Hello to all...not sure how many going to see this or where? Was looking for opinion on how to clean old cast iron sockets ? wither to clean up or maybe not,,,, not sure what's best for collectors sake ?

Most of the antique or vintage socket sets i have, I keep as is. The only time I have cleaned any is when there extremely covered in rust or extremely caked in dirt.

When theres lots of dirt on them I spray a very small amount of wd40 on a rag and wipe the socket down. Usually that gets rid of most of it. I would never wire wheel a socket with light dirt.

When theres rust covering the whole socket I use a chemical bath. Each person has there own preference of what chemicals work best. Once again I would never wire wheel a socket. 

For the ratchets I would give it a cleaning, but still keeping the patina on outside. I would open it up, scrape the old grease out and re lube it. Everyone has a difference in what grease product to use. After re lubing it chances are it will work fine. I have used a small file to scrap rust out of a gear, but just lightly.

I would not paint a socket set, or totally remove every bit of finish down to bare metal. Each collector is a little different.

If the tools are rare or collectable, most buyers prefer to do their own cleaning. Take off the heavy rust or crud with the least aggressive method at your disposal.

Somehow lost my post...?? Thank you kindly for advice....yes a newbi...looking for advice on what not to do or do on careing for old tools. I like to present in as found condition...just didn't know if it hurts value if wiped down with say W-d ? Have done nothing with any of the tools that came from a huge tool trunk from local estate sale. I'm no collector and would like to turn over. Know enough to not touch with wire wheels or brushes , oh how I hate scratches that could have been avoided..on anything..will try to get some pics on....many items do not have any names... looks like I'll have to open photo bucket account to get pics on...here it goes

I'm back after getting spent over getting images , to big to little and urls  or links uploaded to give life to the post....frustrating enough that I pay enough for internet and it's slower than a drying up snail trail. I believe this set is missing the extension. That would be handy to have if anyone knows where to acquire it ? Seems like measurements & markings are right for the patent date for his #99 set.
Thank you kindly for the replies or any followed up information on this maker.

Copied this from your other thread:

Quote from: Catfish on March 28, 2014, 01:36:34 AM
Looking for a 5/8 extension for this Charles Miller ratchet set. Have to get the rest sorted from this box. 
 




Thank you kindly

Looks like a cool old ratchet set there. I'll keep an eye out. I'm not familiar with that brand. Do the pieces all have the "Charles Miller" name stamped on them?

Thanks plyerman .... the sockets are stamped only miller...Ratchet and others are not stamped. There is one T handle wrench stamped P&C. Will have to look more closely to the straight rods to find anything. I'll see about getting some close ups of the cast wrenches that I have no idea of what they would be used for. I don't get much time to dabble on the net....fixing my car right now ...antifreeze leak...yea..oh what fun !!