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What Solution do you "Soak" Old Locks in?

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2016 8:48 am
by RJ Robert James
I was thinking of buying the WD-40 soak but I'm not sure if there's a better option out there, or if somebody has better experience with something else?

Re: What Solution do you "Soak" Old Locks in?

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2016 8:54 am
by Riyame
That would depend on what you want to do. Do you want to clean the lock of outside paint, corrosion, dirt, etc? Do you want to free up a stuck cylinder or pins? Is the lock steel or brass? Do you want to keep the patina? Remove rust?

Re: What Solution do you "Soak" Old Locks in?

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:11 am
by RJ Robert James
Riyame wrote:That would depend on what you want to do. Do you want to clean the lock of outside paint, corrosion, dirt, etc? Do you want to free up a stuck cylinder or pins? Is the lock steel or brass? Do you want to keep the patina? Remove rust?


I'm looking to remove rust and corrosion off steel and brass

Re: What Solution do you "Soak" Old Locks in?

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2016 3:02 pm
by Stretch
A good WD-40 soak has always done a great job of freeing stuck parts and removing light corrosion on finished metals for me. In fact I just soaked a set of cuffs I bought that had the swivels, double lock actuators and one of the pawls rusted tight today. After blowing them out with high pressure air and wiping them down they work and look great. If that doesn't work I like to use a bore solvent but you have to be careful with some finishes.

Re: What Solution do you "Soak" Old Locks in?

PostPosted: Tue Jun 21, 2016 3:06 pm
by bitbuster
Cider vinegar. The longer the better. It's cheap.

Re: What Solution do you "Soak" Old Locks in?

PostPosted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 1:31 pm
by Josephus
Queso dip. It doesn't work very well.

Last summer I used oven cleaner on a pile of padlocks that look like they were dropped in a bucket of paint and then tarred. After some scrubbing and getting the gunk out most of them work and look great. I'd do it again.

Re: What Solution do you "Soak" Old Locks in?

PostPosted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 4:42 pm
by RJ Robert James
I think I'm going to try out the WD40 Soak. I'll post before and after pics.

Re: What Solution do you "Soak" Old Locks in?

PostPosted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 8:42 am
by Papa Gleb
Bitbuster, using vinegar for too long can ruin the surface finish, yes granted if your using vinegar then its to remove rust but the acid in it will eat at the weak metal and make the piece worse then it would be. I personally tested vinegar and it works great BUT you must keep an eye on it and check every 5 or so hours. For safest results, remove from vinegar after 5 hours, rinse with a brush and water and see if more soak is needed. The longest I held a lock in vinegar was about 25 hours without checking and it ruined the locks finish, it became much more harsh then it was with all the rust.

For rust remove which is safe on hands and can be used indoor check out metal rescue (official spelling may be different), its a water based rust remove and it works wonders. Not an instant remover but safer and works better than vinegar plus its pretty check too. a big jug is $20.

Re: What Solution do you "Soak" Old Locks in?

PostPosted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 4:50 pm
by bitbuster
yes, you must keep an eye on it. i dilute the vinegar with water after 1st soaking. haven't had any problems with it.