Tool Talk
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Northwoods on December 08, 2019, 09:16:01 AM
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Got a nice tight little No. 32 1/2 (evidently a Stanley knockoff) brass and boxwood folding rule. (12" plus the 3" sliding extension)and would like to clean it up a bit.
What is your best advice on removing years of discoloration but not removing the markings?
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I have learned the hard way over the years to do the minimum amount of cleaning. blow the dust off, use a damp cloth on it, and address any active corrosion. I think old tools should look like old tools. Thanks
Bruce
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Being a little OC, I cleaned it just a bit with some fine steel wool. In a case like this, I put one of Mrs. Northwood's old magazines on the bench.
Tear off a dirty page, and you are good to go, over and over. I saw just a bit of dust/residue on a page, and the rule showed just a bit of improvement.
Put it in a box with some old Stanley marking gauges.
I rescued it from a steel box under a table at a junk show. Traded it for a Leonard refrigeration rat. They never appealed to me.
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Dawn dishwashing soap does wonders , no damage to anything I've used it on.
WD40 works for stained items, never any problems
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I'll try the Dawn on something else first. See what it does.
But WD-40? What will it do to boxwood?
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I'll try the Dawn on something else first. See what it does.
But WD-40? What will it do to boxwood?
WD40 is Stoddard solvent and " fish oil"
It may darken it a bit and leave a shine , but it usually evaporates and it's just clean.