Cleaning Restoring tools

[jackthecabbie]

Hi just wondering the best way to clean up old wrenches removing the years of gunk, best way to preserve them, should I polish my old drudge bros tyer gauge or leave its natural patina look forward to your ideas

[Chuck Lutz]

Some have removed everything on their wrenches and them parkerized them. Some have painted them. Some leave them as they find them after degreasing them with whatever finish is left on them or remains of paint.

Pretty much up to you on how far to go...some have even ground the nicks out of the jaws before "restoring" them.

I have some Barcalos for my GPW and I have done mothing more than degrease/clean them. I may decide to parkerize them or....may paint them OD...there isn't enough info to determine the paint/parkerizing choices for ALL days/mons/yrs of the war as the Ally Artifacts site, the factory specification drawings and the actual wrenchs we have found seem to be different....maybe just from use or were delivered that way.

Clean them up...then decide....as far as a nice brass gauge goes....some Brasso or other metal cleaner/polish would be a good idea....they were not delivered PAINTED that we know, so a little elbow grease will make it shine....however there are those who leave even the patina it has alone because they like it that way. Again....your choice...the Tool Police haven't got much on the tire gauges to check to disagree with your choice anyway.

[lucakiki]

The question is interesting, and the problem of restoring tools is an old one, discussed before.
Have a look here:

viewtopic.php?f=48&t=115678

Really, worth a reading.

One of the things to avoid, when restoring, cleaning, doctoring tools is an excessive use of the wire wheel.
It gives the tools a shiny polished finish that is not authentic.
I would also avoid repainting them in olive drab, as this gives to the tools what I call the Llobolly lane look.
With some exceptions, though: there are wrenches in some brands that are known for having been actually delivered with a painted finish, as specified in some Ford paperwork.
An exemple is the carbon steel Williams: Jeff B. posted a picture of one still in cosmo.
Ideally a wrench should show its original finish, but when more than one finish was available it is possible to bring the tool to its "off the mould" condition, and then refinish according to one's choices and needs.
A dip in mild acid ( not for long!) will clean the wrench and reveal its true condition.At times, all you need after that is to thoroughly neutralize the action of the acid, with repeated rinsing and then a light oiling.
If there is evidence of the tool having been available with a parkerized finish, that is the way to go.
Although not always the tools in a kit were completely matching, I always like to have them as matching as possible.
I think one acquires his own taste with time, and he should follow it.

[podski]

It's really quit a frustrating dilemma! As much as it will pain me, I will solve your dilemma. Ship any to me and your problems will vanish!!

Seriously, gonna watch the replies here. I have a few tools in this category and will someday decide what to do (or not do) with them.

[jackthecabbie]

If I did that I definitly would put an endless smile on a lot of peoples faces but a good disscussion point thanks.

[JAB]

Luca has simply nailed it IMHO. The only thing I would add is that I don't even like to remove the cosmoline, since that's a part of the tool's history.

[lucakiki]

Jeff, the removal of cosmoline is another dilemma for tool freaks.
However, and forgive me for stating the obvious,to remove cosmoline you need tools still in cosmoline: a fact which for some sizes and brands is really not common.
A set in cosmoline is ideally perfect for a factory class toolkit: what if one of the tools is not in cosmoline, and maybe even showing age and abuse?
It should be restored using all the available skills,as discussed in that old thread in which your welding talent was disclosed, and then recosmolined.
The key is matching the condition of all the wrenches in a set:at the point that a perfect n.o.s. cosmolined wrench in a set of nice but weathered ones is a double edged kind of blessing.
Roger is master in the art of finely matching the condition of a set, switching tools from one set to another when there is the possibility.

[lucakiki]

Bubbling this up, given it does in a way give an answer to a recent question.

[F Bill]

I recently brought home a bunch of tools (not jeep stuff) that were in extended wet storage conditions... Someone posted about dipping parts in Toilet Bowl cleaner so I thought I'd give it a try before I wire brushed them.. 15 minutes in the HCL acid solution and it got my 18 inch cheapie chinese adjustable wrench rust free and working again. THis was a wrench we recently found outside on the ground in upstate NY...It had been there at least a year.

I also used it on a fencing tool that was locked up solid and rusty ...overnight soaking in the used solution (Already freed up about 10 adjustable wrenches in it) resulted in a nice grey finish where there wasn't any grease protecting the rust, and I was able to free them up. After cleaning the rest of the tar off them, I soaked again to remove the rest of the rust...and now they look like a well used pair of fencing pliers, minus any rusting.

Make sure to rinse well to get all the acid off, and don't leave them to soak any longer than needed as I am told hydrogen embrittlement can result. . Also oil the tools well when you are done.. If you are doing something with moving parts take it apart after soaking and get the acid out of every nook and cranny. Wear proper protective gear.

I will have to try this out on some of my non correct tools to see what sort of finish I can acheive. I do have a pretty good supply of incorrect jeep tools to play with...

