rocketraider Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 At that tool auction I mentioned going to Wed nite, I bought a big plastic tote of what I thought was mostly junk, but turned out there were a number of Snap-On and Mac sockets in it. Deep, shallow, swivel, and ALL covered with a greenish-white powdery substance with some sparkle in it. You may remember I said lot of these tools looked like they'd been stored badly. These sockets look like impact sockets which would have been black oxide finish. Trying to figure out what the substance is and how to get rid of it. Right now I'm thinking dunk them in a bucket of Coca-Cola or molasses to see if this mess will dissolve, and then run them thru my vibratory tumbler using green resin chips. Any ideas? If they can be salvaged would be shameful to throw them out, but I paid 5 bux for the whole shooting match so I'm not out much if they can't. The rest of the stuff in the tote justified buying it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 I do not know what the corrosion might be specifically. I've had good luck with the vibratory tumbler and green triangles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburnseeker Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Buy a gallon of evaporust and soak them in that. A fresh gallon will work in a day, as it gets really dirty, it may take a couple of days. Cleans both grease and rust / corrosion off everything, will also clean off the rust of course. I soaked a whole displays worth of oxidized and pitted door handles in some well used evaporust. They came out so clean on all sides, save the actual pits which obviously don't come off, they looked like they were plated yesterday. Even nicely cleaned all the plastic knobs as well as all the nooks and crannies with almost no effort whatsoever. Best part is a light slide around each piece with an old tooth brush before you rinse them with water and they will sparkle. I can't tout this stuff enough and use it daily on all sorts of parts. I sell NOS parts for a living and these leave the surface rusted, dirty parts looking like they were just manufactured. Yes it's 17.00 for a gallon, bot one gallon will last most guys a couple of years. I've even given a few gallons away as gifts. Try it. You will amazed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 It sounds like discharge from a battery. A quick try would be baking soda and water. If it doesn't work try what the other guys are recomending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 (edited) Greenish white powdery substance sounds like fire extinguisher powder. Don't know about the sparkle unless the chrome is showing thru? I would try soap and water first before I got onto harsher things. Test 1 or 2 pieces. Edited February 10, 2018 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Maybe they were in a body shop, those places have all kinds of dust and overspray flying around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capngrog Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 I encountered something like your greenish-white powdery substance some years back when I bought an old tool box, tools included. The greenish-white substance I encountered was more wax-like than powder-like, and it was sticky. A friend told me that the substance was the product of the decomposition of the plastic handles of some of the old screw drivers in the box. The tool box had apparently been subjected to high temperatures (this was the "South of Florida") for a number of years, and such decomposition of old plastics was not uncommon. I don't remember what I used to remove the goo, only that I was ultimately successful in doing so. Oh, by the way, what really leaves a mess are those "plastic worms" used as fishing lures. If left in the tackle box too long they decompose into a really gooey, sticky mess and can corrode nearby metal objects such as fish hooks swivels, pliers etc. On one of my hot rods, I had a steering wheel from an early '70s Chevelle that partially decomposed, leaving a sticky surface that I was never able to successfully repair. Congratulations on your bargain buy. Cheers, Grog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 If you spill caviar on your tools during a soiree it gets like that. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipdang Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 The chrome bumpers from my 1959 Fiat that had been stored in an old garage for years were covered with a green corrosion that was like sandpaper. Will need to be rechromed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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