How do you protect your tools?

[VanLifeCrisis]

I'm mostly interested in how to protect them from rust and moisture. Someone mentioned lined ammo boxes. That might work for small things but what about larger items? What do you do?

I noticed even my coated tools are getting some rust on them wherever they are nicked, and i think some of my older drill bits are gonna get replaced soon.

 

[ccbreder]

Quality tools do not rust. I have some 100 year old snap-on that have been abused and uncared they are scratched and stretched but un-rusted. The same with some saws and other hand tools. My Craftsman are wiped with an oiled rag and stored in wood or metal boxes. I clean up tools on a regular schedule.

 

[MikeRuth]

Over the years I can't say any of my tools have gotten rusty, unless of course I left it out in the elements. In the tool box they stayed in good shape. Tools that don't have a good quality finish or have gotten rusty on me I have cleaned up with a wire wheel and then coated with Yeah good ol' WD40, or Tri-Flow or 3n1 oil.
Unless I once again was cruel to that tool, it did not rust further.

Nods to the hundred year old Snap On tools as well as some of the old Craftsman tools, No rust on any of them for me.

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

Wipe everything down with an oily rag.

This is the same as my set, they're what snap-on sells:
Blue Point general service setUnfortunately they're not cheap.

 

[GotSmart]

Keep them clean, and wipe them with a diaper and (baby LOL!) oil regularly, just like you would do with any precious thing.
My tools are my toys, so I play with them every chance I get.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

yeah, i have some cheap tools and some nice tools, i want to keep them all if i can. many times the cheap walmart tool set in the truck/van has saved the day for me. seems like oil is the way to go.

 

[highdesertranger]

keep them clean and well oiled. actually if you use them regularly they will not rust. sometimes you run across an old tool that is rusty when I used to do a lot of tractor work on the farm I would hook the tool to a piece of chain and drag it all day behind a tractor, by the end of the day no more rust. on a more practical note if you find a tool that is really rusty, wire wheel it and soak it in oil(used is ok). if it has a mechanical mechanism like a crescent wrench work it back and forth as far as possible. wire wheel any new exposed rust and resoak. eventually you will get it back to working. highdesertranger

 

[bigsallysmom]

Submerge rusty tools in vinegar for a day or so then rinse and dry thoroughly.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

The very BEST anti-rust stuff comes from the world of firearms. Most of the gun cleaning companies sell special anti-rust oil for use on fine firearms that will protect way better than plain oil will. They also make dessicant products to go into gun safes, which could be adapted to your tool box. Stop at any Gander Mountain or Cabellas you pass by. Or check out Brownells online.

Regards
John

 

[LeeRevell]

Silicone oils are good, and like said above, many are available from the gun world. But the bicycle/motorcycle world offers good oils and lubes too.
And one trick I learned in the Navy, where cleaning brass is of paramount importance (keeps the squids busy during long voyages!) is to soak dirty brass in a bucket of "bug juice" (aka orange koolade) for an hour or so. Cleans the brass shiney and makes it smell good too! Anything with citrus, or tomato juice, will work.

 

[andy90]

for freeing things that are already rusted, pb blaster is great. i've used it a lot on rusty bolts and stuff and occasionally found pliers or something laying out somewhere. soak em in pb and work them back and forth a few times and they usually free up pretty good. i love that stuff!

 

[Patrick46]

I, of course, have a ton of tools at my big shop...but I never go on a bike trip without my old roadtrip bag. This thing has been all over this country, and I've had the same one for over 30 years now.

Now, these tools are the ones subject to rust, as they get used alongside the road, and in campsites, and oftentimes (it would seem) that this is in the rain!

but the main bunch of wrenches and stuff I keep in there, I roll them up in a oily rag. When it comes time to use 'em, I roll out the rag on the ground, and this gives me a nice basically clean spot to work and do repairs. When I'm through, I spread out my rag, line up my tools on it (so that it rolls up nicely, and also shows me if I'm missing anything in there.) Back into the nice protective wrapper you guys go.

You could easily do the same for your van box.

 

[Duck]

A spray with WD-40 every time I use them for dirty work tools.
Finer quality tools that won't get the same abuse get a light coating of boeshield(wiped off on the surfaces, but left thicker in moving parts).
Works well enough on a boat so I see no reason to change on land.
For toolboxes they make vapor depositing rust protection, but I've never been quite sure about how safe it is to live in a space where the strips are off gassing, so I use this stuff in outside toolboxes only.
http://www.corrosionvci.com/vci148_paper.htm
Tools stay clean, no need to coat them in anything.

 

[ccbreder]

Patrick, tool roll, exactly what i had in the army. cold and wet, or hot and wet. Always seemed wet. But no rusty tools.

 

[LucyImHome]

I was going to say that my tool box is protected by my big dog sleeping next to it. Clearly, that is not what you meant. lol

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

Well, that is important too

 

[highdesertranger]

yeah lucy whatever works. highdesertranger

 

[NWShortyFord]

Cheap tools do seem to rust. Good ones don't. I have my good tools in a vintage 1956 Rem-Line toolbox, I like it a lot and it is getting ruined. It locks and holds enough tools to rebuild the whole van so I keep in in here, too bad it is getting rusty.

 

[GotSmart]

Cheap tools do seem to rust.  Good ones don't.  I have my good tools in a vintage 1956 Rem-Line toolbox, I like it a lot and it is getting ruined.  It locks and holds enough tools to rebuild the whole van so I keep in in here, too bad it is getting rusty.

It would be worth your while to get some steel wool and paint.  Invest in top of the line Rustolium for your box.  

 

[LeeRevell]

Having gone through my late father's fifty year accumulation of tools, I find a lot have been rusting over the years, including a couple boxes. I am derusting things as I go, reloading the toolboxes with a proper set of tools, as he had tended to let them get all switched around. Not a complete socket kit in the bunch. His biggest toolbox is one he handbuilt from galvanized sheet steel - very strong. It is now my van toolbox, and just needed a good cleaning - no rust even after decades. Eventually I will likely sell some complete toolkits in our local C/L.
Luckily Dad had a gallon jug of WD40 he would fill spray bottles with. I'm going through it quickly......