I have begun to see rust on many of my tools lately. I was thinking of a humidifier first.Any thoughts? Also I read CacoCola removes surface rust - does anyone know how long it talks? Is WD40 still a good solution to put on steel tools. for protection?
I love getting practical info !
I run a dehumidifier 24/7 all year. I do get some rust this time of year. I polish it off what I can or use a very fine abrasive pad to remove it. Just plain 3 in 1 oil works for moving parts and you can apply a car polish like Mequiars Quick Wax to polished hammer faces, mandrels, anvils and other similar tools. Be diligent, especially in the summer. Good luck…Rob
Thanks so much - I’ve been using abrasives - but I was away 3 weeks - and more items rusted. The hinges on the 3rd arms are hard to clean - and will try CocaCola first - then oil.
I have heard that coca-cola works, but have never tried it. Let us know how it goes…Rob
Coca cola is basically an acid. And a pretty lame one at that. Better to drink it than make a sticky mess in your shop and on your tools. What you need to remove rust best is Oxalic acid. It’s in Bar Keepers Friend. That said BKF is pretty abrasive. Or you can use CLR which is a liquid that has lactic acid and gluconic acid in it.
Our studio is in our basement in Oregon where it rains pretty much all the time. We have a dehumidifier in our studio. I keep all of my hammers, stakes, bench blocks, chasing tools, and dapping tools mirror polished and covered with Maguier’s carnuba car wax. You can find it in any store that carries automotive stuff. The liquid in the spray bottle makes it easy to safely seal metals. And since it’s made to withstand car doors, shopping cart dings and bird shit it’s pretty tough and requires no buffing. It also does a great job of keeping silver, brass and copper from tarnishing. And best of all dust does not stick to it. The late great Jeffery Herman was the dude who introduced me to Maguier’s. Oh and many of my hammers and anvils in the photo are 50 years old and some 100 years old.
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Jo…Thanks for chiming in with real good advice. I knew you would. This time of year, in the Northern Hemisphere at least, rust is a real problem. Running a dehumidifier is basically level I for me. If I don’t, there is a musty smell in my shop and lots of rust. The smell usually tells me that there is a problem with my dehumidifier. After that, I just look for rust and fix it. I do doubt that coca-cola is the answer, but I have never tried it other than to clean my SS shot. If you want to see a real mess, put coca-cola in your SS shot tumbler, seal it, run it and then open it. Do I need to say more? Yes I do, it needs to be very still before you do this. I learned the hard way. Jeffery was a great source of information. He is missed…Rob
If one is going that route, better to use carbonized water.
Same acid but no sticky substances.
Slightly lower concentration though.
I’d go for proper rust removers though.
And proper wax like the Maguires.
Thank you. I needed help with that too. It’s damp on the west coast. 
I also found that my tools rust very quickly when near the pickle pot. Don’t know why, it may be the salt. Oil is the best bet in my personal opinion. Just keep a slightly oily cloth and rub down your tools here and there. Pair that with a dehumidifier and you’re off to the races. Best of luck
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Colas work because they have phosphoric acid, very dilute, but still there. Other acids will also work, and like all acids will etch the steel eventually. Volatile acids like muriatic/hydrochloric, acetic, and nitric acid also will eat the rust and as they are volatile, they will cause rust in the rest of the shop. Less volatile acids like oxalic or bisulfate or even sulfuric acids are used in descaling as well.
A long time ago Orchid had a member who invented a semi-solid wax/grease he called just Brown Polymer . I obtained a sample and swear by it. I put it on a steel plate under my soldering and pickling station and it keeps 95% of it rust free. The other coating I have heard good things about is Boeshield. Developed by Boeing aircraft to seal the parts of their planes from corrosion.
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Hello Orchidland,
I’ve used DIET Coke to deal with rust. The sugar in regular Coke doesn’t help and makes things gloppy. Phosphoric acid is the active ingredient to change the rust, so any soda/liquid containing Phosphoric acid will work. Note that there will be a rough surface even though the rust is gone. It also takes a long time and if the rust is ‘thick’, the Coke will need to be changed a few times.
Naval Jelly is another way to deal with rust. Also is gloppy.
I also bought some of the brown Polymer that Marlin mentioned. Pretty effective in coating iron to prevent rust. Wipes off easily.
That old saw "prevention is better than the cure. A dehumidifier is important and when paired with a sealer (wax, oil, grease, etc.) prevents that nasty rust.
Judy in Kansas where nearly every night has brought a rain shower. Gardens love it!
I use evaporust to remove rust from tools that are already rusted, especially files. I agree with Judy. Prevention of rust is better than removing it. At least run a dehumidifier in your shop if you have any humidity at all…Rob
Thanks for the Macguires wax tip. I use. Bar Keepers friend and a Mr Clean sponge slightly damp to clean rust. I find it’s important to keep dust off tools as it is the precursor of rust. I use Camilla knife oil from Japan on my files and tools, even my anvil and vice. It’s available on Amazon. I’ve never has issues with my hammer, most of them are from Bill Fretz. My old old hammers from my dad and uncles seem to have a layer of protective grease from years of working.
phosphoric acid is what autobody shops use to clean steel before polishing and spray painting.
does not attack the steel… works well if your want to use acid. HCl and H2N03 are not appropriate… chloride solublizes metal and nitrate oxidizes it, causing a worse problem… carbonic acid in soda water does no harm but does little good either… too weak an acid. oxalic acid works well also … strong acid without oxiding activity. WD40 will not reduce rust, but provides a protective coat… can be messy and oily… autobody wax is better.
Folks are giving excellent suggestions here for rust removal and prevention, but I don’t think that anyone has said why WD-40 isn’t great for rust prevention. Some of the scientists on the forum can explain this better than me, but WD-40 is a mixture of thin oil and a type of solvent that binds with water. That’s why WD-40 is so great for loosening up rusted nuts or whatever.
Some folks say that because WD-40 binds with water, it can actually promote rusting over time. The other thing is that WD-40 doesn’t have a lot of oil in it. It only applies a thin coating of oil.
My personal opinion is that WD-40 is probably better than doing nothing, but all of the other choices that folks are listing are better for rust prevention.
Jeff
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Thanks Deborah - and I tried bar keepers friend and it worked pretty well.l. Lots of scrubbing was needed. Problem was the crevices - as my third hard tweezers have spaces I cannot get to. WD works ok - but will now use wax. Thank you for all for these great ideas! Guess I need a dehumidifier - lots of rain in midwest these days and do not have air-conditioning.
I think the wax will be great for hammers and such. IThe camiilea oil really helps with files. It’s what the Japanese Samari used on their knives and Katana.
Running a dehumidifier is a must, if humidity goes over 55% as Rob suggested. A very good product to protect tools and steel in general is BOESHIELD T9 developed by Boeing. Available from Amazon and other sources.
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Where are you located?
Thanks to the questioner and all of the replies! I’m in Austin, TX and have a tiny place that tends to produce much humidity! I did buy a dehumidifier, but it doesn’t solve the rust issue. I do have a hard time keeping it on all of the time as it heats up my studio too much in the summer.
I keep getting rust on the shaft of my drill press and other machines that are big and sit on top of tables (rolling mill, vulcanizer). Can I use T9 & Macguier products on these too?
I actually bought the Boeshield T9 for an outside table and didn’t even think about this for my tools! Has anyone compared the T9 to the Macguiers? I was looking at Macguier products and there are a lot of them! Which one is best? Many thanks!!