Old tools restoration

When I'm to tired to focus on doing something more complex I enjoy restoring old tools. Not because I need them. I find it a relaxing activity. Here are some tools that I picked a few weeks ago from a flea market.

The first picture is before pouring vinegar to remove the rust. The plier was the first that got my attention:

I used only the angle grinder with a round rubber adapter. You can put on it round sandpaper discs. I used 4 types with grit from 120 to 800. I think I'll spray some clear varnish to keep it shiny.

This is the caliper after removing it from vinegar. It is completely jammed. Not even WD40 didn't hep. I had to use the vise to unlock it.

Edited By Sonic Escape on 21/06/2023 23:46:03

Looking good. I can highly recommend Evaporust for such work, although it is of course considerably more expensive than vinegar. But it works exceptionally well, even better than vinegar. Very very little buffing or polishing needed after soaking.

Edited By Hopper on 22/06/2023 01:27:23

Thank you for suggestion. I considered also to use an ultrasonic cleaner. But I saw some videos and it doesn't look like it made any difference.

I think ultrasonic cleaner will remove dirt but not so much rust. Good for cleaning sediment out of old carburettors.

Edited By Hopper on 22/06/2023 08:39:07

An ultrasonic cleaner helps the derusting solution get into deeply pitted areas by dislodging the crud. It speeds things up significantly. I use Restore rust remover which is probably similar to Evaporust.

How about a tumbler? Anybody used one? I saw some very promising videos. It not only removes rust, but also polishes the parts. And they are not that expensive.

We do a LOT of restorations and use a n ultrasonic cleaner for most smaller items along with Evaporust which is excellent.

Also ScotchBrite wheels and pads in various grades.

Would love a laser cleaner but way too expensive sadly!

Cheers, Martin

Hopper, BTW, very nice job on the dividing head; having done two of these I know how much work it is.

Cheers, Martin

A tumbler would not really be suitable for work like this. They are best for batches of small, identical or similar, simple parts. Probably good for removing the scale as well as rust from a vernier caliper though!

Plus-Gas is better than WD-40 for freeing rusted-together parts.

Lovely work on that dividing-head, Hopper!

Thanks Martin, and Nigel. The Evaporust made it surprisingly easy. Almost no buffing required afterwards. Very pleased with it compared with my usual method of just wire-wheel buffing and emery paper etc.

Edited By Hopper on 22/06/2023 23:43:46

Mmm... some thoughts on alternative rust removers:

Evaporust costs about €50 for 5 L here, it consists of < 16% chelating agent ( the exact type is a well guarded secret), <1% detergent and the rest is water.

Citric acid is frequently suggested as a chelating agent but it will chelate (make soluble) iron as well as iron oxides so you shouldn't leave iron in it too long.

A good chelating agent for iron oxides is oxalic acid which costs about €8 for 1 kg on line in powder form, more than enough for 5 L of rust remover just add a few drops of washing up liquid as a wetting agent and you should have a good rust remover.

As for vinegar, I'd save it for my chips. It is not a chelating agent, the acetic acid it contains will make ferric acetate with rust and that is only moderately soluble in water.

Oxalic acid is a relatively mild poison but I wouldn't drink it. It is used as an antidote to lead poisoning.

Russell

I'm a very recent convert to Evaporust. I've not tried Oxalic acid but a bit of research indicates that it is significantly more hazardous than Evaporust. Just on warning pictograms Evaporust has the caution (exclamation mark) symbol but Oxalic acid add skin burns and ecological hazard. It also seems to be more likely to case damage to the item being de-rusted if left too long.
Looking at my usual suppliers Oxalic acid is not significantly cheaper. Now I'm normally anti "brand name" products (why does anyone buy Neurofen instead of generic Ibuprofen. Retorical question please don't answer) and like a bargain but Evaporust and oxalic acid are not the same and I'll pay the extra for the ease of use and safety of the branded product.

Robert.

HERE is a thread on my experience with Evaporust restoring the above pictured dividing head and a vertical slide. Admittedly , a lot of the rust in the "before" pic came off with a long soaking in my parts washer solvent tank. So it was maybe a combination of rust, ancient oil and grease and dust and dirt from a farmer's opensided shed. But the second half of the thread shows clearly the wonderful job Evaporust did on those exposed parts that were seriously genuinely rusted anyway. Quite miraculous in my opinion, as the pics show. Now wire buffing wheel required afterwads. Just a rinse and then a quick wire-brush by hand to remove any residue from the Evaporust. Very, very pleasing result.

I have no experience with oxalic acid or molasses. But previously found that vinegar is good for cleaning up old tools etc but it can etch into the parent metal if left too long, and does not leave the nice shiny surface that Evaporust does.

Evaporust is expensive, specially in the smaller containers. But the time it saves is worth it.

Edited By Hopper on 24/06/2023 10:03:22

I always start with mechanical abrasion, ie wire brush or scotchbrite with violence appropriate to the item. If this is not done chemical is wasted and may not penetrate thicker deposits.
I then occasionally use vinegar but mostly paint on phosphoric acid and leave only for a few minutes before washing off. The chemical reaction is very variable between cast iron, mild steel and hard steel. If acid is put on plain rust it often results in a hard black 'scale'. I never dunk parts in a bucket of acid as it is wasteful and potential contaminates the whole bucket.
I only work outside and in good weather so that after washing parts dry quickly but can still flash rust in a layer that is easily cleaned.
I then coat with diluted clear Waxoyle which is much nicer to handle (feels a bit like the sticky postit note) than oil.

We tried molasses in the Men's Shed - rubbish, It can work but I think it came into use through farmers having gallons of the stuff so might as well try it. Given that vinegar works one could try rotten apples if you have a tree of bird pecked ones this autumn.

I use a washing soda bath with a battery charger. Cheap and effective and it doesn’t etch the surface like mild acids that some folks use.

I have heard of guys de-rusting the insides of motorbike petrol tanks by the same method. Said to be highly effective.

**LINK**

So far I have used Evaporust on a couple of small items and the results are much better than I've had with phosphoric acid in the past. I don't use any mechanical cleaning. I do use an ultrasonic cleaner. First hot water and dishwashing soap to remove loose dirt, oil and grease. This gives the anti-rust treatment a chance to contact the rust.
I then transfer to the treatment solution. I dont ultrasound all the time, just a couple of minutes every 20 to 30 to knock loose material off. Drain off treatment, rinse in warm water, sonicate in hot water, rinse with boiling water straight from kettle, shake off and apply WD40 (being used for it's intended water displacing property for once). Once cooled I wipe off and apply a 80:20 mixture of SAE32 oil and LPS-3 corrosion inhibitor with a brush
Evaporust leaves a clean, almost shiney, surface with no scratches.

Robert.

My process for electrolysis derustiing is to connect the cables and leave it in the washing soda solution for a while. You get an idea of how long it needs by the amount of rust on the item and how much of that floats to the surface. It then just needs scrubbing off with a washing up brush in clean water. Washing Soda is just £2 a kilo at the moment and makes a lot of solution.

Vic, are you connecting the work cathodically or anodically? What do you use for the other electrode?