How do you clean your hand tools?

[Emission]

I've been doing a lot of "messy" work on the car recently (re-build brakes, starter, etc...) and my hand tools are getting really dirty. Of course, I wipe them down with a rag after every use to get off the "big chunks," but now many of them have brake fluid on them - something I don't want to get on my hands and leave a fingerprint on the paint by accident!

I was using "brake cleaner" to spray them off, but there has got to be something better for the enviro (and me).

Maybe scrubbing them in a bucket of laundry detergent and hot water (the same way I cleaned my calipers) followed by a spray of light machine oil, and then wiped with the rag? I don't want them to rust...

Anyone who cleans their tools want to share?

- Mike

[Zef]

Isopropyl alcool for me...

[MBAtarga]

I spray WD40 on a shop rag and use it to wipe down hand tools. It cuts through the grease and oil and leaves a fine coat to prevent rust.

[SP2]

Brake cleaner and gloves.

[real550A]

Parts washer, along with everything else.

[randywebb]

you don't want to send brake fluid (a hazardous waste) down the drain to the sewage plant and then into your local river.

use paper towels to wipe the brake fluid off - they can probably go in the trash and get landfilled
- if there is a whole lot then take to your city or county haz waste station at the 'dump (transfer station) - or see if a brake shop will take them (they will usually take brake fluid)

I'd then use WD-40 or something like that on the tools.

Brake cleaner is not a huge problem at the levels used by DIYers - do it over hard pavement and let it evaporate

[Porsche_monkey]

WD-40, simple green, or methyl hydrate. Basically whatever is lying around. Sometimes just a wipe with a good paper towel is enough.

[the]

for a bunch of dirty hand tools, simple green and warm water in a bucket, dump all the tool in, let soak for a few minutes, take em out and wipe em down.

[Zeke]

I don't think modern sockets and wrenches need any oil. It just makes them oily, no rust will from unless your tool box is in the garden of on the woodpile. Brake cleaner is not what to use on plastic handles, either. In fact, brake cleaner is for brakes, otherwise leave it on the shelf along with the Berryman's and all that nasty stuff.

The Simple Green deal will work and so will laundry detergent. If you're like me and end up with the gloves off and your hands dirty, then all gets cleaned up at once. I also use solvent if I have some out. I just air dry the tools.

The neatest deal I saw was where the husband got the old dishwasher from the kitchen remodel and put it in the garage. That's were the tools and even small parts go. I just take 'em in the house when the wife is at work. Run those AL cylinders twice and they'll be nice and clean.

[DUK]

WD40 and linseed oil mixed 50/50. Lay out your tools on rags and spray with the mixture and simply wipe them off and put away. Watch getting brake clean or water based cleaners on your ratcheting tools, they break down the lubricant for the mechanisms.

[ChrisBennet]

Wow, I can't remember the last time I did anything more than wipe my (automotive) hand tools off with a paper towel. I clean my electronic torque wrench with some citrus spray to keep the rubber handle from looking dirty but that's about it. (And yes, my tools are clean.)
Are you guys stirring paint or something with your wrenches?
-Chris

[wswilburn]

I wipe them down with a paper towel dampened with mineral spirits. Much less vapor than brake cleaner, so less harmful to me. Also, easier on synthetic materials.

[randywebb]

Chris - he said he'd been doing brake work & work involving a lot of grease.

The citrus cleaner (limonene, sp?) idea is a good one.

[911s55]

Ditto on the mineral spirts, and Castrol degreaser, works great on clothes too.

[Mr9146]

Back in the day we used to use gasoline.

Now, I just wipe 'em off real good. Hey, they're just gonna get dirty again, right?

[rusnak]

after really dirty jobs like cv joint service, wheel bearing repack, etc. I use either Purple Power or Castrol Superclean on wrenches and sockets. On ratchets I only clean the handle. I periodically clean out the ratchet mechanism and re-grease, but that's once in a long while.

[Emission]

Great suggestions.

I haven't "cleaned" my tools (other than a wipe-down) in more than a decade. I wouldn't really consider it had it been anything but brake fluid... I hate that stuff.

The dishwasher idea sounds very cool and effective - but the wife would kill me (especially on Mother's Day).

[unclebilly]

Throw 'em on the lawn and turn on the sprinkler. This is also when we bathe the chillun'.

[sammyg2]

A rag and some elbow grease.
No solvent, no nothing. If you get something on a hand tool you can't get off with a decent rag, you have either the wrong tools or the wrong rag.

I worked as a millwright when I was young, rebuilding all sorts of industrial machinery. Dirty, stinky, grimy. We never used solvent on tools, that's just asking for rust.

[Blanco]

Originally posted by Mr9146
Back in the day we used to use gasoline.

Now, I just wipe 'em off real good. Hey, they're just gonna get dirty again, right?

Back in Peru, my mechanic said they used Diesel to wipe tools down. Don't know about here. He probably uses gasoline.

I personally use WD40 and a rag. Nothing else.