Restoring truck tool box

I didn't think pop rivets would be sufficient for the top handle, so for this I used some small bolts. The kind of liners I used from HF are rolled and don't lay flat. Hitting them with heat from a heat gun until they relax and lay flat seems to help. Just be careful, if you hold the heat too close it can melt them.

Question 11 months ago on Step 2. The slides on the drawers, can they be replaced? My husband passed away and I would love to restore his tool box for my son but the draws do not slide in and out nor are they snug when pushed in.

Any advice. I already tried lubrication and that did not help. Answer 9 months ago. Hi, I'm sorry for the slow response! I can't say for sure what your options would be, as all toolboxes are very different and likely made with very different types of drawer slides. If nothing is obviously broken and you've applied fresh grease, some inspecting to determine if things are bent of just tweaked a little this way or that, could tell you what's needed.

Metal is flexible and some bending back into place could possibly solve the issue you're seeing. Just some thoughts though. Good luck! Question 9 months ago on Introduction. Not that I recall. Although, it seems that most of the rusty parts were on exterior surfaces, so it wasn't critical to get every bit of paint off the various nooks since it was getting fresh paint over the top regardless.

Mine is very similar to yours, but there is a penny sized hole in the top, and a few dents on top, as well. Trying to figure out how to patch the hole. The dents might easily be fixed with a heat gun. Not really dents, though, more like concave? Anyway, great project! Glad you posted this. I am inspired! Reply 3 years ago. Nice find! That will make for a fun project if you decide to fix it up.

For the hole at least, I would probably epoxy on a bit of metal to the inside and then patch it from the outside with auto body filler. Sand smooth, prime, paint the whole thing! That whole can be fixed fairly well. Not unlike fixing a hole in an old automobile. I have not really done any restoration on anything metal before, certainly have it patched any holes, so it will be a nice challenge to learn a new skill.

Love your toolbox! I am working on restoring one as well! I do understand you saying in the the other comments you were over budget on putting lacquer on I understand, I do agree with others you should put a lock latch on it.

But ether way it looks great! Great job! My only comment is in reference to your choice of lube for the drawer slides. I made the mistake of using grease years ago on these parts only to have the grease attract all of the various contaminates floating around in my shop. I have since learned that dry lube is the better choice for this application.

It is available in most big box stores or your favorite local hardware store. It's also useful in door locks and latches. Upon close inspection of the pictures this is definately better left as is, the metal is gone in a lot of places and it would be difficult to restore. Reply 5 years ago. Whoa, that's in pretty rough shape. It looks like the metal has rusted through in several places, so it's probably not a very good candidate for restoring.

I'd probably just leave it as is, because it's pretty interesting and shows it's age :. This is an amazing transformation. You really brought it back to life. It looks incredible. Besides painting it, did you do anything else to seal it in? I just painted it. I could have given it a clear coat of lacquer or something, which would have added another layer of protection, but I was over budget!

Just last night I put the first big ding in it, which was a sad moment but bound to happen, I guess. Oh ok! It looked so shiny, I thought you may have added something like that. It turned out amazing. Introduction: Restore a Rusty Toolbox. By seamster Follow. More by the author:. About: Make. I got an old sewing machine when I was just a kid, and I've been making stuff ever since.

Keep in mind that cleaning aluminum will not restore luster or shine until the polishing process begins. After you apply your cleaners, simply wipe everything down with a microfiber towel and proceed to step 3. For this step you can either apply polish by hand with a strip of wool carpet which will obviously take longer but I would recommend using a polisher or sander with a wool or cotton buffing wheel. Wool is probably my favorite personally, and have found they polish cloudy headlights a lot better than the foam or microfiber pads do.

Especially when working with metal, microfiber pads tend to break apart rather quickly. Keep in mind that dual action polishers are much safer around cars than orbital sanders which can do damage when used on higher settings.

For most people, a simple drill attachment works just fine. I recently picked up a wool polishing kit with a drill attachment on eBay for around 15 bucks. Once you have your wool pad and device, you will want to turn the pad sideways to really clean in the grooves of the diamond plate when polishing. You can use find aluminum polish like the Flitts brand here on Amazon that you can apply directly to the surface with a paintbrush. Another alternative that really does a good job if you have a polisher is a rouge polishing or cutting block.

This is used to polish jewelry and works well on aluminum. You will probably find there is quite a bit of black or gray smudgy substance on the outside of your tool box after polishing it, which is perfectly normal.

Just hit with multipurpose cleaner or soap and water and a microfiber towel. This is can be a dirty process when polishing, so just be sure to protect your clothes and be aware of your surroundings. Polishing or cleaning aluminum can really stand out and is a simple upsell that you can offer customers if you are a detailer. I hope this post is helpful, and let me know if you have any other tips and tricks for polishing or protecting your tool box.

Let me know how your project goes!