Handplane Rust Cleanup

[Chris Roessler]

Earlier this year my home burned. However, the garage survived along with my tools. In my rush to keep my family in one piece I just put my tools in storage without rhyme or reason. I now have a nice coat of rust on all of my handplanes. I do not wish to damage them further, so I humbly ask for any
suggetions anyone may have as to removing the rust.

Thanks,
Chris

[Tom LaRussa]

Earlier this year my home burned. However, the garage survived along with my tools. In my rush to keep my family in one piece I just put my tools in storage without rhyme or reason. I now have a nice coat of rust on all of my handplanes. I do not wish to damage them further, so I humbly ask for any
suggetions anyone may have as to removing the rust.

Thanks,
Chris
Chris,

There are three main ways to remove rust from tools:
[1] abrasion, sanding & grinding;
[2] Chemicals, i.e., acids;
[3] Electrolysis.

Personally I prefer electrolysis, because it's the only method that does not do further damage to the metal.

But if your planes only have a mild coat of rust then you can probably get away with a mild acid type method along with some scrubbing with those 3M pads.

Let me know if you need more info on any particular method.

:)

Tom

[Marc Hills]

Chris,

I'm really sorry about your home. If you got your family out ok, then count your blessings. A family in my neighborhood just had a serious house fire and man, that is is a scary experience, even for a witness.

I too am partial to electrolysis. If you have a battery charger, it's really easier than it sounds. The hardest part for me was finding a grocery store that sold washing soda. Baking soda does work, however.

I'm also in agreement with Tom that the rust that you have on your tools is likely so light that a quick chemical treatment would be fine.

[Randy Moore]

Chris

I have no idea as how to tell you clean the rust off.
I want to say that if the family got out OK, that is most important. Sorry about the loss of you home.
I also want to welcome you to the "Creek. There is a lot of knowlegeable people here. Feel free to ask questions and offer up answers. There is no stupid questions here, we don't know everything but we will try to help you in just about any way we can.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Hi Chris- They other folks have given you some good information, all of it usable. Just remember though that most likely you only have light surface rust on the tools. Surface rust is pretty easy to remove and a light scraping with a razor blade followed by a sanding with a 400 to 600 grit sandpaper wetted with mineral spirits should do the trick. Afterward just rinse with a rag dipped in mineral spirits to get the rest of the slime off and dry it. When all of the solvent has evaporated wax the tools with a non-silicone paste wax or alternately use something like Boeshield or TopCote.

[Chris Roessler]

Eveyone,

Thank you for your concern and best wishes. Also, I appreciate the suggestions as to cleanup methods. The rust is light there is no evident pitting of the metal. I may try the scraping and 600 grit paper method first.

Tom LaRussa mentioned a mild acid method. I have no idea what that would be. Tom, if you see this please fill me in.

By the way, I do count my blessings every day of the week. In the last year we have had our house burn, our van was crushed during one of the hurricanes, and I had to have emergency surgery. Through it all only my faith in God has kept me sane, focused and on track. Well, that and my wonderfull wife and two teenage boy's.

Thanks Guy's!!!!

[Tom LaRussa]

Tom LaRussa mentioned a mild acid method. I have no idea what that would be. Tom, if you see this please fill me in.
No problem. There are all kinds of things you can use. Here is a list off the top of my head.

Slowest:

lemon juice
white vinegar
citric acid
These can take several days to weeks. The metal will start rusting again as soon as you take it out, so have a can of WD-40 or equivalent handy.

Faster:
Any product labeled "rust converter" which contains phosphoric acid. This includes "Navel Jelly." Time here is hours to a couple days at most.

Fastest:
Straight phosphoric acid
This stuff scares me, even though Bob Smalser swears by it.
We're talking minutes to hours here.


Notes:

[1] None of these processes leaves a bright, shiny finish. Each leaves a coating of one type or another which then has to be removed if you want bright metal again. The phosphoric leaves a phosphate coating which is apparently a sort of rust inhibitor, but not sufficient by itself I don't think, so far as preventing future rust goes.

[2] When I said that things start rusting again very quickly, I mean I've seen it in minutes.

[3] Um ... I have a feeling I'm forgetting some stuff, but I can't come up with it right now. I'll add it later if it pops into what passes for my brain.

:)

[Chris Roessler]

I appreciate all of the responses. I will be sure to post some before and after pics when I have them cleaned up. I still need to flatten the soles and sharpoen the blades, etc ,etc ,etc....

[Tom LaRussa]

I appreciate all of the responses. I will be sure to post some before and after pics when I have them cleaned up. I still need to flatten the soles and sharpoen the blades, etc ,etc ,etc....
OOH!

I remembered!

It's a very good idea to degrease your tools before you put them into a rust conversion solution. Otherwise you wind up with really disgusting, greasy foam floating on top of the solution. Plus, any greasy residue on the tool can impede the action of the rust converter.

:)

[Bob Johnson2]

Can someone post a description or a link to such on the electrolysis method, sounds interesting and I've got the tool, or two, to try it on.Thanks

[Tom LaRussa]

Can someone post a description or a link to such on the electrolysis method, sounds interesting and I've got the tool, or two, to try it on.Thanks
Hi Bob,

Here's a copy of a post I did on the subject a couple weeks ago:



Here is my quick and dirty summation of how to do it.

