Shopsmith Forums

I put my 60 year old pruners on a patio chair and forgot about them. It rained overnight. When I saw them two days later the were already rusting. I've had a lot of tools for more than 50 years and none have rust. Using a wire wheel in the SS I buffed off as much as I could but they weren't where they had been so I used some Oxalic acid. It's Barkeepers Friend but cheaper. I've had it for several years and I keep some with a light oil base in a container. I rub it on with my finger which is better than using a cloth, the wipe it off. It's probably available from different sources.

It looks like you turned your "OH NO!" into a no problem. The pruners probably look better now than they have for some time with that cleanup.

Rust is Mother Nature's answer to steel. Rot is Mother Nature's answer to wood. Mother Nature has an answer for aluminum too. It is aluminum oxide which isn't much different from rust on steel.
It seems that Mother Nature has a "fix" for anything man tries to do, and Mother Nature always wins in the long haul.

Many years ago my Dad told me that if you want to own something that will last a long time, go out and collect granite rocks. They are very durable.

Yes, and Mother Nature has an answer to living creatures. Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the mechanical reaper, leading to the beginning of a new company named International Harvester - a better name for The Grim Reaper.