Restoration Tip
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Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / Tools and Tool Maintenance/Restoration / Restoration Tip
This past weekend I purchased a Stanley # 4. The tote was cracked, but other than this it was in good shape. I am not a collector but I do enjoy restoring old tools. This plane is a Type 9 (1902 – 1907). I am not interested in taking an old tool and grinding it back to shiny bright condition.
The plane body was somewhat grimy but no rust showing. It was too cold to go out to the garage and clean it up with mineral spirits and 4 aught steel wool like I normally would, and I minimize the use of such chemicals inside the house. So instead I grabbed a tube of Autosol metal polish (minimal smell) and with a paper towel i removed 100 years worth of grime and oil with very little effort. This left the cast iron with a nice old metal patina which I like.
The tote is mended and the iron is sharpened. For a few dollars and a few hours leisure time I have a tool which should be serviceable for another 100 years.
In the future I will default to metal polish for my first choice cleaning agent when restoring tools. If this doesn’t do the job, I can escalate to something harsher.
I hope others will try this as it is seems a quick and effective solution.