Is there any hope for these tools?

[bigcountry78]

Like the title says, is there any hope? This tool box was left by the previous owner of the house. I put them on the shelf and forgot about them until I cleaned the shop out this weekend. They obviously sat in water for some time. I’d like to save them if possible.

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[bigcountry78]

@bucket can you delete this thread? My phone screwed up and double posted.

 

[animal]

@bucket I already deleted the other thread.

 

[78C10BigTen]

Put them in evaporust

 

[wanderinthru]

Soak them in water again till the rust softens up. Scrub them down with scotch brite and WD 40.

 

[Blue Ox]

There's always hope. I saved a bunch of stuff that was underwater in Sandy and still use them today. Lots of ways to deal with it. Evaporust, wire wheel, Scotch Brite, whatever is convenient for you. And WD-40 is one of your best friends.

 

[SirRobyn0]

I would soak the metal tools in muriatic acid or concrete clear it's made with the same acid. Depending on the strength of the acid and the severity of the rust (which looks pretty bad) it'll take a few hours to overnight to clean them up. It'll do a wonderful effortless job, but it's an acid so you have to handle it, and dispose of it, or hang on to it for later properly.

Outside of that, penetrating oil soak overnight and wire wheel.

I will add whatever method you use to clean these things up don't forget to coat them in something even if it's just WD to protect them post clean up.

 

[RecklessWOT]

I have a few sets of good tools, and a shitload that are more or less disposable. Tools I don't care about much get left out in the driveway/yard for long periods of time on a regular basis. Soak them in WD-40 or PB Blaster for a little whole, then any with moving parts work the joint back and forth till it frees up a great deal. Then re-soak and do it again to kind of "flush out". All the plain metal tools like the box wrenches, that crusty looking spanner, speedbor, etc just hit them in a wire wheel and mist them with a light coat of thin oil (again, WD or something). It looks crazy seeing them like that, but most of that is just crusty **** on the surface I bet they'll clean right up. Heck, those craftsman channel locks don't even look bad, you could probably wipe them down with an oily rag and put them right back into service lol

 

[Vbb199]

You can soak them in wd40 for a bit and then scrub them, or an acid of your choice and scrub. Scotch brite + muratic acid = melted slop in your hand, use a metal scrub buddy if you use acid lol

If you arent familiar with muraic acid, wear a respirator/face mask over your face like it was a real threat to your respiratory system. Don't pour or use that **** near your beloved squares (its toxic fumes alone surface rusts bare metal), and avoid getting it on bare skin.

Also, wheres the surface grinder this belongs to?

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[Kiely]

I’ve had good luck with evapo rust. It really helps on those really crusty pieces. Then wire brush with a dremel and then even polishing with the dremel, compound and buffing wheels.

 

[Blue Ox]

Instead of muriatic acid try to find phosphoric acid. It's much milder, it strips the iron off the surface of the metal which helps prevent future rust and leaves it with something closer to a parkerized finish. I think some of the concrete preps are phosphoric. Read the labels.

 

[rt66paul]

How to Remove Rust with Electrolysis

Electrolysis cleans away rust like magic, and you can set up a system with a battery charger and a few household items to try electrolysis rust removal.

www.familyhandyman.com

 

[SirRobyn0]

Instead of muriatic acid try to find phosphoric acid. It's much milder, it strips the iron off the surface of the metal which helps prevent future rust and leaves it with something closer to a parkerized finish. I think some of the concrete preps are phosphoric. Read the labels.

This probably a great idea. When I've used muriatic acid it's been because it's what I have and I've thinned it down some.

 

[Camar068]

soak in 1:10 molasses/water for a few weeks. Should be good. lol google if you don't believe me. Got a stainless barrel from a muzzleloader (new style) soaking now.

 

[bucket]

I've got a tub full of an ATF/WD40 mixture that I've been tossing random rusty tools and bolts into for years. This thread reminds me that I should probably fish everything out of it to see how it has progressed, lol.