How To Prevent My Hand Tools From Rusting

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delectric123

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South Dakota
Does anybody know a way to keep my hand tools in my tool bag having a rust-free look. They have to go through all the temperature swings of South Dakota, and when the temp increases from freezing rapidly, the steel surfaces condensate, and eventually start rusting:(. i have tried drenching them with silicone spray with no luck. any other ideas? any sprays, etc.?? its more fun working with shiny new Klein tools:D.
 
SD has lots of flaxseed oil (linseed).

Coat your tools with linseed oil.

Or, even better, coat with linseed oil and bury in a SS pan with bone mean covering the tools.
Leave in the oven for 2 hours at 380F.

Now you have a nice Smith and Wesson type bluing, even nicer than shiny, eh?
 
It's the chemicals in the dig that are interacting with the dew!

Unless your caring your tools between heated and cooled areas!

To clean your tools you can try simple rubbing alcohol, but it will not have the punch of
Isopropyl which is pure rubbing alcohol - which rubbing alcohol is only a precentage of!

Isopropyl - understand that at 100% is flammable and frankly needs a flame storage locker.
But it will clean most everything metal with a clean cloth and liberal dose, wear gloves!
 
One old school method for rustproofing metal was to heat it up and dip it in paraffin wax. The heat allows the wax to penetrate slightly into the metal. Another method is lanolin. You could either wipe it on straight or use a product like Fluid-Film. Either of these methods should work well and you won't be touching tools coated with nasty chemicals all day long.
 
Applying oil to tools will surely make them rust free but at the same time they will make them slippery. So I will suggest to eliminate risk and have some alternate solution to problem. You make apply thin layer of paint to tools, to avoid rusting and electrical shock. You may also replace tool with other tools made of combination of different metal and are rust free.
 
LukeFinch said:
Applying oil to tools will surely make them rust free but at the same time they will make them slippery. So I will suggest to eliminate risk and have some alternate solution to problem. You make apply thin layer of paint to tools, to avoid rusting and electrical shock. You may also replace tool with other tools made of combination of different metal and are rust free.
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Just make sure your tools are coated with thin layer of non rusting stuff.
 
Why bother as long as they are usable?

Some people equate new looking tools with tools that are seldom used.

One thing I always wondered was why top line auto tools never rust, but top line tools for the electrical trade do. It has to be more than just plating.
 
delectric123 said:
Does anybody know a way to keep my hand tools in my tool bag having a rust-free look. They have to go through all the temperature swings of South Dakota, and when the temp increases from freezing rapidly, the steel surfaces condensate, and eventually start rusting:(. i have tried drenching them with silicone spray with no luck. any other ideas? any sprays, etc.?? its more fun working with shiny new Klein tools:D.
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Take them out of the bag and use them once in a while. :)
Someone was going to say it...
 
I have never had trouble with tools rusting unless they got wet. Keep them dry and it should not be an issue. I have used WD-40 to loosen them up and keep it shiny
 
Dennis Alwon said:
I have never had trouble with tools rusting unless they got wet. Keep them dry and it should not be an issue. I have used WD-40 to loosen them up and keep it shiny
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That is the key.

I keep my hand tools and some small rotary implements (drill bits, taps, unibit, driver bits, etc.) in a plastic toolbox. On the occasion they get wet, either the tools outside the toolbox or in the toolbox from having it open while precipitation is occuring, I spray the WD-40 into the trays of the toolbox and close it up for the day or whatever. I have no problems with rusting tools.

Of course if I just happen to leave my toolbox open in a downpour, I do dump out the excess water before spraying in the WD... :p
 
delectric123 said:
Does anybody know a way to keep my hand tools in my tool bag having a rust-free look.
Click to expand...

jim dungar said:
This is a time when WD-40 is likely the correct product.
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WD-40 is all I have ever used.

You can't expect to just clean your tools once and have them remain nice and clean forever. Even when there is no rust there is sheetrock dust, concrete dust, attic and crawl space dirt and dust so you really have to clean them on a regular basis.

I use formula 409 to degrease the handles and WD-40 to clean up the working areas.

Painting or marking your tools is not a bad idea when working with a crew to keep others from walking off with your tools.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
I have never had trouble with tools rusting unless they got wet. Keep them dry and it should not be an issue. I have used WD-40 to loosen them up and keep it shiny
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Like I said in the OP, in the wintertime they are exposed to large South Dakota temperature swings which causes them to condensate when warming up. Drenching them with Silicone Spray did very little to prevent rust, I'll give WD-40 a try. I'm a big fan of Penetro-90 by Schaeffer Lubricants, but its smell would be a bit overpowering in a tool bag.
 
K8MHZ said:
Why bother as long as they are usable?

Some people equate new looking tools with tools that are seldom used.

One thing I always wondered was why top line auto tools never rust, but top line tools for the electrical trade do. It has to be more than just plating.
Click to expand...
Because auto shop tools seldom leave the nice environment of the shop. They don't go out in the rain or cold, they don't lay on the ground and get mud, sand, masonry dust, drywall dust, or who knows what else splashed, kicked on them or are subjected to submersion in said items. What do they commonly get on them - grease, oil, antifreeze, and other items that actually help protect from oxidation.
 
I don't even like buying Klein linesman pliers anymore because I've spent $50 only to get a pair of pliers that are seized up.

I'll just buy the $18 ones at Home Depot and use them until they suck.

Has Klein fixed this problem over the last three years?
 
jaylectricity said:
I don't even like buying Klein linesman pliers anymore because I've spent $50 only to get a pair of pliers that are seized up.

I'll just buy the $18 ones at Home Depot and use them until they suck.

Has Klein fixed this problem over the last three years?
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Best thing to un - seize them is to soak them in water.



Then apply WD -40 to displace that water after they are loosened back up.

Next new set apply WD 40 before getting them wet. But you do need to re apply at times as it will wear off just like you need to reapply sunscreen to yourself when out in the sun.
 
Klein pliers were coming seized from the factory as far back as I was buying them - since the mid 1980s. At least back then they came in a box so you could get the counter guy to hand you a few pairs till you found a set that was relatively loose to begin with. Now that they come in those junky plastic display bubbles, you're stuck with what you pull off the shelf.
 
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