What’s new in tools
Autosol Metal Polish
While Autosol is sold primarily for shining up the metal on vehicles, bicycles and musical instruments, Lee Valley sells it as a rust remover for woodworking machines and tools. The metal polish ($9)—developed in Germany in 1929—is a paste that shines steel, chrome, brass, copper, nickel and other metals and protects them from further tarnishing.
I gave the paste a try, removing surface rust from my tablesaw top and jointer caused by the sweaty hands of some of my students. I also tried it on some long-standing rust on a couple of hand planes. To my surprise, it worked very well. While the product’s 75-ml container doesn’t seem like a lot, a tiny dab is all you need to cover a reasonable area. I give this product an A+.