Cleaning rust help

[Bob M]

Gent.
Inherited a set of Robert Sorby mortice chisels and a few brass backed tennon saws and other S&J saws all now sadly rusted but can be saved(I hope) and used again.
What are the best reccomended cleaning methods for removing rust and general cleaning, chisels were stored in an old cloth roll up wallet but it was left in a damp shed for about 5 years or so and some of the tennon saws look unused but just sadly neglected.

regards,
Bob M.

 

[Wildcard]

Hi Bob,

It probably depends on how bad the rusting is. For surface rust I prefer to use the garryflex abrasive blocks (abrasive embedded in rubber pads) as these clean off the rust and leave a nice finish to the metal. They will also remove any patina so if you don't want them looking too restored then be careful here. Of course you could always use some wet and dry paper instead of the garryflex.

If the rust goes deeper and there's some pitting then you may be best off using electrolysis or some of the rust removing solutions sold commercially. I've never used either of those methods so can't really advise here.

If you could post some pictures of the tools it might be helpful to see how bad the rust is.

 

[Peter T]

Try this -

http://vwcaddyforum.com/showthread.php?t=17860

Never tried it myself, but the results look impressive.

Good luck,

 

[laird]

I've used citric acid (tablespoon ler pint of water), leave 12/18 hours and clean off (green pad, suede brush etc). Works well. Mind you I probably would have tried the electrolysis or vinegear routes if I didn't have a bucket of citric acid crystals lying around the garage from the days of foot and mouth.

 

[AndyT]

I've had good results with citric acid too. It doesn't seem to matter much how strong it is or how long you leave it. A lot does depend on the quality of the steel and how superficial the rust is.
Another tip is to get hold of a brass wire brush - much gentler than a steel one - you may find you can even remove rust but keep patina.

Andy

 

[matthewwh]

We stock a range of rust control products made in the UK by Shield Technology. They do a solution called restore, which you mix 19-1 with plain tap water, it's fully biodegradable and doesn't react with bare metal, so you can flush the effluent down the drain afterwards.

They have also just introduced a gelled version, which is applied neat with a sponge or mild abrasive pad directly onto the surface. Very effective and easy to use, and litre for litre at usable strength they are much cheaper than all the other commercial products I've compared them with.

If the backs of the chisels are pitted I'd recommend this stuff, it's exceptionally fast (you will have a warm blade with a beard of iron filings in less than a minute), very long lasting and leaves a relatively fine scratch pattern compared with other abrasives.

 

[Bob M]

Gents.
Thanks for the tips, I have ordered some of the Shield rust remover and just purchased a selection of the garryflex pads, as well as some of the 3M finishing film from WorkshopHeaven.
Will keep you informed on progress.

BobM.