Materials:
Trickle-type battery charger;
a few feet of steel flashing, (non-galvanized, for reasons I really don't know, but don't care about either);
a plastic bucket;
some baking soda;
water
a rusty tool

-- roll the flashing into a tube so that it fits into the bucket, then let it expand against the sides of the bucket;

-- fill the bucket about 4/5 full with water;

-- dump in about 1 tablespoon of baking soda per gallon of water, (more won't hurt at all);

-- connect the positive clip from the battery charger to the flashing;

-- connect the negative clip from the battery charger to the tool;

-- hang the tool in the bucket, making sure it does not touch the flashing;

-- plug in the battery charger.

-- make sure there is current flowing. You should see some small bubbles coming up off the tool and, of course, the voltage meter on the battery charger should move up from zero -- if not you probably have so much rust the clip can't make contact. Disconnect the power then scrape a cleanish spot on the tool so the clip can make contact.

-- repeat previous steps.

-- That's about it, but be sure to read all the stuff below so you don't kill yourself or something.

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/andyspatch/rust.htm
http://users.eastlink.ca/~pspencer/...ectrolysis.html (http://users.eastlink.ca/~pspencer/nsaeta/electrolysis.html)
http://www.chip.com/buick/techtips/rustremoval.html
http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/r...c_derusting.htm (http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/rust/electrolytic_derusting.htm)

Let us know how things go, and by all means shout out with any questions.

:)

Tom

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[Mark Stutz]

Bob,
I have been very happy with the results of my first couple of electrolysis tries. I simply used rebar for the electrode. I placed 4 orund the bucket and suspended the item in the middle. Connect them together with wire. Make sure you take a wire wheel to each end and make them shiny so you get good contact. DAMHIKT :D Don't use copper wire. I read this after I got very frustrated the first time around. :o The answer to Tom's reference to galvanized metal has to do with zinc in the solution. Stainless is also not recommended ( though can't remember which link it was in) as it produces chromium which is then an environmental hazard. Good luck.

Mark

[Tom LaRussa]

The answer to Tom's reference to galvanized metal has to do with zinc in the solution.
Mark,

Is this an enviro-hazard issue or what?

Tom

[Marc Hills]

A couple of extra points for Bob's benefit:

If I missed it in Tom or Mark's posts, sorry, but it bears repeating anyway: make sure the sacrifical metal diode and the object to be "de-rustified" (that's the scientific term :) ) are close, BUT NOT touching.

Also, make sure you attach the postive lead from the battery charger to the diode ABOVE the water level. If you don't, you'll soon be making a trip to Radio shack or a auto parts center for a new battery connector. DAMHIKT.

In a similar vein, if you follow Mark's suggestion of connecting several pieces of rebar with wire, make sure the connecting wire is above the water level for similar reasons.

While the instructions and cautions for electrolysis seem intimidating, I think every one who has tried it will back me up when I say it's a lot easier than it sounds and you'll be amazed by the results.

[Mark Stutz]

Tom,
I'm a complete novice, just remembering what I've read. The chromium is an enviro-hazard, and could be poisionous. I can't find the link where they talked about the zinc. I don't recall it being hazardous, but something about zinc ions contaminating your piece being cleaned. Don't really know why, just that several sources said not to use galvanized metal for an electrode. I'll keep looking for that link.

Mark

[Tom LaRussa]

A couple of extra points for Bob's benefit:

If I missed it in Tom or Mark's posts, sorry, but it bears repeating anyway: make sure the sacrifical metal diode and the object to be "de-rustified" (that's the scientific term :) ) are close, BUT NOT touching.

Also, make sure you attach the postive lead from the battery charger to the diode ABOVE the water level. If you don't, you'll soon be making a trip to Radio shack or a auto parts center for a new battery connector. DAMHIKT.

In a similar vein, if you follow Mark's suggestion of connecting several pieces of rebar with wire, make sure the connecting wire is above the water level for similar reasons.

While the instructions and cautions for electrolysis seem intimidating, I think every one who has tried it will back me up when I say it's a lot easier than it sounds and you'll be amazed by the results.

Marc,

Excellent points all! :D

[Tom LaRussa]

I can't find the link where they talked about the zinc. I don't recall it being hazardous, but something about zinc ions contaminating your piece being cleaned.
Mark,

I just did some research -- looked at at least a dozen sites, and not one of them really spells it out, but I gather that the danger is that you'll accidentally zinc-plate your tool.

FWIW, I don't think it's much of a concern, because I got desperate and used galvanized flashing as my sacrificial thingie on several tools with absolutely no ill effect that I could see.

BTW, I like using flashing because it wraps all the way around the part. Since the process is pretty much "line of sight," (as one web site put it), I figure that wrapping the sacrificial thingie around the part being cleaned gives better coverage, hence quicker/more thorough cleaning.

All JMHO, YMMV, ACYDBBAEP, Etc.

[Mark Stutz]

Tom,
I would guess you are correct. I, too, couldn't actually find a reason, "they" :rolleyes: just said not to. The "line of sight" though is dead on! I got much better results by placing several pieces of rebar around the bucket.

Mark

[Roger Nixon]

I use a razor blade and scrape off as much rust as I can. Then I use SOS pads to clean the rest off. These pads leave a waxy feeling residue behind that helps to prevent rerusting.