Removing Rust from Tools

[Keith 66]

Citric acid off ebay or amazon, cheaper than chips. Put a cupful in a bucket of warm water, chuck the rusty tools in & in a day or two all the rust will be gone. Wash off with fresh water & a scotchbrite dry & wd40 & oil. No farting about with electrolysis. Its simple quick & the residue is non toxic

 

[LittleSister]

Allegedly it works but smells bad.

I've had work colleagues like that.

 

[Charlie Boy]

Can anyone comment on the relative merits of AC50 for 'oiling' tools for rust prevention, compared to, say, WD40 or 3-in-1 oil?

Swarfega Duck oil Works well as a preventative. I spray tools on the boat once or twice a year. WD40 is a water displacement spray rather than a rust preventer

 

[Stemar]

So, being an idle git, who can find plenty better things to do with my time than spraying rust across my workshop with a brush in a drill, it sounds like Phosphoric or citric acid, or electrolysis. It's very probable that I have the kit for electrolysis, and I know Milady has to washing soda, which I presume is Sodium bicarbonate. I think I'll watch a couple of YT vids on the subject and give it a go.

Thanks all

 

[reeac]

My solution is to use tool rolls rather than tool boxes. Include an old rag (sock?) soaked in some oily substance which will maintain a protective atmosphere within the roll. A tool roll has the added advantage that it automatically lays out the contents in a row, thus dispensing with all that rummaging around. Segregate the tools into different rolls according to type .......spanners, screwdrivers, metric, imperial or whatever to save time on searching. A roll also eliminates any rattling under rough conditions.

 

[Ian_Rob]

So, being an idle git, who can find plenty better things to do with my time than spraying rust across my workshop with a brush in a drill, it sounds like Phosphoric or citric acid, or electrolysis. It's very probable that I have the kit for electrolysis, and I know Milady has to washing soda, which I presume is Sodium bicarbonate. I think I'll watch a couple of YT vids on the subject and give it a go.

Thanks all

Sodium carbonate I think but please check............

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Im just rebuilding a rustyTiger Cub. A two inch rotary wirebrush in my battery drill has been the dogs rognons. Perfect witout being too aggressive. Hold the bits or tools in a vice and go to town onthem

I used to have a Tiger Cub when I was 19-20. It did seem to attract a lot of rust, even when only 9 or 10 years old.
Incidentally I think you may have been comparing your wire brush to the wrong part of the dog's anatomy, as rognons are actually kidneys

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

When I was a member of Glenans, down in Baltimore, at the end of the season the team there used to soak all the work shop tools and the ones off the cruising boats, in vinegar for a day or so, wash and dry them then leave them stored in buckets of diesel until Spring.

 

[Beneteau381]

I used to have a Tiger Cub when I was 19-20. It did seem to attract a lot of rust, even when only 9 or 10 years old.
Incidentally I think you may have been comparing your wire brush to the wrong part of the dog's anatomy, as rognons are actually kidneys

When I worked Algeria they used to use rognons as a word to describe balls, I have carried it on

 

[penberth3]

Thanks to this thread I've sorted out the remains of some latex gloves today. Decomposed in the bottom of a toolbox, bits everywhere, stuck hard to everything!

 

[thinwater]

So, being an idle git, who can find plenty better things to do with my time than spraying rust across my workshop with a brush in a drill, it sounds like Phosphoric or citric acid, or electrolysis. It's very probable that I have the kit for electrolysis, and I know Milady has to washing soda, which I presume is Sodium bicarbonate. I think I'll watch a couple of YT vids on the subject and give it a go.

Thanks all

Sodium carbonate. That won't remove rust.

Backing soda is bicarbonate

---

Citric acid. The other good alternative is lactic acid (CLR in the US).

Vinegar and phos work, as do some other acids, but they remove more iron in the process than citiric or lactic (yes, I have tested this).

 

[Ian_Rob]

Sodium carbonate. That won't remove rust.

....it will if it is mixed with water to form the electrolyte.

 

[thinwater]

....it will if it is mixed with water to form the electrolyte.

True. For me, scale removal was always the challenge, not rust.

 

[Caraway]

Milady has to washing soda, which I presume is Sodium bicarbonate. I think I'll watch a couple of YT vids on the subject and give it a go.

Thanks all

I will happily drink sodium bicarbonate in water. I'll pass on Washing Soda.

 

[boatiebert]

Any suggestions as to how to remove the rust and restore their original beauty and, more important, utility?

Just done a load, & refurbished some absolutely solid, rusty bicycle-style chains (on sprocket removers). I just use the cheapest of s**t awful distilled white vinegars that I wouldn't dare allow anywhere near the kitchen. 99p a litre. Leave over night. If they're oily, may be acetone or something first.

 

[Iliade]

Don't try hot oxalic acid if they are chrome plated... YCGHIK

Effective on unplated steel

 

[boatiebert]

True, & depending on what you use on what, you may lose some of the bluing on other items.

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

Have a read up on Hydrogen embrittlement before you use acids on anything made from high tensile steels. I was driving home from collecting all of the chassis and suspension bolts for a rebuild when I suddenly remember a uni lecture. They look good in the spare odds and sods tray though. It also explained why all my rusted - acid cleaned - expensive torx socket's ends had snapped off.

 

[Kilo]

Once tools are clean & rust free you might look at these : Shield Technology ToolGuard VCI (single pot)

If you have v precious tools that live in a damp environment then one of these in the box will help. I like not having to clean oil off planes, chisels etc. before they come into contact with wood.
May not be related but I've noticed that the brass fittings on the tools become discoloured - doesn't bother me too much I'm more concerned with utility but might upset others.

 

[boatiebert]

It also explained why all my rusted - acid cleaned - expensive torx socket's ends had snapped off.

What pH required for how long? Ta.