[Roger]

F Bill, Here is what I use:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_289868-1327-335 ... facetInfo=

I've learned a lot working with muriatic acid, and it's not as scary as you might think. I have actually dipped my hand in the plastic pan to retrieve a W1012 Vlchek I was cleaning. I don't suggest doing it every time but it had slipped out of the basket usually put them in. Other than making my hand stink for a few hours....even after using hand cleaner. I can put a totally rusted out 11" adjustable in the mix for a few hours and it makes a totally worthless wrench workable again. Not only workable but almost factory new finish. You have to be careful not to leave it in for any longer than 12 hours. The worm gear on the adjustable will deteriorate after that.

I've also found they do rust faster after cleaning. I have stopped the rust cold by rinsing and brushing it with a fine wire brush and then spraying on WD-40. I think the Oil neutralizes the acid better than soda. After the WD-40 is dry I wipe and spray with a low gloss lacquer. Great results!

The best part about this method is, I can put in a set of the same brand wrenches with differing finish and wear and they come out looking the same color.

Learned a lot since this thread: viewtopic.php?f=48&t=131122&p=758798&hilit=Muriatic#p758798

[Wingnutt]

It was kind of you to revive these threads, Luca, and thanks for the tips, F Bill and Roger.

By coincidence, I just finished cleaning an Alemite Model 6593! It was completely coated in dry caked grease when I bought it, and it was in a plastic bag until today. Honestly, I really didn't know what I would find underneath, but it was cheap - found it at a big fleamarket outside of Fort Dix, NJ. I used GUNK Engine Cleaner, the foamy kind, a brass wire brush, and some coarse nylon 'steel' wool. Worked great, as usual. The good news is, there is some OD green paint left on the lever, and underneath the OD green are traces of the red primer. (I kind of like it - might leave it like that.) The bad news is, there is ALOT more corrosion on the tube than I expected for nickel-plating. I am a huge proponent of Naval Jelly as a de-ruster, but I don't think it's compatible with plating. I don't know about toilet bowl cleaner/HCL or muriatic acid, but I doubt it.

I have to admit, the photo of Jeff H's shiny immaculate Alemite 6593 with OD re-painted level on the sticky is very attractive. But (a) this thing is going to go into a bracket under my hood, and I'm not sure I want or need to return it to that condition, and (b) given its current state, I don't know if it's possible.

Here are some photos. What do you guys think?

[Ben Dover]

The Auto Parts Stores in the US of A (NAPA) have a product in an aerosol can called "Cast Blast", it simulates a natural cast iron finish and in most instances is close to Parkerizing in appearnce.
Many reconditioned automotive components such as waterpumps and clutch pressure plates are coated with it.

[lucakiki]

It was kind of you to revive these threads, Luca, and thanks for the tips, F Bill and Roger.

By coincidence, I just finished cleaning an Alemite Model 6593! It was completely coated in dry caked grease when I bought it, and it was in a plastic bag until today. Honestly, I really didn't know what I would find underneath, but it was cheap - found it at a big fleamarket outside of Fort Dix, NJ. I used GUNK Engine Cleaner, the foamy kind, a brass wire brush, and some coarse nylon 'steel' wool. Worked great, as usual. The good news is, there is some OD green paint left on the lever. (I kind of like it - might leave it like that.) The bad news is, there is ALOT more corrosion on the tube than I expected for nickel-plating. I am a huge proponent of Naval Jelly as a de-ruster, but I don't think it's compatible with plating. I don't know about toilet bowl cleaner/HCL or muriatic acid.

I have to admit, the photo of Jeff H's shiny immaculate Alemite 6593 with OD re-painted level on the sticky is very attractive. But (a) this thing is going to go into a bracket junder my hood, and I'm not sure I want or need to return it to that condition, and (b) given its current state, I don't know if it's possible.

Here are some photos. What do you guys think?

Jon perfectly restored his grease gun. I think you should follow his approach.

[retro-roco]

For those wishing to remove rust, without at the same time affecting plating, moving base steel, etc like most acids are going to do, if left in contact long enough, I suggest a tip I learned over on YTMag.com (Yesterdays Tractors Magazine). It is NOT fast, but is relatively inexpensive, and very earth friendly too. Go buy yourself a jug of molasses. This is a thick, almost tar like substance, I think derived from sorghum <SP??>. In the midwest, you can find it at many farm supply places, grain elevator, etc. as a feed supplement.

If you don't have those type of places around, try hunting and/or hardware type stores, and ask for deer bait. Apparently the same properties that make it a good feed supplement, also attract deer to it.

I have left things soaking in it, either in sealed buckets, or gallon size zip lock baggies for weeks and even months at a time. When you take it out, and rinse it off, you'll find that the iron oxide has been converted chemically to some other iron compound, which can be wiped or brushed away. Sorry, my high school chemistry escapes me right now. I don't recall what iron compound it converts too.

The items in baggies that I mentioned were sheet metal license plates. Try that with your favorite acid!!

[Wingnutt]

Thanks, Luca. I PM'd Jon.

Very cool, retro-roco. I will consider it. (And if it doesn't work, I can always put it on my pecan pie...sorry, bad joke)