What’s Best To Restore Corroded Tools? What product would SEN use to restore tools that have corroded? Some of our tools are just stained from moisture exposure, others have heavy patches of surface corrosion. Is there an affordable solution that’s better than most?
A: You need something that works with tool steels, which are steels hardened with the addition of chromium, vanadium, tungsten and molybdenum in varying quantities and qualities.
To restore quality tools that are suffering from tea staining, and light and heavy surface corrosion, we’d use Autosol Metal Life Saver, which removes rust, restores finish and adds a protective coating. The way we use it is to clean and dry the surfaces, then apply Metal Saver with a cloth, wait 15 minutes then remove the residue with a clean cloth soaked in water diluted with 25 per cent vinegar.
For tea staining, a single clean will be enough, but for heavier corrosion you’ll need to undertake this process multiple times and you may need to use an abrasive pad or a wire brush. Importantly, you need to shake Metal Life Saver a lot to get the pickling agent thoroughly mixed before application.
One of the nice things about Metal Life Saver when working on tough corrosion is that surfaces are visibly enhanced each time you repeat the process, which encourages you to keep trying. We’ve used a lot of different solutions over the years, but Metal Life Saver is the one that stands out.
Some tools can be tough to restore, especially shifting spanners with worm gears, or tools with edges that have been dulled. But old tools are often better made than the modern stuff – many can be given a second life.
Read more about tools here.
“What’s Best To Restore Corroded Tools? What product would SEN use to restore tools that have corroded?”
