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Thread: Rust Removal

  1. #1
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    Rust Removal

    Since the flood last year, I've had to prioritize cleaning and repair work. After spending most of my time rehabbing the interior of the house, I'm finally getting around to cleaning up the smaller ticket items in the garage. That includes rust removal from hand tools,which is what this post is really about.

    I've tried several ways to clean up the rust, wire wheel brushing works well, as does vinegar and salt. Having never tried the vinegar and salt method, I was surprised at how well it works. It works so well it removed the chrome finish from some of my Craftsman wrenches, leaving nothing but gray steel. That will rust in short order, so I'm trying to find the best solution for protecting the bare steel.

    Any ideas? I have a few, but I want to see what others say before deciding.
    The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible - Arthur C. Clarke

  2. #2
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    Baking Soda

  3. #3
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    Can they be re-cromed ?. If not or to expensive, i would suggest a rust preventive paint and a close watch on them.

  4. #4
    Wannabe is offline Nov 5, 1946 - Nov 19, 2018
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    Mike, I came by a bunch of rusty tools. There were combination wrenches, saws, hammers, ect. I put them in a vinegar-salt solution and let them sit for about a week and you have never seen such a nasty mess. I rinsed them off and put them in a baking soda water solution to kill the acid and left them in the baking soda water. Got my propane torch ready and would pull a tool out of the baking soda solution and heat it with the torch until it was dry. As it dried it turned rust brown. When dry i put it in a container of transmission fluid (because I had a bunch of cheat tranny fluid on hand) and when my oil container filled up I would pull a tool out and let it drip back into the container then wipe it down. The tool will turn out black but rust free. It is labor intensive but when you are retired, what is time?
    Or if you can get it, knock the loose stuff off with a wire brush and paint phosphoric acid on the tool and it will also turn black. Under certain conditions, it will also produce a white powder on the surface. Just brush it off. This stuff will turn iorn oxide into iorn sulfate. Use it on a swing set or steel fence as a primer and paint. When I was a tow boat captain I had a 25 gal drum of it to use on rust.
    Hope that helps

  5. #5
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    First I have no idea but I will say Craftsman wrenches have lifetime warranties for any and all perils they are full warranties so if you can find a Sears open somewhere you can probably get them exchanged even though I know that's probably not what you want to do
    OPINION....a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

  6. #6
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    Does Naval Jelly work?

    Didn’t Sears sell their Craftsman brand (a milestone marking the sad state of retail!), so do they still honor Craftsman warranties?
    I saw an ad this last week in which Home Depot is now selling Craftsman stuff.
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  7. #7
    Wannabe is offline Nov 5, 1946 - Nov 19, 2018
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    Quote Originally Posted by wacojoe View Post
    Does Naval Jelly work?

    Didn’t Sears sell their Craftsman brand (a milestone marking the sad state of retail!), so do they still honor Craftsman warranties?
    I saw an ad this last week in which Home Depot is now selling Craftsman stuff.
    I believe the warranty is for breakage only.
    About the phosphoric acid. A diluted version sold in stores is under the name Ospho and it works fine.

  8. #8
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    I think [ bad thing there ] that y'all are missing the reason for the post. He has removed the rust. Now he just needs to protect the tools.

  9. #9
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    Heat them up and then dip the tool in oil for a day or so. That is how we condition our steel BBQ pits after we build them. Build a big fire in the firebox and the spray peanut or vegetable oil on the steel and let it cool. Seem to work well, kind of like conditioning a cast iron skillet.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Independent Voter View Post
    I think [ bad thing there ] that y'all are missing the reason for the post. He has removed the rust. Now he just needs to protect the tools.
    Yup! I can get the rust off, but it leaves behind bare steel that I want to protect.
    The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible - Arthur C. Clarke

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by TxMusky View Post
    Heat them up and then dip the tool in oil for a day or so. That is how we condition our steel BBQ pits after we build them. Build a big fire in the firebox and the spray peanut or vegetable oil on the steel and let it cool. Seem to work well, kind of like conditioning a cast iron skillet.
    I've been thinking of doing just that. Coat them with oil and bake them awhile in the gas grill.

    I bought a can of Boeshield T-9 to see how well it will work. Reading the instructions, it might work even better baked.
    The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible - Arthur C. Clarke

  12. #12
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    I have determined it will be better just to use a wire brush wheel on my bench grinder for most things. The vinegar and salt is a little too aggressive and removes the chrome, as does my sandblaster. It should be easier to protect the tools with the chrome intact.

    I'm going to try a few different things, the Boeshield T9, Butchers wax and maybe baking on some oil.
    The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible - Arthur C. Clarke

  13. #13
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    Get the tool hot before putting the oil on it, it will remove the moisture and allow the metal to absorb more of the oil. Then you can bake it as well.

  14. #14
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    I've removed rust from guns with 4-ought steel wool and WD-40......Ben
    The future is forged on the anvil of history...The interpreter of history wields the hammer... - Unknown author...

  15. #15
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    having fought rust my whole life..

    Chrome does not rust. The steel under the chrome rusts> So the rust, not the vinegar ruined the wreches finished.

    But it's a moot point.. tools rust< you are screwed.

    I wipe my tools with light oil as i clean them and put them away.

    Good luck..

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