Hello
I bought some used tools which have been in someone’s basement for decades. Every piece of the plane is covered with some weird mixture of oil and dust, so I got fine black grime all over the tools which transfers on my hands. When my hands get wet (and they do, a lot even in winter) it transfers further to the wood I am working on.
Any idea how to clean this properly? I tried with some clean paper towels, but this is just not enough. Putting everything in a soapy warm water would be better, but since there are a lot of threads which can not be dried with towel I am little bit worried about getting rust there.
Thanks.
Replies
There is a good video series on this. https://www.finewoodworking.com/videoworkshop/2021/01/restoring-vintage-handplanes-with-roland-johnson
"Rollie Johnson demonstrates how to clean up an old handplane using something you might already have in your refrigerator: cola."
Not that I believe it would not work, but not going to try it.
Worked well enough to shine up brass work ~30 years ago in Navy boot camp ;)
If you want to try it out on a smaller scale, just to see if it works, find a rusty nail and drop it in a can or bottle of Coke. Quite the eye-opener.
I'd try mineral spirits.
Auto brake cleaner is a great grease/oil remover
WD-40 and fine steel wool. That, or buy a restaurant bus pan and douse them with mineral spirits and use a 3M blue pad (won't scratch). I wouldn't strip them with anything acidic like Coke or vinegar. You just need to get the old oil and transferable grime off, not make them look like they just rolled off the assembly line.
Wear tight rubber gloves if using mineral spirits and work outside.
I got something that is called Terpentinersatz (alternative for turpentine). This should be white spirit/mineral spirit. I am not trying to make tools like like new (I hate overdid restaurations) just to take old grame and oil stuck in threads and screws.
There is also acetone which is quite clean, but not sure if I can use this as well.
I would not use anything petroleum based right off. I would start with a water based degreaser like Krud Kutter. Works even better if the water is hot.
Rinse and dry all the parts and spray thoroughly with brake cleaner or any volatile like acetone. If you are averse to those or cannot get them you can place the parts in a warm oven for a couple hours.
If there is any rust those parts can be soaked in 30% vinegar or Evaporust. Use a brass bristle brush to clean threads.
Finally coat everything with Camella or Jotoba oil.
My go-to solvent for the last couple of years has been Citrus Solvent from the Real Milk Paint Co. It smells nice, is non-toxic and they claim it can be used for any application that mineral spirits would be used for. I have not used it to thin oil based finishes, but it is a great cleaner solvent, and I'm sold on it. I also don't have the problem with how to get rid of old, used mineral spirits (do I sneak it into my household trash and feel guilty about having it leak into the water table, or keep it around until the once yearly toxic waste pick-up at the landfill?). it is 98% orange oil from orange peels (with 2% water emulsified into it). The downside (of course there is a downside) is that it is relatively expensive - a gallon is $85.00 or so. Having said that, a gallon has lasted me a long time.
If it's old oily rusty crud I would take it completely apart soak it in oil or a big dose of wd40 and let it sit awhile. Brush everything down with a stiff bristle brush,like nylon or maybe brass ( i have a couple of nice brass ones for that purpose) steel wire brushes are a no no on old or vintage tools ..and then clean it with brake cleaner or carburetor cleaner. All available down the street at your local hardware store. For buffing it out.. fine grit wet / dry paper and some oil applied as you go , add a little valve grinding compound if you have it. After all the grime and rust is gone then polish with very fine emery paper glued to something flat ..like glass. After it's nice and clean and shiny comes the real work ...start flattening the sole and seating the frog etc. There is a nice video available on this site that explains how to go about that.
A lot of old crud is a combination of sawdust, oil used to protect or lubricate the tool hand oils, sweat, and other random dust. This is a heady brew that contains a lot of fairly corrosive components. Likely there is a layer of fine rust under all that somewhere.
As said above, rust responds best to an acidic cleaner like vinegar or the phosphoric acid in cola (which act to reduce the rust and loosen it) in combination with some abrasive. This process begs for a rinse in water to dilute and remove any residual acid. But if you know you are going to rinse your tool in water (I do) it is a good idea to have a plan to dry out interstices like threads and corners thoroughly.
What I find works best after the H2O rinse is a final rinse (or spray) of Alcohol followed by a quick blow with an air gun. The alcohol will mix with the water and help pull it off the surface and the air gun will dry the surface before any further oxidation can take place. I would not just treat my tools to this process when they initially make an new home with me, but periodically (once per year?) if they get heavy use to remove my own oils and sweat and shop dust.
A final wipe down with your favorite rust preventative (paste wax, liquid wax, 3-in-1 oil, commercial spray) and your back in business.