Faster metal tool restoration

[Mike Holbrook]

I am in the process of restoring a few classic metal planes, Stanley 5&6 Cs and a Sargent 414. I have done a considerable amount of restoration in the past: hand saws, braces, chisels...I have typically used Scotch-Brite pads, sandpaper, brass bristled brushes...and WD40 or Mineral Spirits. I have not felt comfortable using any sort of "power" equipment to strip rusty, discolored areas. I followed a link on this forum to a an article on more "advanced" methods, including using a sand blaster and sand blasting box, which got me rethinking the powered tool idea. I am considering trying the polishing/sanding pads on a Fein MultiMaster. I have thought about Evaporust but it appears to leave a dull unattractive surface. I am interested in hearing methods others use to speed this process.

[Harold Burrell]

Have you looked into electrolysis? It is quite simple and effective (though it is a tad messy and takes a bit of initial set-up).

I plan to try it. One of these days.

I have also used wire wheels on my grinder. They work well. You just have to be careful.

I've tried sandblasting, and that worked as well, but I didn't feel as though I had a lot of control as to how much metal I was removing.

Something else that I have tried (that Walt Q told me about) are those Norton Bear-Tex wheels. http://www.nortonindustrial.com/Non-...eanFinish.aspx I like then a LOT. They seem to be a pretty good mix of stripping and polishing.

[Halgeir Wold]

If you have access to a blasting cabinet, there are other blasting materials that are a lot gentler and easier to control, - glass, ground nutshells etc...

[Mike Holbrook]

Great suggestions guys, I am making a list of things to check into. Can anyone explain what kind of surface electrolysis leaves behind? My grinder is a Tormek so my wheel options may be a little different. I seem to have grown sensitive to many air born dust particles, sometimes using a little water or oil on a sanding/polishing pad can keep small particles from getting air born though.

The 5C does not need much if any help. I have been pleasantly surprised at how easily the 6C is cleaning up, old fine sand paper and a brass brush have removed the great majority of the surface issues in fairly short order.

[Derek Cohen]

I run deburring wheels (the Norton wheels referred to above) on my drill press. Coarse will remove any rust, as will the fine wheels, just slower, but the latter also polish steel to a mirror finish.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[don wilwol]

Electrolais, evaporust, citric acid will leave the surface dull. Its converted rust. It comes off a lot easier then regular rust. They all work well.

a wire wheel in a drill works.

sand blasting is by far the easiest assuming you want to remove the japanning.

the nice thing about the liquids, it gats where nothing else can, in the bolt holes, behind the cap spring etc.

if I were going to do a few plane and that was it, it would be either evaporust or citric acid, some acotbrite pads, sand paper and a course or fine wire wheel for the drill.

[Harold Burrell]

Here's a vid of electrolysis that shows what stuff looks like after the process:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQNvhUYqCkw

Something else that I use that works well is this:

http://www.amazon.com/KRUD-KUTTER-RG.../dp/B000I22LJ8

It is phosphoric acid (naval jelly). You don't really need much usually and it does a pretty good job.

[Chris Fournier]

I have used electrolysis many times on some very unweildy surfaces - machine tables etc. Is is simple to set up, effective, fast and leaves a surface that suits a reinvigourated tool. "Restoration" means something diffeent to me than most of the guys cleaning up these old tools and hitting a "restored" object with sandpaper, scotchbrite etc. would not be an option on working surfaces.

[Mike Holbrook]

Derek, I do have a drill press. I did not realize those wheels can be mounted on a drill press. I will definitely look into that.

I watched the video on electrolysis, very interesting. The process seemed to require two electric soaks and a third vinegar soak though which might be a long process, although long tern it may be the cheapest.


I have been a fan of Krud Kutter degreaser & solvent for many years. I did not realize Krud Kutter had a rust remover version. Harold seems to suggest that the active ingredient in this product is phosphoric acid like the acid in Naval Jelly. I have Naval Jelly but have not used it for years. I had a fairly major skin reaction on my hands and legs that kept me from doing any restoration projects for a year or more. I am just sneaking back into some projects trying to be very selective about caustic chemicals. I have acquired a collection of Nitrile, rubber…gloves that I wear any time I have any reason to fear skin contamination. I am wondering how similar Evapo Rust and the Krud Kutter product are. I thought the Krud Kutter products were designed to be less harmfull to the user and environment, but marketing ploys abound.


