Metal Finishing Options...And How To Make It Less Tedious

[Matthew Hutchinson477]

Hey all,
Since I've been getting into woodworking on a more serious level, I've probably spent as much time rehabbing tools as I have actually working with wood. I'm on a budget, I like old tools that are well-made and have history, and generally I do enjoy restoring old tools to usable condition. But after half a dozen planes, a few saws, braces, drills, etc. I'll admit I'm getting pretty sick of grinding and sanding metal. I'm in the middle of restoring an old Ward miter box so I've been doing a lot of small parts lately.

So far in my tool restoration experiments I've taken the time to actually fully polish a few things and I paint where appropriate but usually I get to 400 or 600 grit and lose my patience. I've also blued a few things and am getting ready to try nickel plating with electrolysis.

The problem is, all of these finish options seem to require a well-finished bare metal surface to look decent. Is there any metal finish that fills in scratches or can be built up other than paint? Or, if one wants to get rid of any pitting/scratches/dings, is there no alternative to plain old sanding, grinding, and filing?

If there is no alternative to mechanical removal of metal, are there any particular methods or abrasives that are most efficient? Right now I use a beltsander and drill attachments up to 220 or so and then do the rest by hand.

I realize that a lot of it is really just aesthetic, and I have no problem with a beat-up looking tool that still functions, but I do also enjoy tools that are aesthetically pleasing and in good condition. I'm not a purist so I don't care so much about restoring whatever finish was original, I just like making my tools purdy.

For those of you who do take the time to get rid of pitting/scratches/damage on your rehabs, what is your process?

Thanks,
Matt

[Bill McDermott]

Matt,

Soaking things in Evaporust works well. You can get it at the auto parts store. The rusty bits and pieces of a miter box are the very same reason I went in search of a chemical solution. I have a buffing wheel on my grinder that is loaded with green compound. For certain pieces that are features or highlights, like a brass acorn nut, I'll shine 'em up on the buffing wheel. Bright, shiny objects!

[Don Orr]

I'm no expert by any means but there are a few methods of cleaning rusty tools. Evaporust as mentioned works pretty well to get rid of a lot of rust. I got mine at Harbor Freight. Other methods which I have not tried yet include electrolysis, which you mentioned in another vein, and citric acid soaking (or acetic acid=vinegar). Search this site for more info or Google. It is my limited understanding that nothing really gets rid of pitting since the metal is already gone in those areas unless you grind down past it, which may damage the tool beyond its usefulness. One of the only truly reliable cleaners IMHO is plain old elbow grease, and time. The above methods can help speed up the process some but there will still be a lot of detail work.

[Prashun Patel]

You sound a little like me.

I like my planes "80/20" pretty. So, I don't paint. To de-rust, I soak in citric acid/water, then blow dry. Then I use a fine wire cup brush in a drill press to polish any flash rust off. This polishing gives IMHO the perfect sheen for me. It hides scratches (with its own scratches) and makes it just a tad bit shiny. Wear leather or thick rubber gloves. I use the cup brush for polishing the screws as well.

Skip the paint. The body dulls over time into that gun metal grey patina. Pretty enough for my eyes, and a whole lot less work. You will be surprised that the patina does quite well at resisting rust.

[Phil Mueller]

As said above, don't think there is much you can do to fill pits. The trouble is, that even with evaporust or electrolysis, you will often be left with dark residue in the pits. Taking extra steps to remove it can leave shiny spots, which I think looks worse than just leaving a sort of even patina.
Here's a saw plate with some pitting. You will notice a few shiny spots where I worked those areas more than I should have. In these cases, I just go for an even grey and move on.

Before:
IMG_0303.jpg

After:
IMG_0304.jpg

[Robert Hazelwood]

I think the short answer is no, there is no way to really reduce the tedium, short of using bondo and paint

I've been trying rust bluing recently, as a way to make an old tool look better without having to take it all the way to like-new condition. I really like the effect it gives - a durable satin/matte finish. Much tougher than cold blue and less shiny. But this itself is a tedious process. Not quite as bad as going all the way up the grits, though (you only need to go up to maybe 220 when prepping for bluing; the grit scratches are not visible once done). Pitting will still be visible if you don't sand down past it, but will still look better as everything will have the same color and sheen.

Wire wheels probably do the most work for the least effort, sort of burnishing the existing patina. It can reach into low spots (pits) and help blend the sheen & color with the surface so they don't stand out. However wire wheels leave a distinctive finish that some don't like.

