Looking for ideas: Protect wooden handles when using with Evaporust

[Augusto Orosco]

Once more looking to pick the collective brain here: I have a few old rusty braces I want to restore. The wooden parts cannot be removed, so I want to find the most efficient way to submerge the braces in Evapo-Rust while keeping the wooden parts protected. For instance, I could use plastic wrap (would it survive the soaking without disintegrating?) and make sure the areas were the wood meet the metal are wrapped tight so the liquid doesn't seep through. I've also heard of wrapping the metal parts on a towel soaked in the liquid; but I am not convinced that would produce the same results as full immersion.

Which other ideas would you suggest? In theory Evapo-rust doesn't damage wood, but it's still a liquid after all, and I don't want old wood to get soaked unnecessarily.

[Peter Scoma]

On my braces I just use a 3m pad on a mandrel. I don't imagine there is a way to use evaporust without damaging the wood. Only takes a few minutes on a wheel anyways, plus there arent any really difficult areas to get into.
MrR

[Don McManus]

I've used evaporust in ziploc bags with no problems over a couple days of soak.

But I also seemed to remember the evaporust dissolving a clear plastic bin (raisins from Costco), so maybe avoid those.

You might try a easily released caulk over the parts you want to protect. In electronics assembly, we used to this puke green colored stuff we called "monkey snot" ---
http://www.wassco.com/Products/Solder-Mask-2218-8SQ-PL-Latex---8-oz-Bottle--Techspray__TSI-2218-8SQ.aspx
It would keep solder, flux and stray epoxy off of things you wanted to keep clean like gold edge connectors etc.. Just peels off after wards.

On another tack, the evaporust instructions suggest using soaked towels on surfaces too big to be submerged. Maybe wrap some dry gauze around the iron parts, avoiding contact with the wood, then drip evaporust on the gauze?

And try a test piece first, as these as just some crazy ideas i dreamed up....

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I haven't had evaporust dissolve any plastic, but I've always used heavier duty plastic tubs when I use it. The last time I used it, I did fill some ziplock bags with gravel, since the only container I had that would fit what I was cleaning was a bit large; this way I could use less chemical. The bags came out fine.

In some experimenting, I've had decent luck with the soaked towel method, but for heavier rust, it takes longer and you may want to change the cloths a couple times. Wrapping the soaked cloth with something like plastic wrap keeps it from evaporating to quickly and losing effectiveness.

You probably can't get the center, turning handle off, but can you get the pad a the end off? Then you could suspend the thing over a bucket of evaporust with wire or something; and soak it one end at a time, up to just below the center handle.

Last time I cleaned a brace, I just soaked the chuck end, (it wouldn't come apart until I did!) The evaporust works great for parts like that. The brace body is smooth and simple enough that I just cleaned it by hand; there wasn't any plating left to worry about, so it was a quick job.

[Augusto Orosco]

Thanks for the tips!

For now, I am soaking the chucks and alligator jaws. I also submerged the tip of them to clean up the ratcheting mechanism. I'll see how that goes and then I'll work the rest with some elbow grease after wrapping them with a towel soaked in evaporust.

I got these 5 braces sold as a package for a buck in the auction site. I thought it would be a good way to practice rehabbing and if I messed something up so be it. When they arrived, I gladly noticed that all had wooden handles and only one of them had a little plastic on the ratcheting mechanism (I believe it's an Stanley anniversary edition, so that's probably the newest one). I also found out that one was an 8" sweep with no ratcheting (not as rare as a 6", but still a good find). While cleaning the chuck on another one, the Millers Falls stamp became visible. The other ones are still illegible; so will see what I can uncover after the clean up.