I recently traded one of my gold fillings for an old Stanley 45 that has about
85% of the nickel plating intact. By the looks of it it's spent the last few
decades on the shelf  collecting  dust and rust.  My question is, do any of you
gentelman know of a way to clean up the rust spots without removing or damaging
too much of the remaining nickel finish?  Not expecting a miracle -- I went it
over it with some steel wool and WD-40 but that's about it.

Thanks all,
Kevin

On Apr 21, 2014, at 20:14 , Kevin Bock  wrote:

> I recently traded one of my gold fillings for an old Stanley 45 that has about
85% of the nickel plating intact. By the looks of it it's spent the last few
decades on the shelf  collecting  dust and rust.  My question is, do any of you
gentelman know of a way to clean up the rust spots without removing or damaging
too much of the remaining nickel finish?  Not expecting a miracle -- I went it
over it with some steel wool and WD-40 but that's about it.

I've soaked various nickel plated planes and parts in vinegar, but the plating
can get kind of dull, if it's heavily rusted and/or you leave it in too long. I
vaguely recall reading that ammonia can be used effectively to brighten it, but
I don't like working with that. Toothbrush or bronze brush in WD-40 is pretty
effective in the stippled areas of the 45 and similar castings.

Adam

I'll be interested in this as well, Adam.  I have a Yankee brace that needs
some TLC and I'd like to preserve the plating that remains, but had
resigned myself to just polishing the steel.

Phil

Citric acid (short term dipping, e.g. 30 minutes, check every 10 minutes), will
not take off nickel - unless there is rust underneath the plating.


Cheers
Peter

Peter Evans
Sydney, Australia

-----Original Message-----
From: oldtools-bounces@r... [mailto
:oldtools-bounces@r...] On Behalf Of Phil Schempf
Sent: Tuesday, 22 April 2014 2:24 PM
To: Adam R. Maxwell
Cc: oldtools porch
Subject: Re: [OldTools] Rust Removal

I'll be interested in this as well, Adam.  I have a Yankee brace that needs some
TLC and I'd like to preserve the plating that remains, but had resigned myself
to just polishing the steel.

Phil

Hi Adam
Depending on how bad those rust spots are will dictate how aggressive you  
are.
My first step on tools such as planes is to disassemble and bathe the parts 
 in
very hot water (wood parts are excused from this process).
Soap and vegetable/nail brush as well as toothbrushes, bottle brushes etc  
for
those hard to get at spots.
Many years of dust, grime etc can be removed this way as well as surface  
rust.
The parts after a toweling will continue to dry in areas you haven't been  
able to 
reach simply by the heat accumulated thru the hot water.
Now you could throw this stuff in the oven and use low heat to dissipate  
the moisture...
probably while SWMBO is out shopping or something ;>)
I keep a designated oil rag to wipe down the parts, a toothbrush dabbed  
with
small amounts of oil to get in tight spots, threads etc (I use any motor  
oil
that's handy but if you have other preferences...sokay)
This does not eliminate rust spots...just cleans em up, makes em look  
better
and retards their growth.
Regards
Bob in Ohio who is still "thinking" Spring!
 
 
In a message dated 4/22/2014 12:06:12 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
amaxwell@m... writes:


On  Apr 21, 2014, at 20:14 , Kevin Bock   wrote:

> I recently traded one of my gold fillings for an old  Stanley 45 that has 
about 85% of the nickel plating intact. By the looks of it  it's spent the 
last few decades on the shelf  collecting  dust and  rust.  (Snip)
Adam

Think I'm gonna give that a try.  Is the result any different than naval jelly?
As in, is there any black residue?

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

See below

 

 

Cheers

Peter

 

From: nashbok@y... [mailto:nashbok@y...] 




Think I'm gonna give that a try. Is the result any different than naval
jelly? As in, is there any black residue?

Yes, there is a residue to be removed, that is the converted rust. Short
(10-15 minutes, as many times as it takes, cleaning off the residue each
time) dipping in hot solution, around 10% avoids the residue bonding to the
steel. 