The other trick I've found is for saw plates. Scrape off as much rust and gunk as you can with a razor blade, then polish with a wad of aluminum foil and a compound like autosol or flitz. No sanding. Gives a nice finish in 10-15 minutes- it does require some serious elbow grease though. Finish is somewhat similar to wire wheel (polished and burnished patina) but clearer and with a finer sheen. More info in this thread: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...sh-a-saw-plate

That's all I got, really. I try to avoid using sandpaper or abrasives harsher than scotchbrite, because as soon as you hit the surface with them you are committed to a whole bunch of sanding if you want it to look nice- if you stop prematurely, inevitably there will be pits and other low spots that haven't been touched, and will contrast in a bad way with the bright metal surface you've created. Then you have to keep on going until the spots are gone, or give up.

But if you're doing something like nickel plating, you don't have much choice.

[Jason Dean]

Balls of aluminum foil and water are my preferred method for cleaning light rust. The water and foil form aluminum oxide which scrubs the rust off pretty easily.

Evaporust is awesome! I buy mine from Advance Auto Parts. (If you purchase online for store pickup you can usually find an excellent coupon or five.) One thing to note is that the part needs to be completely submerged or you will end up with a stain on your part that corresponds with the fluid level. A wooden box lined with black plastic is perfectly adequate for this task so that you can match the size of your container to the part being cleaned.

[Matthew Hutchinson477]

As said above, don't think there is much you can do to fill pits. The trouble is, that even with evaporust or electrolysis, you will often be left with dark residue in the pits. Taking extra steps to remove it can leave shiny spots, which I think looks worse than just leaving a sort of even patina.
Here's a saw plate with some pitting. You will notice a few shiny spots where I worked those areas more than I should have. In these cases, I just go for an even grey and move on.

Before:
IMG_0303.jpg

After:
IMG_0304.jpg

That's about where I'm getting on a lot of my tools. It seems like about as far as you can go without spending hours with sandpaper and potentially damaging a tool. I suppose I'll just have to suck it up and spend more money if I ever want something that looks shiny and new.

Thanks

[Matthew Hutchinson477]

You sound a little like me.

I like my planes "80/20" pretty. So, I don't paint. To de-rust, I soak in citric acid/water, then blow dry. Then I use a fine wire cup brush in a drill press to polish any flash rust off. This polishing gives IMHO the perfect sheen for me. It hides scratches (with its own scratches) and makes it just a tad bit shiny. Wear leather or thick rubber gloves. I use the cup brush for polishing the screws as well.

Skip the paint. The body dulls over time into that gun metal grey patina. Pretty enough for my eyes, and a whole lot less work. You will be surprised that the patina does quite well at resisting rust.

Aha, maybe that's the ticket. I have a couple brass wire brushes but I don't think the brass is hard enough to scratch steel very much. I'll have to pick up a fine steel brush next time. I haven't seen anything at the local hardware stores but a Scotch-brite wheel might be a good option. Thanks

[Kees Heiden]

Learn to love patina. That makes the life of an antique tool user a lot easier.

[Matthew Hutchinson477]

Update: I got around to experimenting the other day based on suggestions here. I have a bunch of little things to clean up so I got a few dremel attachments including a fine wire brush, Scotch-brite wheel thingies, and rubber polishing bits impregnated with abrasive.

As a few folks here said, I think the wire brush probably accomplishes the most for the least amount of work. The Scotch-brite thingies work well but get torn up pretty quickly if there are any edges on the item and they're more expensive. The rubber polishing bits work well for a surface that's been sanded because they don't get into pitting like the first two options but on a surface with pitting, dings, and imperfections I wouldn't opt for them. I don't know if you can get them for bigger tools like a drill either.

IMG_0384.jpg
Wire-brushed right after chemical rust removal. No sanding was done at all.

IMG_0385.jpg
Scotch-brite dremel attachment right after rust removal. No sanding done here either.

IMG_0386.jpg
Scotch-brite thingy after 120 grit sanding via a beltsander. The sanding scratches are still visible but definitely rounded and blended a decent amount.

IMG_0388.jpg
Wire brush on the left, Scotch-brite thingy on the right. The wire brush leaves a shinier finish and also retains the patina pretty well. The Scotch-brite thingy is more abrasive, I think, so it gets rid of the patina and leaves a satin finish but it isn't abrasive enough to to much about pitting. They both cover or blend smaller scratches to some extent but any scratch bigger than, say 120 grit sandpaper, is not going anywhere.

This is about as far as I was able to go without having to sand or grind. I'd say the wire brush wins because it'll outlast the Scotch-brite wheels by a big margin and costs less to begin with. Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.

[Derek Cohen]

I have a range of deburring wheels, from coarse to ultra fine, that are used in a drill press. These can remove rust and polish to a shine - very valuable for bolts, screws and other metal parts, including the sides of planes.

Google "Scotch-Brite Deburring Wheel.

Regards from Perth

Derek