Please Help With Older Tools Question

[Whit30]

Hello, First of all I want to thank everyone for the continued help you offer. I only ask that if you reply to this thread please dont treat it like a stupid question. This is what I have. My Mother in Law found at a garage sale a bunch of leather tools many being USA Craftools. These are nolonger shinny chrome and beside the dull look some oxidation. What should I use and how to revive these tools to put them in the workforce without messing them up or stripping or softening the chrome on them.

I saw on the commercial for a cleaner CLR that said its safe for chrome. would you recomend this as a soak or find chrome cleaner for cars and clean them one by one?

Thank you for your help, I really appreciate the advice, I sure don't want to mess these up.

[mlapaglia]

Can you post a picture of the tools with a few closeups of the some of the tool faces? It might be easier to help if we know how bad they are.

[WyomingSlick]

This is a quide for your problem which I have had posted in my ebay guides for many years. I have used this procedure on hundreds of chrome plated stamps as well as other chrome plated tools with excellent results

If you have leather stamps that have a bit of rust on them, take a hint from Ron Ross at the International Internet Leathercrafter's Guild.

Note - this is generally for chrome-plated tools only! This mixture may corrode steel tools. It may be used on them but try it first with a "junker" first!

1. Disolve a teaspoon or two of cream of tarter in water in an ALUMINUM pan and heat on stove until simmering. Cream of tarter is found in the baking dept at the grocery store. Do not use a steel or iron pan as it will react with this mixture.

2. Remove excessive rust with a fine wire brass brush or super-fine steel wool ( 00 or 000 ) if called for. Submerge tools in pan and let them simmer awhile. Stir lightly from time to time and check for progress. You will see the water become cloudy as the rust is removed (converted).

3. Check for progress from time to time and remove tools when satisfied. CAREFUL! Tools will be hot. Wipe residue off with brass brush, fine steel wool, or with Scotch-Brite pad. Rinse tools well in water and dry completely. A hair blower works great for this.

4. If you live in a high moisture area you may want to prevent future rusting. A very light coating of any of the commercial plastic spray coatings will work. I myself use Rain-X which is a micro-crystaline wax that can be found in the auto dept at stores. Just coat and buff; this will leave a fine layer of wax which will retard further rusting.

Edited November 16, 2011 by WyomingSlick