 

  _____  

From: Peter Evans mailto:peterrevans@o...> >; 
To: 'oldtools porch'  >; 
Subject: RE: [OldTools] Rust Removal 
Sent: Tue, Apr 22, 2014 4:27:31 AM 

 


Citric acid (short term dipping, e.g. 30 minutes, check every 10 minutes),
will not take off nickel - unless there is rust underneath the plating.


Cheers
Peter

Peter Evans
Sydney, Australia


-----Original Message-----
From: oldtools-bounces@r... <javascript:return>
[mailto:oldtools-bounces@r... <javascript:return">javascript:return> ] On
Behalf Of Phil Schempf
Sent: Tuesday, 22 April 2014 2:24 PM
To: Adam R. Maxwell
Cc: oldtools porch
Subject: Re: [OldTools] Rust Removal

I'll be interested in this as well, Adam.  I have a Yankee brace that needs
some TLC and I'd like to preserve the plating that remains, but had resigned
myself to just polishing the steel.

Phil

GG's

FWIW,  I would not use WD40 on anything plated as it does have a habit
of getting under the plating and loosening it, thus facilitating
plating removal.  A friend told me of this with nickel plated firearms
many years ago.

Personally, I have used skotch brite pads very gently to remove light
rust, but usually just wiping down with a soft cloth moistened with
light oil.  Of course, I don't mind a little patina on my tools, it
will wear off, If I'm using them.....

Just my opinion, of course.

Bruce Z.
Des Moines, IA


>> I recently traded one of my gold fillings for an old Stanley 45 that has
about 85% of the nickel plating intact. By the looks of it it's spent the last
few decades on the shelf  collecting  dust and rust.  My question is, do any of
you gentelman know of a way to clean up the rust spots without removing or
damaging too much of the remaining nickel finish?  Not expecting a miracle -- I
went it over it with some steel wool and WD-40 but that's about it.

Have you considered that you might re-plate it?
Google: Nickel Plating


On 4/21/2014 11:14 PM, Kevin Bock wrote:
> I recently traded one of my gold fillings for an old Stanley 45 that has about
85% of the nickel plating intact. By the looks of it it's spent the last few
decades on the shelf  collecting  dust and rust.  My question is, do any of you
gentelman know of a way to clean up the rust spots without removing or damaging
too much of the remaining nickel finish?  Not expecting a miracle -- I went it
over it with some steel wool and WD-40 but that's about it.
>
> Thanks all,
> Kevin
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I'm a fan of using electrolysis for rust removal, followed by a  
light Scotch Brite pad, brass brush, or tooth brush clean up. It won't  
deal with heavy rust, and it leaves a dark patina wherever it removes  
surface rust. It won't damage plating or japanning that's sitting on  
clean iron, but if there's rust underneath the plating/finish it will  
cause it to flake. The one hassle with electrolysis on #45/#55 planes  
is that you can't easily remove the wooden handles, so you have to  
submerse the metal and leave the wood out of the solution.

   There are a number of articles and instructables on this process,  
but since I don't have any experience with the ones I'm finding I  
opted not to link them. Search fro 2 or 3... the process is simple.  
The details I'd recommend are:

   Pay careful attention to the power supply polarity- negative goes  
to your rusty tool

   Use washing soda or it's equivalent to make the electrolyte. Not  
baking soda, not salt (which I've seen recommended)

   Use a stainless steel plate or bolt as your anode. You can use most  
iron/steel, and the first article I read suggested iron rebar. Ferrous  
metals break down and make a nasty mess whereas with stainless I only  
end up with rust particles in my electrolyte.

   I bought a stainless sheet from the local hardware chain, and I  
wrap that with plastic screening. It provides a lot of surface area  
and the screen reduces the risk of shorting the tool to the anode.

   Good luck,

   Paul

   >> I recently traded one of my gold fillings for an old Stanley 45  
that has about 85% of the nickel plating intact. By the looks of it  
it's spent the last few decades on the shelf  collecting  dust and  
rust.  My question is, do any of you gentelman know of a way to clean  
up the rust spots without removing or damaging too much of the  
remaining nickel finish?  Not expecting a miracle -- I went it over it  
with some steel wool and WD-40 but that's about it.

