How would you clean your taps?

[tinman123]

I have to ask, are you pulling our chains!? There I should nothing wrong with them, just use them.

god im not hi thats just the type of me.
but dont think because i want to clean up some taps that i have a model workshop, coz i dont. its not bad but it aint no model.
for the engineering tools im gathering i do like to keep them right, they are the most expensive tools i have and 95% of them are quality brands, now that i have a new cabinet id like to organize all my taps in one place and as you know im sure, that if i fire them in now without some cleaning up then it ill never be done.

id agree, a wipe down and they would be grand, but id like to clean them up as best as possible all the same, it keeps me sharp.

 

[tinman123]

dipped them in cillit band for a couple of hours and a clean with wire brush the rust just fell off decided a quick dust off in the bead blast cabinet and came up like new just the rest to do now

a nice job you made of them altho id say you would of had the same effect if you had of just blasted them.
they cleaned up well.
in saying that, no disrespect or anything but its not the finish im after.

thinking about it, would a vibratory device with almond shells for media make a good job of them, i think it would but im only guessing.
i have a fairly big buffing machine here but thats one at a time and not the fastest job but would bring them back i suppose.
with a vibratory drum you could heel a few in at a time.
umm.

 

[graffian]

I have to ask, are you pulling our chains!?

Flap disk on an angle grinder, should get the rust off nice and quick.

 

[brightspark]

Flap disk on an angle grinder, should get the rust off nice and quick.

we are talking about cleaning taps here aren't we. it will take the edges of the taps as well

 

[Turbo]

Electrolysis would clean them up well. If you put them into an old wire basket from a chip pan you could do a large batch at a time.

 

[tinman123]

id be afraid of electrolysis removing the edge off them as well, which is what i think the citrus would do too after watching a few videos.
its a good way of removing rust but too aggressive for taps i fear.

im half sold on the walnut tumbler idea as it looks the least aggressive but with best results or at lest what ive seen on videos of it.
they are too dear to buy new to test so i think ill get a baking tray, a sander, something to stick the lot together and some walnuts to see if its any good.

 

[bletchmonster]

Wouldn't rattling cutting tools against each other be the fastest way of knocking the edges off, you would only want to vibrate one clean at a time !

 

[tinman123]

yes, there is that too, if it was one tool at a time them it id be too slow wouldnt it.
its starting to sound like a 4 day camel ride now to get them clean.

 

[Screwdriver]

Electrolysis works by plucking positively charged atoms of iron oxide (rust) from the Cathode which in this case will be your tap. One would hope there isn't that much rust in the cutting edges su they should remain unmolested.

Tumbling or polishing would I assume, get rid of any nasty sharp edges so I'd want to test that first.

Not sure about citric acid effect on cutting edges. My understanding is that citric acid reacts strongly with iron oxides and converts them into iron phosphates which will wash off. The acid doesn't just "eat away" at the pure iron/steel like Alien blood would do.

 

[Turbo]

Electrolysis only removes rust, sound metal is not affected.