Rusty craftsman wrenches

[The motor guy]

Somehow I have about 3 or 4 craftsman wrenches that got rusty at the bottom of my tool bag. Can I buff the rust out of these or not really? These are the last of the good USA made wrenches so im a bit sad this happened

 

[Lubener]

A wire wheel will make them look much better.

 

[The motor guy]

A wire wheel will make them look much better.

Just a wire wheel by itself?

 

[Lubener]

Just a wire wheel by itself?

Yes, the tools may shine afterwards. A wire wheel on a solidly mounted electric motor. I use my wire wheel all the time to clean off rust from metal.

 

[B1974]

How rusted are they? Autosol Metal Polish has worked for me in the past but if they're so rusted that they're pitted then your wrenches will never be the same.

 

[melk]

Throw a cube of camphor in your bag/toolbox to avoid that

 

[Nessism1]

Evaporust. It won't remove good material, like abrasion methods (wire wheel) will.

 

[Dave Sherman]

Evaporust or Rust911.

 

[AZjeff]

You could start with WD-40 and steel wool.

 

[The motor guy]

Throw a cube of camphor in your bag/toolbox to avoid that

My guess is the garage slab was sweating during the winter time and that's where the moisture came from. The ones closer to the top arent rusted

 

[wavinwayne]

I've had success soaking rusty tools in vinegar for several days.

 

[Astro14]

Just a wire wheel by itself?

Gently, and only with a fine wire wheel - you don’t want to strip the remaining chrome.

Personally, I would just plunk the wrenches in a Tupperware tray of Evaporust - let them sit for a half hour, rinse them off. See what you’re looking at.

Evaporust won’t strip the remaining chrome, but it will remove rust down to the bare steel.

 

[The motor guy]

I've had success soaking rusty tools in vinegar for several days.

Not a bad idea. I do that on the aerator screens on my sinks assuming they didnt rust to bits from all the iron in the water here. I forgot about that.