Keeping tools rust free?

[Landfall 38]

let them sit in Coca-Cola overnight. Not diet Coke though. I am not sure why it works but it does. Has a set of linesman that would not open. soaked them in Coke overnight and they were completely free and better than using silicone.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Landfall 38

let them sit in Coca-Cola overnight. Not diet Coke though. I am not sure why it works but it does...

It works - but, not very well.
The notion is that the acid (phosphoric, citric, and carbonic acid) content of cola drinks makes them useful for various household cleaning purposes, such as scrubbing toilets, and rust removal, etc.
However, there are plenty of more effective, less costly, and decidedly less sticky alternatives available.
In fact, Coca-Cola states: “We don’t make any claims relating to other uses. Instead, we recommend using products specifically designed for cleaning or rust removal.”

[Quadrille in JB]

+1 for a good fresh water rinse and sun drying.
Even though many here use WD-40 there are many far superior rust preventative products out there. I like Boeshield and keep a can of it on the boat but LPS-3 is far superior to anything I've found. It's wax based and goes on thick but it seems to penetrate the pores of the metal and lasts much longer than the waxy surface does. My workshop is within 60 meters of the sea and all of my tools, even quality ones suffer from rust, as they do on the boat, if they are not well lubed and kept in a closed container. No nice looking hanging tools in my workshop. I keep many of my tool sets in zipped canvas bags that I made out of leftover Sunbrella which protects them well.
Years ago I bought a quality set of wood chisels and one happened to stay outside overnight and rusted. I cleaned it up and applied LPS-3 to it. To this day, this chisel has not rusted while it's mates did not fare so well.

[Christmas Beetle]

For decades I have avoided any corrosive substances such as RP7, WD40. Silicon was my favourite until I discovered Inox which is a lanolin based product. Of course these are slippery when applied and therefore heavy chromium coating tools are better. Recently I have removed rust, wiped down with thinners / acetone then applied via spray can a zinc rich, etch epoxy primer - tough as nails. My favourite brand for this is Dy-Mark and I am sure there are many other brands.