Plain engine oil should do the job. I'd use a non-detergent straight
10W. Others mentioned 3 in 1 oil, and yes that will work too, but why pay a high price for that stuff, then have to cope with all your tools smelling like some nasty perfume. I never understood why make that stuff stink like it does, and if you get it on your hands you'll smell it for days no matter how much you wash them.
If the 10W is a little too thick, add a little kerosene to it. Another thing that would work is Neatsfoot oil, which is intended to oil leather saddles and other leather.
I've got to start taking better care of my tools. CLR got some lime or whatever it was off of an electric stapler but my T=square is rusted beyond help. It's a few decades old but when it was my dad's it was bright and shiny. Is there an oil to put on things like saws clamps which seem to be taking the worst from the desert weather here? Thanks again, : - )
Indeed. Taking care of your tools is a very good idea. Last summer, I left my favorite claw hammer out in the garden and it took some work to get it presentable again.
Some 3-in-1 oil, and steel wool took care of most of the problem. It would be better to never leave the tools out. Just think about how much money good tools cost these days.
"AKA gray asphalt" wrote in news:ifCPh.110088$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe12.phx:
Boeshield T-something(T-21? T-45?) is a spray on rust preventative. Since your T-square may be used for marking bare wood,you don't want an oil film on it,or it would affect any finish you put on later.
Desert weather should be dry and thus little rust.
Have you tried a 4 or 5" wire wheel on a bench grinder? I haven't had anything that wouldn't improve** and some things come out like new. Including lots of rusty things. Some times the improvement is incredible.
I'm almost sure I'm using coarse and not fine for the wheel. I know that's what I used on the muffler and it seemed the same.
I've even cleaned a chrome motorcycle muffler with a wire wheel, and although it looked like 30% was covered with rust, underneath much of that was shiny chrome. It's like the rust oozed out of a tiny hole and spread over the surface of the chrome.
Practice on something less important of course, but it didn't take much practice. The only hard thing is avoiding painted surfaces that I don't want to repaint. And some times positioning the thing so that the wire wheel can get to all the surfaces.
All I have is a grinder axle in a housing, powered by a spare motor, like powers a furnace fan, maybe smaller than that. I can check on the HP if it matters. I don't think I have any cover on the side, and that helps get access, and the muffler I did with a 6" wheel and I took off the entire cover. With the cover on, it only takes a 5" wheel.
Spent a lot of time on the muffler and exhaust pipe, but then again, it was almost 6 feet long.
When you do hit something you don't intend to, it doesn't do that much damage, but that's not carte blanche.
I'm dubious about any method that doesn't use a motor because I would never have the energy to do what the motor does.
**A couple putty knives didn't improve much, but rust was not the issue with them.
I meant to say that JCWhitney and I'm sure others sell sheets that fit in the tool drawer that they say prevent rust. They came in a couple standard? sizes and in a bigger sheet that one can cut to fit.
My last brake rotors came with a piece of paper in each box that were, I think, impregnated with something to keep the rotors from rusting. They didn't envelop the rotors, nor were they as big as the rotors, but I'm sure they were intended to prevent any of the rotor from rusting, and there was no rust.
So I saved these pieces of paper and will put them in the tool drawers, but normally the tools in my basement don't rust anyhow.
But I have had tools rust when the water heater sprayed water, and I don't even worry much anymore, because I have my wire wheel and it makes lots of bad stuff look great again.
I even wire brushed a wooden hammer handle that had a variety of stains on it. No one here was impressed by the idea, or even thought it was good, but I ended up doing it anyhow, and it worked fine. Like sandpaper but quicker. It's as fast as or faster than coarse sandpaper, but can make an almost fine finish.
This seems like such a great idea that it would have been more commonly known. Is there any downside? I've heard of using car wax on table saw blades ...
Hard to imagine that the square would rust in a desert environment unless you left it outside. That's when I have the most problems with my stuff. Or, I leave it there with the intention of returning the next day, then don't. Now, I try to put things up daily. I, too, live in the desert, in Las Vegas. And yes, stuff rusts or corrodes if you leave it out.
Other than that, I'd just use light oil, like a 5-20 wiped on there, and bring them in at night or when it rains.
Birds void their bowels over freshly waxed cars in my experience. Hasn't happened in my tool box but they are wily creatures. If you oil or grease your tools dirt will quickly accumulate.
I'm in the desert (NM) too and unless I leave something out and it rains, stuff just doesn't rust. For my tools however, I do put on just plain ole Johnson's paste wax. Mostly to keep things slick but it has prevented rust the few times my tools got wet. For additional protection, you can check into Boeshield T-9. Pricey but many say it's good stuff. Cheers, cc
When I leave stuff in the little workshop in back of my house, things seem to rust. There isn't any water anywhere near them. Is it the moisture in the desert air or is it my imagination?
Would liquid wax work as well as paste on the tools to prevent rust?
Any moisture in the air will cause metal to rust. This is compounded by salt, acidic conditions, and temperature. Wipe your tools using a rag dampened with kerosene and store the tools in an air-tight container.
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