On Thu, Apr 24, 2014 at 1:20 PM,  wrote:

>   Use a stainless steel plate or bolt as your anode. You can use most
> iron/steel, and the first article I read suggested iron rebar. Ferrous
> metals break down and make a nasty mess whereas with stainless I only end
> up with rust particles in my electrolyte.
>

 Using stainless steel for the anode will fill your water with hexavalent
chromium compounds which are both quite bad for you and persistent in the
environment.

While I support people being able to decided for themselves if the risk
outweighs the advantages of clean anodes I think people should be making
informed decisions when engaging in recreational electrochemistry.  It
seems simple and clean but you can cook up all kinds of nastys if you do
not know what you are doing.

For some light reading:
http://en.wikipedia.o
rg/wiki/Hexavalent_chromium

Growing up around buffalo we got to learn about a different popular
electrochemical reaction involving just saltwater.  You can make all kinds
of bad.
http://en.wikipedia.o
rg/wiki/Chloralkali_process

Bob

Wow!

On 2014-04-24 11:41, Bob Miller wrote:
>   Using stainless steel for the anode will fill your water with hexavalent
> chromium compounds which are both quite bad for you and persistent in the
> environment.

Only people with a spare hour or two should start hunting around on this 
topic. Yep, I just did.

After reading several pages and discovering that people actually use 
electrolysis to produce hydrogen which they then add to the input air 
stream to their cars, I found this page

http://use
rs.eastlink.ca/~pspencer/nsaeta/electrolysis.html

Look for hexa.

Not much evidence but what there is appears to suggest that at voltages 
we use there is no problem.

Personally I use baby oil and fine abrasives on hard blocks for most 
things, but do occasionally use the electrolysis tank. Don't use acids, 
even mild acids. Not sure why, just never have.

Brent
-- 
Brent Beach
Victoria, BC, Canada

Thanks for sharing that Bob... I'm at work so I can't spend a  
significant time doing research, but curiosity caused me to skim your  
links and look up a few more. Don't think I'm being contrary; I have a  
very superficial knowledge of the electrolysis process and I  
appreciate the warning. I hope I'm not advocating something dangerous.

The only things I'm finding regarding release of hexavalent chromium  
relate to grinding stainless into dust and during heating such as  
welding. Do you have something that would give me an idea of the risk  
and quantity of hexavalent chromium that is likely released in for a  
given time and volume of stainless steel? I'd like to be able to  
assess the scope of the problem. I suspect the same problem occurs  
with stainless hardware/fittings on my sail boat in the Great Salt Lake.

   I generally reuse my electrolyte for a couple of years before I  
dump it. Going forward I guess I should, at the very least, treat it  
as toxic waste and take it to the landfill's hazardous waste facility  
along with waste from cleaning up finishing tools and changing  
automotive fluids. I will also consider changing my anode to a more  
benign material... more research to do.

   I guess this is a good segue into other safety issues. Other  
byproducts of electrolysis include hydrogen gas. In sufficient  
quantities in an enclosed space, this could be highly explosive. For  
the time periods and frequency that I derust tools I figure this is a  
minimal risk. As Bob says... I'm sure there are other nasties that are  
released depending on the tool you're derusting and the chemical used  
to create the electrolyte.

   Paul

   Quoting Bob Miller :

> On Thu, Apr 24, 2014 at 1:20 PM,  wrote:
>
>>    Use a stainless steel plate or bolt as your anode. You can use most
>
>   Using stainless steel for the anode will fill your water with hexavalent
> chromium compounds which are both quite bad for you and persistent in the
> environment.
>
> While I support people being able to decided for themselves if the risk
> outweighs the advantages of clean anodes I think people should be making
> informed decisions when engaging in recreational electrochemistry.  It
> seems simple and clean but you can cook up all kinds of nastys if you do
> not know what you are doing.
>