Don says sand blasting is by far the easiest. I am not sure how much dust, air born particles this process creates? It seems my aging body has become more sensitive to such things. I imagine this is the reason people use blasting boxes. I did just receive more dust mask options from Amazon just yesterday.


Another aspect of this restoration process is deciding just how much restoring one wants to do. I think this may be what Chris is alluding to above. At the moment my circa 1910 Stanley 6C is largely free of rust and discoloration and the metal still retains a nice gray “patina”. I’m not sure I want my vintage planes to look like they came off the 2014 assembly line. Maybe some less caustic chemical soak will produce a final result that still retains the "old" look & feel? I will do some searching on Youtube to try & find videos showing the results produced by these chemical soaks.

[Mike Holbrook]

My Naval Jelly bottle says it contains Phosphoric Acid, which it claims is a respiratory and skin irritant. They suggest using gloves and not inhaling. As I recall it has a caustic odor that I was not comfortable with. In the Evapo-Rust videos people using it are picking up pieces from the solution and handling them without gloves which I think indicates some other active ingredient. The videos I saw showed people removing a dark residue with brushes after the solution converted the rust to the easier to remove substance. I may go pick up a bottle of Evapo-Rust at Tractor Supply this PM and try it out. The videos I saw suggest that it loosens the rust but leaves the metal surface the natural color. I can try it on old cheap metal pieces first. I think it may be wise to have multiple metal restoration methods. If I decide to remove old paint from these planes I suspect I will need something more than Evapo-Rust.

[don wilwol]

If I decide to remove old paint from these planes I suspect I will need something more than Evapo-Rust.

That is correct. Evapo rust will not remove japanning or paint, unless there happens to be rust underneath it.

[Harold Burrell]

They suggest using gloves and not inhaling. As I recall it has a caustic odor that I was not comfortable with.

Oh, really. I personally like the smell! In fact, I am in the process of trying to find some cologne with a similar fragrance.




OK...I'm kidding...

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I liked Evaporust the couple of times I used it- the difficulty becomes it's economic feasibility when dealing with things that are large, finding a way to both hold the item in question, and use the minimum amount of solution required to submerge the item fully. For a hand plane, you're often dealing with large, flat surfaces, so a mechanical method is often the faster and not too difficult. But for small items, like dividers or rules, or items difficult to clean out by physical means (the gears in eggbeater drills, small, hard to replace screws, difficult to hold items, etc.) it really shines. I've also liked it for chisels - while I'll polish up the back and bevel in honing, if the rest of it is gunky, a quick soak in a cup or shallow container is a nice way to get it looking a little better. The solution can often be reused until it no longer works. I wouldn't drink the stuff, but it seems fairly benign. The MSDS for Evaporust is here: http://www.evaporust.com/docs/MSDS%20Evaporust.pdf A quick read makes it sound fairly harmless. It also says it is sewerable, which is nice.

Evaporust does leave a dull, grayish sheen, but the few times I've used it, the remaining surface polished up quickly if it was in good shape after rust removal.

It's not always the answer, but if you take it's limitations in mind, it can be quite helpful. Just my two cents.

[Mike Holbrook]

It has been two years or so since I used the Naval Jelly so my memory is a little "rusty". Now if someone comes up with something to fix rusty memory I will be lining up for some. Something caused serious, long term allergic reactions to both my skin and my respiratory system that I would like to avoid repeating. I suspect safe resolution(s) may have to do as much with technique as cleaning/de-rusting products. I use dust masks, and a selection of gloves to reduce skin contact & lung issues. I have learned to wet sandpaper/brushes and metal surfaces to be cleaned with mineral spirits or Camilla Oil, which dramatically reduces air born particles and keeps the worked surfaces less contaminated. Metals, particularly metal particles, are frequent contributors to allergic reactions. Water can cause "flash" rusting on some newly cleaned metal surfaces so I usually avoid it. From the info. I have found I believe Evapo-Rust leaves a protective film when it dries that may provide a short break from the rusting process. I have never heard of anyone complaining about fumes or odors from Evapo-Rust.

One of the video authors suggested using plastic bags as a way to reduce the amount of Evapo-Rust needed to cover a tool. I have also seen videos of people using vinegar or molasses solutions, for large jobs, producing similar results, over longer time frames.

Regarding sandblasting, I am wondering how much dust it creates, even in a blasting box? Are there less dusty ways to pursue this process? I am also wondering if the air born particulates it creates will pass through dust masks or other more advanced breathing apparatus?