Rusty Tools

[Slowbee]

I have inherited a few old fashioned steel toolboxes that have not been opened in years.

 

A look inside revealed some really old style tools, but I digress. There are some geodore spanners which have some rust on them. Any ideas of how to get rid of the rust and how to prevent more rust ? The same applies to some allen key spanners as well.

 

Any advice would be great.

 

 

[covie]

soak them in petrol and use steel wool to clean them off, then simply keep them oiled to prevent them rusting again.

[Slowbee]

mmmm does it have to be petrol covie?

 

and is that oil or lube

[Caerus]

I have inherited a few old fashioned steel toolboxes that have not been opened in years.

 

A look inside revealed some really old style tools, but I digress. There are some geodore spanners which have some rust on them. Any ideas of how to get rid of the rust and how to prevent more rust ? The same applies to some allen key spanners as well.

 

Any advice would be great.

 

 

 

 

I would love to know this too, My whole tool box of tools has rusted since movin back to Durban

[Caerus]

soak them in petrol and use steel wool to clean them off, then simply keep them oiled to prevent them rusting again.

 

 

What if there is would attached to the tool? Thats a huge problem for me - Ive got a lot of woodworking/modelling tools that have wooden handles.

[jacostrydom]

Use them regularly and the grease/oil from your bike and hands will keep them tip/top.

[Slowbee]

Jaco, as has been asked - how do you get the rust off in the first place ?

 

And also what do you do with wooden handles?

[Caerus]

Use them regularly and the grease/oil from your bike and hands will keep them tip/top.

 

 

Unfortunatly I cant use woodworking/modelling tools on a bicycle and as my time is now mostly consumed by MTBing/drawing on a computer the tools have gotten a bit neglected, the same as the tools that Slowbee has inherited, all cost a lot of money, just need some TLC to get them back into a good conditon - Its that TLC bit we are neding to know about

[Brian Fantana]

Fit a very fine steel brush wheel to your bench grinder, and a polish wheel on the other side, your tools will be shining like new. The steel brush is softer than tool steel, and will do the job. I reconditioned old Record lathe chisels this way. Even if a tool is old it warms my heart if it looks good and looked after.

[Caerus]

Fit a very fine steel brush wheel to your bench grinder, and a polish wheel on the other side, your tools will be shining like new. The steel brush is softer than tool steel, and will do the job. I reconditioned old Record lathe chisels this way. Even if a tool is old it warms my heart if it looks good and looked after.

 

 

Good thinking Batman

[TYGA]

Oil and a bit of steelwool. Sorted.

Then do what I do with my potjie pot...some crumbled up newspaper inside your toolbox absorbs any moisture and prevents further rust.

Edited November 9, 2010 by XTC1

[Caerus]

Oil and a bit of steelwool. Sorted.

Then do what I do with my potjie pot...some crumbled up newspaper inside your toolbox absorbs any moisture and prevents further rust.

 

 

I wonder if you can buy those silicon satchets somewhere, Mmmmm

[Redbaobab]

Baking soda (mixed with water to become a paste) or white vinegar... obviously this is dependant on how bad the rust is, you might have to reapply a couple of times and use a bit of elbow grease to get it all off. If the tools are small enough just soak them until the rust comes off otherwise apply liberally with a cloth.

 

To keep them from rusting again, save a couple of the silica gel packets you find in shoe boxes or pill bottles etc. and keep them in the bottom of the toolbox (how many you'll need depends on how big the toolbox is), an alternative is to keep a couple of the old school pencil sharpeners in your toolbox (the magnesium type) they actually attract the corrosion to themselves leaving the tools untouched by rust - I haven't personally tested this but apparently it's an old trick used on vintage cars to fight corrosion.

 

Hope that helps - Good Luck!

[Johan Bornman]

I wonder if you can buy those silicon satchets somewhere, Mmmmm

 

Dont bother with those little poofter sachets. Those okes in Durbs need big bags of silica gel.

This can be purchased by the kg from flower and craft markets. They use it to dry flowers. It is also

used in labs to dry our air in vacuum flasks so that the moisture doesn't mess with your precise

measurements of chemicals.

 

Silica gel (which isn't a gel at all, it is pelletised) changes colour when it cannot absorb any moisture anymore and then you just bake it a bit

and it turns back. I can't remember if it is blue and turns pink or vice versa. My lab days are

far behind me.

 

Coastal guys have a real problem with rust. Like someone said, use it regularly and it will have a

protective oily layer on. After the fact is a problem since rust affects the tolerances of stuff like allen keys.

I have had some success with rust converter, stuff you buy at a paint shop.

[Mongoose!]

Don't know if it works, as I did not try it myself, but some say Coke to the trick. Take a bucket of Coke and let the spanners lay in it over night. If I were you I only test it with one Allen key to see if it works.

 

I suggest you trough the coke away then....

[Caerus]

Don't know if it works, as I did not try it myself, but some say Coke to the trick. Take a bucket of Coke and let the spanners lay in it over night. If I were you I only test it with one Allen key to see if it works.

 

I suggest you trough the coke away then....

 

 

The coke will eat the tools away completly from what Ive heard

Edited November 9, 2010 by Caerus