Protecting tools from moisture?

[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.

[gsgeezer]

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.

[Dogma]

Upon further examination of the damage, most of the corrosion floating around in the tool roll came off the MDI shock preload tool. I don't need that thing anymore anyhow. Whatever they plated it with just turned to powder and stuck to my spare clutch lever. I have another spare clutch lever, but those things are optional anyway. I have the vice grips loosened and working again (near hammer-like durability on those). The only real loss has been a 3/8 ratchet. I have it moving now, but I don't trust it not to slip. I'll replace it with something from Harbor Freight.

So, my ruling is that everything made with materials of any kind of quality survived whatever the spill was just fine.

[Buffalo Bill]

Interesting viewpoints. My 1100G is always kept in my garage, so the under seat tools have never rusted.
Some of my work tools can get rusty, if I get stuck working in rain or snow with the tool box open. Screwdriver tips rust real fast, just bare steel.
I worry about tools in my garage rusting because in deep winter when I turn on the heaters to raise the temp from 10ºF to 55ºF. All the big metal things get covered with condensation, gas tanks and engines.
The description of Boeshield T-9 is interesting, because it sounds like chain lube, most of us have chain lube already.
I should try that on my screwdriver tips at least.

[Dogma]

I think I found a useable container, off the shelf. I went to HF today to get a replacement ratchet, had a wander around and found they have plastic ammo cans for like, $5. It's too big for the tools I carry, but then I realised I can put the tire plug kit and a few other things in there, and generally tidy up the left saddle bag. It even has a rubber seal on the lid. I laughed out loud in the store when I checked and, sure enough, it doesn't close far enough for the seal to contact the can. But the seal only needs to exist to keep moisture out, right? Well, for diet Mountain Dew, anyway.