenches, or fill in the blank tool to buy. Sometimes life requires trial and error, you need to get a tool, actually use it, and learn from your own experience.

That's all people want to do; shout their preference into the wind. Half of them don't even bother to read previous posts in the threads.

It's not an actual conversation, so new threads pop up all the time; both because they are required in order to get the good information out of the first few posts, or simply because people want to ignore a thousand posts again for some reason.

 

[lightning02]

Outside in the dirt/sand/sun I use satin. In my garage I prefer polished.

 

[bwringer]

A good quality satin finish will be equal to or superior to a full polish tool in every aspect except the shiny factor.

-they will wipe clean just as easy
-they will show less fingerprints and other grime
-they are easier to grip when covered in oil
-they are equally durable finish wise
-they don't show scratches like full polish does

Don't believe me, buy some Toptul satin tools and you will see.

Another vote for satin finish here for the same reasons.

I don't give two shits about cosmetics, so all else being roughly equal, the satin finish has two big upsides for me and no downsides -- less slippery and less glare. And, as others have noted, the satin finish doesn't disappear as easily in certain visual environments.

That said, I've got tons of full polish stuff just because that's all that's available in many tools and from many companies. Lots of people like shiny stuff, so full polish sells better, so that's all they make.

For example, Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches are all full polish, but they're insanely useful and easily available.

It's a preference, but certainly not a make-or-break feature.

 

[winlinmac]

I should have added the option of Black Industrial Finish, quite the premium in terms of cost there.

 

[maxpower_hd]

I like full polish better too. Easier to clean and easier to see in a dirty, dim shop...Not my own shop. I like bright colors for anything with colors too for the same reason. Black is just to hard to see. I have a black light and I put orange tape on it so I can see it better when it isn't on.