Cleaning rusted tools (sockets/wrenches)

[runwoolf]

I have a box of sockets/wrenches, etc. that are rusted, some heavily. A nice collection. How would you remove the rust and restore?
These were given to me..I did not ignore the tools.

 

[JD Dave]

Throw them in a bucket of oil, even used oil, and work on them with coarse steel wool. You'd be surprised how well they will clean up.

 

[showcrop]

Throw them into a bucket of phosphoric acid solution. It will dissolve a lot of the rust and a lot of it will be converted into iron phosphate which is what the black coating on your impact wrench sockets is.

 

[504]

Wire brush on a bench grinder will polish pretty good. At least what you can reach.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

Wire brush or wheel to get all you can off then soak in Evapo Rust.

 

[Bob Harvey]

A different approach - huck then in the bush - best option.

 

[Caryc]

(quoted from post at 16:48:40 09/13/22) A different approach - huck then in the bush - best option.

Does anyone actually understand that? ^^^^

 

[Charles in Aus.]

I found a tin full of English made BSW combination spanners that were rusted . I hate rusty tools , these were fabulous quality and odd sizes so I really wanted them .
I just soaked them in plain old white vinegar for a day then neutralised them by soaking them with a cup of baking Soda in a bucket of hot water . It worked really well .
I didn't have any so I didn't use black molasses, this works and gives exceptional results over a few weeks but it really stinks !

This post was edited by Charles in Aus. on 09/13/2022 at 07:35 pm.

 

[Brian G. NY]

Does anyone actually understand that? ^^^^

Chuck them in the brush, maybe?

I would try electrolysis......google it up.

 

[unc]

I've had good luck using the feed molasses method. unc

 

[DaleinWV]

second the recommendation for Evapo-Rust. works well for me. typically hit with a cordless drill mounted wire wheel, if the build-up is significant, then the evaporust bath, followed by a bath with Dawn - helps remove the grease - and depending on the quality of the tool, a quick follow-up with the wire-wheel on the cordless drill, and a good overspray with WD40. For sockets and some wrenches with polished surfaces, a few seconds against a 3M buffing wheel mounted on a bench grinder takes away most surface blems....

Dale, in WV

 

[Cliff(VA)]

I second electrolysis. Works great. I use washing soda in my water and a battery charger. Polarity is important.

Lots of good info in the archives.

Cliff (VA) now (NC)

 

[Keith True]

I'm just getting around to dealing with hundreds of tools that were in my cellar when my house burned.All water damage,(rust) and soot.I put 50 pounds of sandblast sand in the cement mixer,a whole bunch of tools,and let it run.You don't have to babysit it,just pull out a tool now and then to see if they are done.It's no skin off your back to let it run for 4 hours if you have to.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 18:41:57 09/13/22)

(quoted from post at 16:48:40 09/13/22) A different approach - huck then in the bush - best option.

Does anyone actually understand that? ^^^^

Yes. "Huck" as in chuck, throw, hurl, heave, discard. "Bush" as in, well bush, shrub, weedy undergrowth. Bush is also used as a term for the wilderness in Australia and New Zealand, and has come to mean wilderness in general.

So, throw the rusty tools into the wilderness.

Did the obvious misspelling of "them" as "then" throw you off that much?

 

[Caryc]

(quoted from post at 07:37:41 09/14/22)

(quoted from post at 18:41:57 09/13/22)

(quoted from post at 16:48:40 09/13/22) A different approach - huck then in the bush - best option.

Does anyone actually understand that? ^^^^

Yes. "Huck" as in chuck, throw, hurl, heave, discard. "Bush" as in, well bush, shrub, weedy undergrowth. Bush is also used as a term for the wilderness in Australia and New Zealand, and has come to mean wilderness in general.

So, throw the rusty tools into the wilderness.

Did the obvious misspelling of "them" as "then" throw you off that much?

I know the Aussie bush thing. But I've never in my life heard "huck" to mean throw, hurl and so on.

 

[Charles in Aus.]

Bush is used in Australia almost exclusively for ' Wilderness ' but it's really South African in origin .

Some other terms for it that are uniquely Australian ;

Back of beyond
Other side of the black stump
The never never
The scrub
Whoop Whoop
Kickatinalong North


There are plenty of others but not suitable for publication here !

 

[Caryc]

I knew "bush" was South African. I read novels by Peter Hathaway Capstick, a big game hunter in Africa and he always called it the bush. His books were great.

 

[Mike Groom]

We used to hang rusted items in the whey tank with a wire for about a week and come back and they looked like new. Don't know if you can get whey from a cheese factory any more.

 

[DoubleO7]

String them onto a rope or cable.
Then drag them around in the dirt or sand for awhile.
The soak em in phosphoric acid for the black conversion coating.

 

[kencombs]

Yes, vinegar works well especially if the tools are treated with a soda rinse right away. Evaporust works about the same but at 10 times the price and if used on black oxide tools they come out white.

 

[Caryc]

When I was making gun grips, I purchased #6 X 40 machine screws to use as grip screws. I need longer screws than I could get any place else because I mounted my ferrules very close to the surface. I don't like seeing those ferrules mounted way down in a deep 1/4" hole.

Anyway, the screws I got in bulk were zinc plated. I had to remove that zinc coat before I could blue them with gun blue. What I used to remove the zinc was muriatic acid. It's actually the stuff they use in swimming pools. You got to be careful with it. It's nasty stuff but it worked.