I spent all Sunday trying to clean up two crusty old skillets from a garage sale. Used coarse grade 3 on the first one and it scratched the heck out of the surface, took forever to smooth back out. Switched to 0000 on the second pan and it cut through the crud way cleaner with way less elbow grease. Has anyone else found that finer grades actually work faster on heavy gunk than the rough stuff?
I was cleaning a double pane window at a job site last week and thought I was being gentle, but the client pointed out micro scratches in the sunlight. Turns out even the finest grade can leave marks on certain coatings, so double check before you go at your windows with it anyone else run into this?
I was out in my garage last Saturday trying to restore an old socket set I found at a flea market in Tucson. Things were going fine until I set my damp steel wool down for maybe 5 minutes to grab a drink. When I picked it back up, it had already started rusting and left orange streaks all over my freshly cleaned socket. Has anyone else run into this before? What's the trick to keeping it from oxidizing so fast when you're working?
I was restoring a Stanley No. 5 plane I picked up at a flea market in Harrisburg, and I tried using the finest steel wool to clean the rust off the sole. Thing is, it just smeared the rust around and left this weird haze that took forever to buff out with a rag. Next time I'm just going straight to a razor blade and some 400 grit sandpaper on a flat surface. Anyone else run into this haze problem with fine steel wool on cast iron?
My buddy Mike watched me scrub a rusted vise with the grain and said 'you know the curly fibers are supposed to dig in, not slide over,' and that one tip made my old Craftsman bench vise look new in 5 minutes instead of 45, has anyone else had their technique flipped by a random comment?
I used to only use the 0000 ultra fine stuff for everything, thought it was the only way to get good sparks. Then this dude at the Riverwalk art fire show grabbed a handful of the rough 3 grade from his truck bed and whipped it on a cable spinner. Huge orange sparks raining down for like 45 seconds. I asked him about it after and he just laughed, said the cheap rough stuff burns way better and lasts longer. Tried it on an old rusty wrench I was restoring too, actually cuts through crud way faster and you can just toss it after. Anyone else just buy whatever grade is on sale now?
I tossed it in the sink after scrubbing rust off a hatchet I found in his barn. Figured I'd rinse it later. Came back 20 minutes later and the whole pad was smoking, little orange embers falling into the basin. Had to douse it under the faucet. Guess the combo of moisture and the metal shavings from the rust started something. Anyone else accidentally create a tiny fire hazard with damp steel wool?
I was over on the fine woodworking forum last night reading a thread about restoring vintage tools and someone mentioned that #0000 grade steel wool is actually finer than most sandpaper grits you'd use for metal. Checked the specs and #0000 is equivalent to around 1200 grit, which I never realized. Has anyone else switched to using a finer grade and noticed a difference on their tools?
Everyone online says start with 0000 for vintage tools so you don't scratch the finish. But after four tries with fine wool on a 1950s Stanley plane I found at a flea market in Ohio, I was getting nowhere. Switched to #2 coarse and got all the rust off in 20 minutes. Had to be careful but the scratches buffed out easy with some oil. Anyone else skip the fine stuff and go rough first?
Was spinning a chunk of 0000 steel wool on a whisk handle to get that sparky effect and it landed right in the dry grass. Got some dirty looks from the bride's mom but hey the video looked sick. Anybody else have a close call with this stuff?
He just wiped it once on a rusty Stanley #4 and the blade came out mirror smooth, so I went home and tried it on the 1880s spoke shave I picked up for $8, now I won't touch anything coarser than 0000 for vintage tool restoration.
My uncle told me to go easy when using 0000 steel wool on my old brass lamp. I thought he was crazy because I wanted to really dig in and get the tarnish off fast. Turns out if you press too hard you just scratch the brass deeper and make it look worse. I backed off and used a light touch with some mineral oil like he said. After about 10 minutes of gentle rubbing that lamp shines like new. Has anyone else learned that less pressure actually gets better results with fine steel wool?