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My Old Tool Cleaning Process, as requested
As a follow-on to my post about the Stanley 55 plane I cleaned up, I am posting the cleaning process I use. As I said before, when cleaning old tools, I try to retain “patina”, but not active rust, so darkened metal is OK, but rust is not. I wouldn’t use this technique on a 19th-century Stanley collectible plane, but for more modern ones, it’s good for getting a tool ready for using and when I sell a tool, the buyer appreciates being able to see the true condition of the metal.
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I only use hand-powered brushes, and those are used lightly.I want to avoid that dull wire-brushed look like this, where a soft wire wheel was evidently used –depositing a layer of grey metal on the steel of the blade. Even worse is when you see one in a dealer’s shop where they have used a brass brush and the rust and pits are covered by an iridescent layer of brass.
I start with complete disassembly, spraying PB Blaster or penetrating oil on any potentially stuck rods, screws, etc. first and letting them soak overnight at least. If a part won’t come free with modest effort after oiling, I give it a couple of taps with a wooden mallet and/ or heat them on the woodstove or with a torch until they break free.
Once the fasteners and parts are free, I liberally spray/soak everything in Simple Green cleaner. This removes or softens grease and oil and also seems to make rust easier to clean off. I let it soak initially from an hour to overnight. Other cleaners or mineral spirits may work; I do know that this cleaner really works well and doesn't harm wood finishes or nickel plating.
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The rust cleaning and degreasing is done with a variety of brushes, all available at the home store.The brushes pictured are the main ones I use in a 3-part cleaning process. The top one is a long handled, narrow stainless steel wire brush (I remove the paint scrapers as they get in the way and can scratch the tool or your hand). The bristles should be long and spaced pretty far apart so gunk can fall out. Next is a stiffer stainless brush with bristles more densely spaced –this one should be fairly new so it can clean off surface rust and clean out pits. The last is an assortment of small brushes – steel, nylon, and brass. The nylon is used for cleaning tight areas of grease and dirt, and the brass brush I use to clean brass only. The steel brush is stainless, but not shiny; instead its twisted bristles are a dull grey.This one is used to get a good, smooth surface after all the cleaning is done. The second picture shows a bunch of other tools I use – a small bench clamp used as a hand clamp for holding small screws, etc., while wire brushing, wooden dowel and skewer I use to clean inside bolt holes and other nooks, and small pipe/test tube brushes for cleaning threads.
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To demonstrate the effects of this cleaning process, I’ll use a ball pein hammer and a plated brace I’ve wanted to restore. The brace was nickel plated at some time but enough is gone to not really matter, and the hammer was completely rusted over after sitting in water for a while.This brace is pretty unusual in its ratchet selection “knobs” and the jaws' design – you can’t remove the jaws without taking the whole head assembly off, so this is the first time I’d seen what they looked like.The only marking onthe brace is the number “128” on the frame; if anyone out there knows what this is, I’d love to know.
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So, after soaking in Simple Green for at least 30 minutes, I take the tool out and while still wet, I start with the long stainless steel wire brush to remove crud and rust. I keep spraying and brushing until there is no more brown rust slurry coming off.I don’t bear down hard, using just the tips of the bristles like a shoeshine brush – notice that the bristles aren’t all bent over after a couple of years of use. This will remove rust as well as loose nickel plating, so it may not be best for a true collector’s item, but if the plating is blistered up or flaking, I don’t think it should be considered intact anyways.
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Then I spray the tool with more cleanser and use the second brush –once again, with a light hand. I keep a close eye on any plating, the amount of staining being removed, and avoid brushing any wood handles (if you brush them when wet, they’ll likely get gouges). These pictures show the tools after the second brushing.
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