Do you clean your tools?

[TruckTech915]

I wipe/clean mine after use. Before they go back in my box they are clean.
If I loan a tool to someone and it comes back to me greasy, I will not loan them anymore.

[nate379]

I wipe my tools down but I don't get carried away with it either. Most of what I work on it fairly clean (I try to fix leaks before they get bad).

I don't always put them away right away. Usually it's more when I can't remember where I put something or the bench is too full of crap to be able to work on something.

[Old Donn]

Wipe them off, put them away, lock the chest every time.

[T56 Impala]

Yes, after wiping off the grease an dirt, they get wiped down with a felt cloth saturated in gun oil.

[Mike83]

Tools, or at least tool handles, are cleaned after use, and usually the toolbox drawers that become covered in grime. I don't rinse out the inside of sockets.

If I borrow a tool it goes back in better condition than when I recieved it. Whether that means cleaner, new replacement part, whatever.

[Joe69]

I just wipe them off with a reasonably clean rag.

Joe

[Rickster]

I just wipe them down after the job and put them away. If needed I hit them with a little WD40.

[krusty the clown]

i wipe mine off with a shop towel before i put them in my box. if i have been doing a front end job i'll throw them in the parts washer and clean them there.

[VegasBruce]

I wipe them down with a rag, if they are really dirty I'll spray them with carb cleaner. No rust here in the desert.

[rjohnson]

I try not to get them dirty-I wipe my hands of iff greasy or oily, seems like only sockets wrenches, and screwdrivers really get dirty.

[Schrodingers Cat]

just wipe them down with a shop rag...

I am pretty particular about cleaning a bolt/nut before I loosen or reuse it...
wire brush/some penetrating oil/rag...

[GDA]

I like to wear the original black Mechanix gloves so picking up a dirty tool is not that big of a deal.

That said, unless a ball joint blows its wad on a wrench or somehow a tool gets a bunch of gunk on it, I keep a rag on hand to wipe stuff down along the way and keep me from just piling up a stack of tools in my cart.

I then just wipe down all my tools as part of finishing up my project and making sure I didn't lose any tools along the way.

[ImportTuner]

I always clean my tools after I use them; it was not always this way, back in my younger days (ruined alot of tools due to rust, etc.) I would just toss them back in my tool box dirty ..

[bgott]

I wipe them down with a rag, if they are really dirty I'll spray them with carb cleaner. No rust here in the desert.

That ain't no shit. I moved to Texas the first time from Nevada. I kept my tools abolutely spotless. I had a can of carb spray just for clean up. I moved to Houston and the first weekend I worked in a shop was a three day weekend. I came in Monday morning and opened my box and WOW! My tools looked like they had been sprayed with saltwater every day for a month! One of the many shocks for a gulf coast first timer.

[nissan_crawler]

yep, I clean them. I don't like greasy tools.

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted by APEowner

I usually use Simple Green but I'll sometimes use glass cleaner.

Both of those chemicals are extremely corrosive. And you certainly don't want to use them on any kind of metal without a thorough rinse with water afterwards. I'd use Simple Green on a dirty grungy mower engine followed up by a water rinse, but NOT tools!!

[Big Bad Jon]

Originally Posted by Merkava_4

Both of those chemicals are extremely corrosive. And you certainly don't want to use them on any kind of metal without a thorough rinse with water afterwards. I'd use Simple Green on a dirty grungy mower engine followed up by a water rinse, but NOT tools!!

I thought you used a buffing wheel after each use.

[hetkind]

I live in a humid climate, so the tools get wiped down with a oily cloth after use.

If I am doing a "dirty" job, I try to remove most of the crud before I start. Clean tools and a clean workspace are critical to quality work.

Howard

[north]

I always clean my tools after use, and sometimes during use, with an oily rag. Also give the inside of sockets and wrenches a quick wipe. Then everything goes back to their designated places.

Living next to the North Sea mandates taking rust preventive measures.

Have a nice day.

[ddawg16]

The bigger issue here gentlemen is the fact that his jeep was so dirty......I personally do not allow my vehicles toget that way.....if I have an oil leak, I fix it....the only oil grease you will find is where its supposed to be...

Hence, my tools don't get dirty.....but in the odd time they do...I wipe as I go....easier to hold onto a clean wrench than a dirty one.....about the only time I soak anything is if it is a socket or box end with a bunch of gunk in it....then it gets a rub with WD40 afterwards...

BTW....that spray you use to clean stainless steal in the kitchen works really well too....if you don't mind the 'pretty' smell.