In reference to this thread: http://nyspeed.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46382&highlight=tools
I have to clean a bunch of hand tools, and based on that I wanted to try a few small samples of products to see which was most effective while requiring the least effort. Bare in mind that ambient temps are in the 20s.
Based on the recommendations of a local hardware store genius, NYSpeed, and friends I went and grabbed the following:
Por 15 Metal Clean
Naval Jelly
CLR
WD40
PB Blast
Vinegar
Coca Cola
8 plastic paint tray liners & a fresh soft metal brush.
I picked out a sampling of tools to clean. The pictures don’t do justice to all of them, but you get the idea.
At 6:40 I started submerging the tools in the order laid out above.
Per the instructions, at 5 & then 10 minutes I checked the CLR, Por15 Metal Clean, and Naval Jelly… no results.
@ 7:30, I donned plastic gloves and checked on the process.
The naval jelly, holy shit. I could wipe by thumb across the metal and nearly all corrosion was gone. Hit it with the brush for good measure, and they were damned near new.
The Por15 failed the thumb wipe, but with very light brush effort the corrosion was almost gone.
The CLR failed the thumb wipe, and required a little brush work to get the corrosion off.
The WD40 failed the wipe test, and required a little brushing to see an improvement - definately some corrosion left though.
The PBBlast failed the wipe test, and required a little brushing - definately some corrosion left though.
The vinegar surprised me. Failed the thumb wipe, but only required moderate brush work to remove some of the corrosion.
The coca cola failed the the thumb wipe and required sincere brush work to show any improvement. So far it is definitely the worst.
9:30 update. I decided that based on the promising results from earlier, I’ve brought a few in for cleanup & oiling.
Warm water rinse by hand in the utility tub; wipe down with a cheap sponge; soft metal brush… each as needed.
You should note that surface rust in the pictures (the crimpers, pliers, & cutter) developed within ~5 minutes of rinse / cleaning… I wiped them down & wd40’d each of them after the pics.
The CLR rinsed off okay, but required sponging & definately needed light brushing to remove remaining corrosion & dirt.
I had a pair of FConn crimps (alot of joints, crevices, and a couple springs) in this, and they could’ve turned out alot better.
The metal looks pretty good, but instantly started to flash rust.
The Por15 Metal Clean rinsed off well, needed a sponge wiping, and brushing in ridges & crevices.
I had a pair of heavy cable/wire cutters in the POR15… the head (read: not sharp part) of the cutters required some moderate brushing, but this took away nearly all remaining rust, soot, and dirt. These look almost as they did when new. I was impressed.
The Naval Jelly is viscous, so it didn’t rinse as easily. However, rinsing took nearly everything off. I didn’t have to sponge it for debris, but did so to remove any remaining gelatinous goo.
I stuck the needle nose in the jelly initially, because thought it would be best suited to clean the ridged teeth of the pliers. That being said, I did have to brush the teeth, but this removed nearly everything (dirt & gum too) from them, these look almost great.
I’ve left the less corrosive samples in the garage to “work” over night.
Next day, 9:00 (~27 hours) updates.
The Coca Cola made things worse. Rinsing left a residue on it. Sponge wiping didn’t remove anything other then the residue. After heavy brush work most of the deposits were gone from reachable surfaces, but the finish was lightly discolored… and areas that couldn’t be brushed were still rusted.
The vinegar seemed to do some work. Rinsing removed some of the lighter rust. Wiping did the same. The tools still required moderate brushing, and didn’t help remove hard / unable to reach rust.
The WD40 had actually started freezing up, there were a few bits of frozen foam. It was a pita to rinse off, rinsing also didn’t remove any rust, nor did wiping it down. After some moderate to heavy brush work the majority of the deposits were gone… but there was noticeable surface corrosion left. Also the hard to reach areas were still fully rusted.
The PB blast didn’t freeze up, and it seemed to have loose debris floating about. Also a pita to rinse, and rinsing didn’t seem to remove anything. Wiping resulted in some removal but it still required heavy brushing to remove most of the rust. Also, the hard to reach areas were still fully rusted.
I did all this to see which product would remove corrosion with the least effort… not surprisingly the product meant for the task worked best. The kitchen products (soda & vinegar) worked to some extent, and were cheapest ($1.50 & $0.89)… though they required the most effort by far. The oil products (WD40 & PB Blast) seemed to be more effective then the kitchen products, but at ~$2-3/can I’d don’t see the value. Not surprisingly the most corrosive products (CLR, POR15, & Naval Jelly) were by far most effective… and @ $3 - 5 per supply, I’d say the extra money is well worth it. I went & bought more Naval Jelly to clean the rest of my tools.
IMO
Naval Jelly
Por15 Metal Clean
CLR
PBBlast
WD40
Vinegar
CocaCola
)