Rust Mitigation/Prevention

[Jelly]

Hi All,

I've been away from the forum/woodwork/home for well over 18 months now (I'm employed by an offshore oilfield services company); I left all my tools wrapped up in oiled canvas, boxed in one of my parents spare bedrooms, along with adissassembled (portable) ELU Planer/Thicknesser.

At some point they got moved to the (Leaky) shed, had I realised they were an issueand been told about the move I'd have rented a storage unit... But too late was the cry.

Today I was asked to make some dovetailed boxes by my mum and was pretty upset to see what had become of my tools. Quite a lot of superficial rust on the chisels and one sawplate, nasty looking rust on the cap iron of one of the metal planes, the wooden planes seem to have escaped rust on their irons but have swollen shut (in spite of the wedges being left loose when packed as a precaution agains seasonal moisture changes).

I've brought everything into the house, and left it in a warmish dry place away from sunlight to dry and settle, what can i do to prevent the situation worsening until i have time to start making amends, In a related note if anyone can suggest a good way to make amends other than a loooooong time spent with kerosene, OO-wire wool and oilstones, I'd be very grateful.

The planer/Thicknesser warrants another thread entirely, once i know what the damage is, and have thoroughly dried the electrics and had it running... I may just slather the tables in protective grease for the moment to minimise further issues.

 

[deema]

For me the cheapest and easiest solution for surface rust is to stick the bits in a bowl of standard house hold vinigar overnight the sort you out on your fish and chips, wash and dry. If they are still a little rusty place back in the solution for another night. Once dry a quick polish and they will loom as good as new.

 

[woodpig]

I've used washing soda and a battery charger to good effect on larger items. Google electrolytic rust removal. Some swear by dunking the items in Coke. Don't use citric acid, it will tarnish the items.

 

[Adam9453]

wd40 and some fine wire wool or a fine scourer tends to work pretty well on cast

 

[marcros]

are they collectible tools of value, or do you purely want to preserve and restore them to use (ie does it matter if they have a black tarnish on them from a rust remover such as deox-C?)

 

[KevM]

I use a bucket of oxalic acid (as found in Rhubarb) and some soaking time - it works a charm. It's also handy for wood bleaching if that floats your boat. It's available as crystal concentrate off eBay for not very much. Google "oxalic acid rust removal" and you'll find advice from a bunch of tool, bike & car restorers on recommended concentrations. I've heard that it can remove some finishes but not seen a problem myself.

Kev

 

[Harbo]

Milkstone Remover from Agricultural suppliers is a cheap way to buy Phosphoric acid.

Rod

 

[Jacob]

When they are dry just wipe/brush raw linseed oil half n half with turps, over everything. It'll stop things getting worse and when you get around to using them the rust/oil simply rubs off and/or polishes up. No further action required.

 

[Jelly]

are they collectible tools of value, or do you purely want to preserve and restore them to use (ie does it matter if they have a black tarnish on them from a rust remover such as deox-C?)

In the main their value is in their use, to me... There are a few rare/unusual items in there which warrant special attention, along with a few tools left to me by my great grandfather and the tools my grandfather gave me to start me off, which whilst not necessarily rare, are immensely valuble to me.

In that vein I'm looking at using an EDTA solution acidified to pH 2 with a few drops* of Hydrochloric or Formic Acid as this should rapidly chelate the Ferric and Ferrous ions in the rust, but leave the metalic Iron untouched. This will be tried on a few of the least important/duplicate items, and if suitable should do most of the tools. I'll save judgement on using it on the really important bits till i've tried it repeatedly. If EDTA fails, Oxalic Acid is my next port of call.

I've also ordered new oilstones , so I can use my old carbonundrum cheapie to take offoff any severe pitting/awkward rust, then get everything nice and square with a new medium/fine india stone. (The very fine edges on some of the chisels seem to have been worst hit, tools which were overdue a sharpening have been spared the worst damage).

I'm thinking a combination approach of Boeshield Spray and either Dessicants or Volatile Corrosion Inhibbitor strips is going to be the way forwards in stopping rust spreading, at least better than my initial though to just use thick mineral oil based grease.


* Literally 5-10 drops from an eyedropper into a large plastic tub should be sufficient to get optimum stripping conditions.

EDIT: Jacob, that's a grand suggestion, I have about 1½ gallons of linseed sat around somewhere, and it's hardly going to harm the handles to have an extra coat of it either.

 

[Jacob]

Do the various chemical methods convert rust back into steel i.e. restore; or merely remove?
If the latter I wouldn't bother - least of all with mechanical abrasion.
Linseed oil works well - I've got several rusty old saws which are now polished up a bit (by use) and are generally black to dark brown in appearance with a vague metallic gleam starting to appear where most wear takes place. It takes a few seconds to apply linseed oil and that's all you need (and sharpening of course).

 

[Jelly]

Do the various chemical methods convert rust back into steel i.e. restore; or merely remove?
If the latter I wouldn't bother - least of all with mechanical abrasion.
Linseed oil works well - I've got several rusty old saws which are now polished up a bit (by use) and are generally black to dark brown in appearance with a vague metallic gleam starting to appear where most wear takes place. It takes a few seconds to apply linseed oil and that's all you need (and sharpening of course).

Generally they either remove the rust (chelating agents like mollases and EDTA & dilute solutions of organic acids like acetic, citric and formic), or remove both rust and metal (mineral acids like hydrochloric and nitric).

I can see the sense in your argument for some of the less rusty items and the saws (some of which after cutting up a few boards and making some dovetails are essentially as good as they ever were), but some of the rust is growing away from the surface in bubbles, which likely retains enough moisture to do more damage if i seal it in.

I suppose the best answer is pragmaticly mixing the different approaches.

 

[Jacob]

Well yes I'd gently wire brush if it was really bad but perhaps stop there.
There's something quite nice about old blackened tools which are shiny in just the parts which come into contact with the work or the hands. And I really don't like those restoration jobs - all polished, new handles, new paint - I'd feel inclined to leave them out in the rain for a bit!

 

[Droogs]

You could put your woodies in the oven at a vey low heat for a few hours to help loosen the wedges

 

[Jelly]

You could put your woodies in the oven at a vey low heat for a few hours to help loosen the wedges

I wouldn't trust it to be cool enough, the thermostat, ATM they're in sealed in a plastic box about 2 ft from a radiator, on laths with tubs of Calcium Chloride (the stuff used in chemical dehumidifiers) under them.

There's something quite nice about old blackened tools which are shiny in just the parts which come into contact with the work or the hands.

I'm with you on that, most of them had several generations of patina on them with just the bevel and tip of the back face shiny, certainly no need for new handles either, I'd never be able to afford boxwood carver shape hadles of the quality fitted already.