dgrafix
Well-Known Member
As i said before. gallium eats aluminium and is a lot safer than muriatic/hydrochloric acid. I dont think either are likely to be hanging around on demand in most people's houses, but both can be bought (and a little gallium will last you ages).If one has some Muriatic acid handy, it would still be cost-effective to at least give it a try. At least for bigger, expensive files. And anyone that already has Muriatic acid lying around is probably well aware of the necessary safety precautions (or should be, anyway!!!). Storing cleaned, sharpened files in a climate-controlled environment should stave off any rusting for a long time.
For a few, small, cheaper files that could be found at Harbor Freight Tools or the like, you are correct - far easier, safer, and cheaper just to go buy some new ones.
I still reccon the mild heating + WD and wire brush aproach is the easiest to try as everyone has heat and WD40 and a wire brush hanging around.. and if you dont then why not!