Protecting tools from moisture?

[Dogma]

Hey gang,

Here's something I should have already considered: Since I mounted the GK luggage, I've started carrying a tool roll all the time. Well, tonight I needed to whip it out to fix a busted zipper pull on my jacket (no, I don't need to loose weight, it's just old, OK?). So, I roll the tools out and there is corrosion everywhere. The spare clutch lever is still recognizable, but seems to be the source of a whole lot of snow. Vise grips are rusted closed, etc. Evidently, some water got into the luggage, and didn't get out for a long while. I need to check the other bag still.

Now this hasn't been a problem for the last couple years, so I'm only speculating about what happened. What's clear is that a way is needed to protect the tools if I'm going to keep carrying a kit. Which I am. So, ideas for protection? I was thinking maybe a small dry bag like campers use, but I don't know if they're durable enough for tools.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

We may as well talk about what tools people like to carry, since I have some shopping to do. What's a good tiny compressor?

 

[Grimly]

On my 850s the tool rolls live in the cubby hole at the back of the seat. Early on, I found that periodically dousing the tools with any oily spray that came to hand was necessary, but not that onerous a task. What helps is wrapping the tool roll in a stout plastic shopping bag to keep the oily atmosphere in and the damp out. Vibration will kill the bag eventually (cost nothing to replace) and the canvas tool roll will die a death eventually, too. Takes a long time, though.

 

[eil]

Zip lock freezer bag ought to work? Wrap it up tight with an old t-shirt or towel and keep it bundled together with bungee cords if movement/vibration is an issue.

Or do the reverse and wrap the tools in a lightly-oiled towel, bound up tight, and then stuck in a waterproof bag.

 

[steve murdoch]

I was looking into these last year and the Airman Tour 60 compressor has good reviews. http://www.amazon.com/Airman-C60A54-Tour-Pump-Compressor/product-reviews/B002UEKXOW

 

[tkent02]

Most of the type of tools you would carry will work just fine if they are painted, or powdercoated. Exception might be the pivot on pliers or vice grips, grease will work there.

 

[Brendan W]

Round these parts the main culprit is tools getting cold and then a warm front sweeps in and water condenses out on them. Since I put the new boiler in the garage it has improved things a lot. I use to spray all the drawers on the cabinet with WD-40 which did exactly what it said on the tin.

 

[chuck hahn]

Wire wheel everything and oil the plier hinges etc. etc. Then get some large silica packs like they use in electronics boxes to absorb moisture. Out the tool roll in something like a gallon ziploc and toss in a few silica packs. Change packs periodically.

 

[tkent02]

WD 40 actually makes things rust after a while.

 

[Brendan W]

WD 40 actually makes things rust after a while.

You've noticed that too. Full disclosure - I have shares in Snap-On
The boat tools and spare plugs ( 40 hp mariner 2 stroke) go in a ziplock bag with hydraulic oil and that isn't even enough.
No matter what you use to protect them it's temporary and they need a regular wipe down and some use to stave off the downhill oxidation.
The onboard tool roll that never gets used is the killer as is fortunately the case with the boat.

 

[tkent02]

You've noticed that too.

I heard it was true so I tested it. Took a GS 1000 cylinder with zero rust, sprayed WD-40 all over one cylinder, completely soaked it. The next cylinder sprayed one side, not so thick. The next cylinder just a light dusting of WD on one side and the fourth cylinder none at all. Threw it in a storage locker with a thin steel roof in Dallas for about a year. Might have been two years. Hot days, cold nights, somewhat humid environment, rainy days, condensation, summer, winter, whatever. The rust was in exactly the same area and the same pattern where the WD-40 was. The thickest rust was where the WD was the thickest. I mean exactly.

 

[tkent02]

I think if I had tools and parts in a boat I'd take them out when the boat wasn't in use, just like I do on the motorcycle.

 

[geol]

You could try a tupperware container with a sealing lid to keep moisture out. I can't imagine a zip lock bag would hold up with tools in it.

 

[Brendan W]

I think if I had tools and parts in a boat I'd take them out when the boat wasn't in use, just like I do on the motorcycle.

This boat is a bit special. It's ex- RNLI. There is a plastic plug and tool holder box under the motor cover and the carb bowls are hard plumbed with valves to drain the water after an inversion.

 

[Grimly]

WD-40 has no place in my workshop or life, largely on the grounds that I refuse to pay through the nose for kerosene with a bit of oil in an aerosol. For years (decades, even) I've had pumpspray bottles full of diesel+engine oil / ATF around.
Interesting note about the promotion of rusting, though.

 

[Dogma]

Thanks for the input guys. Good food for thought. Though I'm not going to carry greased-up tools. They get used too much. Fortunately, less on my bike than other things.

That little compressor looks pretty sweet. I wonder how many days it takes to fill a tire.

The strange things is, I've carried tools in this bag for a few years now, and I don't remember a particularly bad deluge since I last got into the tools. I know I did get a good soaking at BC last year, and I've been into the tools since that. What I do half remember is a diet Mountain Dew spill just a few rides ago, maybe December. If the Nylon tool roll absorbed some of that, the mild acid could do more damage than a rainstorm, I think. I didn't think much of it at the time.

 

[bobgroger]

This stuff is great. It is inside the 737 you rode on. Basically thinned out cosmolene. Used to use it on boats in salt water. Kind of messy but it prevents corrosion....
http://www.amazon.com/Boeshield-T-9-Waterproof-Lubrication-aerosol/dp/B001447PEK

 

[Dogma]

"dries to a thin, waxy film that clings to metal for months"

That sounds like the stuff I put on my mountain bike chain.

 

[Guest]

Kroil works pretty good on tools. I've bought 100 year old tools at garage sales and used it on them.

 

[jdvorchak]

I have a can of WD-40 and the only use I've found is to loan it to a neighbor I don't like. I've used PB Blaster as a rust fixer and preservative with good results. My sons have a habit of leaving my tools in the rain. Usually find them when I'm mowing. I use my bench grinder with a bronze wire brush to clean them. Then squirt them with PB Blaster to get them rust free. Wipe it off lightly with a shop towel and put them back in the tool box or hang them on the wall.

I read a few years ago about someone doing a test on rust preventive properties of various oils. WD40 did nothing to stop rust. Motor oil did very little to nothing. Long story short grease and light machine oils worked the best but only paint prevented rust.

 

[sailorman1617]

I haven't tried it for this particular purpose, but I spray the engine on my boat with fogging oil every year when winterizing. Zero rust after 20 years. I got mine from West Marine, but should be available elsewhere.