A couple of my older bike tools are rusting a bit. Is there a way to stop this? A swab with an oily rag will probably do the trick, but is there anything specific I should use? Oh, and I’m assuming it’s a bad idea to oil the part that interfaces with bolts and so on?

Cheers.

1) keep them dry
2) anything oily/greasy
3) especialy the tip, a socket/key/whatever doens’t rely on friction, it relies on the mechanical interface between the tool and the part, if that bit rusts away it’s useless!

Olive oil?

The occasional rubdown with some light oil and a rag is all you really need. WD40 is what I usually use.

Use them more often with greasey oily hands, you never see vehicle techs with rusty tools 🙂

The occasional rubdown with some light oil and a rag is all you really need. WD40 is what I usually use.

Wipe with an oily/greasy rag for stuff you use a lot.

For stuff you use less frequently, stick tools + one of these in the bottom of a toolbox & keep the lid shut.

VCI emitters

Cheers, Scruff

in (nonwaterproof)rucksack bike tools are kept in a placcy bag in a cheapo bum bag that is sprayed with wd40 and occasional spray inside. Main tool box is used often enough to prevent rust, secondary toolbox gets wd40 spray every so often.

They’ll only rust if there is water / moisture around, so store them better i.e. make sure they are dry when put away and kept somewhere dry.

Scrub up with a wire brush or wire wool to remove surface rust, then occasional light spray with WD40/wipe with rag.

As others have said, you can use anything oily, but WD40/other spray is the easiest to use.

(I’m sure an armchair Engineer will be along in a minute to tell you that if WD40/GT85 comes into contact with your bike it will dissolve it)

Why bother with any oil when you can just dry them and put them away in a dry place.

Quite. Buy a toolbox with a built in dehumidifier. Much easier than a quick spray with WD40.

Or dont store toolbox in a damp place.

Stuff has been in my toolbox at home and in the car with no problem, but took my toolbox with me on roadtrip in a van to the alps. Came back with rusty tools. The van hadn’t been submerged in a lake or anything like that, though it did rain a couple of days.

WD40. That’s what it does – WD = Water Dispersal.

It’s what wd40 was invented for….well keeping nuke missiles ‘corrosion free’

interesting reading

Beaten by cougar..

Cheers.