"Alaric B Snell" wrote in message
...

Hi there,

I've been buying a few miscellaneous tools - scriber, assorted center
and letter/number punches, and an automatic center punch (great fun!).
Hardened steel in a number of useful shapes.

Now, they all come covered in thick films of black, gooey, grease, which
I presume is to step them going rusty in the warehouse.

Thing is, they stick to my hands, and I get black fingerprints
everywhere after touching them, and hard-to-wash-off grease marks on
other tools and so on.

Would it be wise to wash the grease off - by soaking in soapy water?
Should I then wipe them with a (clean!) oiled rag, spray them with WD40,
etc to keep them from rusting in use? The letter/number punches look
black anyway; I presume they've had some kind of surface treatment.

How best do I look after them?

Thanks,

ABS


The black surface on hardened items is generally from the heat treat
process. That won't wash off.

Regards the heavy black grease of which you speak, washing the parts in
water is not the way to go. If you do not have any Stoddard solvent, use
some mineral spirits (paint thinner) to remove the heavy grease. It is
readily soluble. Once clean, you can blow the items off with an air hose,
or simply let them dry by placing them on an absorbent surface (like some
old newspaper). Once you have them clean, unless you store your tools where
they can rust, nothing need be applied to them. That way you can use them
without getting your hands and other things dirty. If, on the other
hand, you have an unheated area, one that tends towards rusting, you may
wish to cover them with something that will prevent rust, but maybe doesn't
make everything else dirty. Most everyone will tell you that WD 40 isn't
a rust preventative, that is has little value, but my experience tells me
that it is better than nothing, and leaves behind what appears to be a very
thin film of paraffin. Looks to me like they dissolve said paraffin in a
solvent, add an odorant, and that's WD 40.

Don't wash your items with gasoline! Only fools do that.

Harold