Oiling tools

[JHZR2]

Took a while, but the last few nights I've been cleaning and oiling most of my hand tools.

Still haven't done sockets yet, or anything chromed/highly polished. Yet.

Been using ballistol on a rag. I've got plenty of it and I like that it's not toxic/pharmaceutical grade so ok for incidental contact. If not as good as motor oil or other products, so be it... But it's better than nothing.

My shop isn't conditioned, though I do have a dehumidifier to keep humidity below 65-ish percent. I have over time noted some surface rust on some items. Many tools are shellacked, so have some protection if those coatings aren't worn off.

Honestly I've never done it before, which isn't a good thing, but is what it is. Does anyone proactively wipe/protect their tools?

 

[E150GT]

I do every once in a while. Ill use WD40 or some MMO or 3 in 1

 

[The_Eric]

On occasion, just my impact sockets at home- since they are rarely used. The chromed tools are fine and anything I have at the shop (work) is used too often to need protection.

 

[BalticBob]

I never oil my tools, the surface rust makes them easier to grip.

 

[AMC]

I oil my tools a few times a year. I was using expensive rust preventatives like Corrosion-X and Eezox but that ended up being too expensive in the long run. I use my tools a lot so they all either end up getting dirty again or most of the oil wiped off just from me using them.

Now I use WD-40 because it is a pretty good general purpose crud cutter and rust preventer. WD-40 is also very cheap and smells nice. Works well enough for me.

 

[Bandito440]

After finding rust on some hand tools, I did this over the winter. Lowes has aerosol cans of Fluid Film now, so that's handy.

 

[1foxracing]

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Beyond wiping off whatever oil or grease gets on them when I use them, I don't "proactively" do anything to the hand tools in the shop. I've never had a good quality, undamaged hand tool get rusty, but them most of my tools are older and are probably made better than some of the Harbor Freight quality tools available today. I have some wrenches and sockets from the 1950s and 1960s that still look new, despite being well used.

The shop is usually at the outside ambient temperature and humidity. I don't air condition it in the humid summer, but I occasionally kick on the heat if I'm working out there in the winter.

 

[Astro14]

After use, I give them a spritz with this: https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Wrench-L212-Lubricating-Oil/dp/B00200B22S

Then wipe them down. Wiping them down spreads the oil, and removes grease, dirt, etc. from the surface. I live in a humid/salt climate and have not experienced any rusting. I think the aerosol gets a bit of oil into the parts of the tool, inside deep sockets, for example, that won't be wiped down and protects that area.

 

[eljefino]

I have silica gel packets in my toolbox drawers. My garage is closed but has open soffits for ventilation. But in wild temp swings the cold concrete floor leads to condensation.

Oiling my tools is done by merely giving one quick wipe when they get car oil on them, and not going nuts trying to get them super clean.

Stuff's doing okay whether it's snappy or pittsburgh.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

WD-40 for cleaning and mild protection or Boeshield T-9 for longer-term.

 

[EdwardC]

I also don't go out of my way to oil my tools. The most I do is to use a slightly dirty rag (with wiped up motor oil) on it and wipe off the tools before I put them away. I think the only tools I have that may need lubrication are the ratchets and ratcheting box wrenches, neither of which I've lubed, but I should probably put a drop of oil in them next time I use them.

 

[2cool]

When I was a battery truck driver at AAA, my tools got rusty from being used on the corroded battery hardware. I used ATF on a rag to wipe down my tools to keep the rust at bay. Now, I would use Fluid Film instead of oil as it stays put and doesn't dry out. FF is also great for battery terminals, and for gun barrels that I'm not going to shoot for a while.

 

[sleddriver]

I use a drop or two of BoeShield T9 on the non-chromed stuff and chase it around with a finger.

 

[Leo99]

The only tools I oil are my old pipe wrenches every 10 years.