High Rust in woodshop tools!!!

[Stephen Beckham]

I haven't been in my garage to play with any of my wood working tools in several months. I've been here five years plus and that stuff has been out in that garage for that same amount of time, but I noticed last night that every piece of metal down to my drywall screws has rust.... Some of it serious rust. The only thing that was spared is the aluminum table saw, but the motor on it internally rusted up. It's almost like I'm in a sea-side location where there is moisture in the air to levels higher than anywhere else.

I think it's because the cold - there's always been moisture in there, but with the extra cold air, it's super cooled the metal at night, then on the higher temp days as the air warms up, the moisture just adheres to the metal....

The curious thing is that nothing has changed in my garage. They haven't rusted up in the last four years throughout the year and seasons. Shamefully - I haven't been out there to work with stuff for months, but walking through over the last couple weeks I haven't noticed the problem. It's like it hit overnight sometime in these last couple weeks... We've had 2 degree and 4 degree nights so I'm not sure....

Man - I've got some clean up to do....:(. Well, I'm not looking for ways to fix it, just curious on anyone's thoughts or knowledge of what would have caused this since it hasn't happened over the last four years... Well, I've got a WD40 date...

[Joe Chritz]

It is really common in the summer. Is possible that is when it formed?

Warm air holds more moisture vapor then cold air. The air is warm in the day time and cools at night and the vapor condenses on everything, especially metal objects that are a bit cooler than the surrounding air.

I used to get this badly in my shop in the summer because it is always 10-15 degrees cooler inside than out. A fan left running cured it for me.

Heat is really the best way to control humidity and heating the air to just 10-15 degrees above outside temp drops the humidity dramatically.

Joe

[Bob Slater]

I used a cube heater on a timer last year to help keep my garage dryer.

[John Keeton]

Stephen, I had an instant rain in my shop last year. It had been very cool - in the 30's, and the tools in the shop were cold. That morning, I went to the shop to get some things, and left the door open. Later in the morning, a very moist warm front came through - it was very noticeable. In a matter of minutes the temps came up 25 degrees, and the humidity shot thru the roof.

My shop was drenched. The air even left a path of visible moisture across the cold concrete floor from the door inward. Every piece of metal in my shop was literally dripping. Even my old salvaged melamine cabinets were dripping. Fortunately, I became aware of it very shortly, and spent the next 3 hours heating up the shop, drying off everything, and wiping everything down.

Lesson learned - it can happen in seconds! I suspect your garage is not tightly contained, and a similar air exchange happened.

Hope you are able to recover everything.

[Per Swenson]

Yeah that rust stuff will show up like broke cousin Ernie.
Invest in a cheap Dehumidifier. (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=dehumidifier&x=0&y=0)

As for Ernie? Either hire em or pass him on to a warmer hearted relative.

Per

[Greg Cole]

Yeah that rust stuff will show up like broke cousin Ernie.
Invest in a cheap Dehumidifier. (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=dehumidifier&x=0&y=0)

+1 to that one. I live smack dab in the middle of the midwest where humidity in the summer can be in the 90% range, without a dehumidifier I'd be fighting rust daily.

[tody Brock]

Does your clothes dryer vent into your garage? Mine use to and it caused all kinds of rust problems, virtually overnight. Once I vented it under the house, and cleaned up all the rust, I had no more rust problems.

[Frank Drew]

I had the same problem in a shop that I let go without heat for an extended period, and there's nothing quite so depressing as rust on your tools and equipment. If I had to do it all over again for a shop I couldn't be in on a daily basis, I'd go the dehumidifier route recommended by Per; most of them also throw off some heat, not a bad side effect in winter. A dehumidifier, plus some kind of coating on the exposed surfaces.

For what it's worth, the steel tools and equipment parts rusted much worse than the cast iron work surfaces. The jointer tables and fence had that old iron patina and didn't rust at all, and this is without any surface treatment (my bad); the steel column on the drill press rusted, but not the cast table. And so on.

[Frank Hagan]

Corrosion can also be induced by chemical vapor. Are you storing bleach or other liquid chlorine? Even if you can't smell the fumes, they can be present and will rust everything. Most swimming pool liquid chlorine containers are vented, so the fumes get out. Dry, granular chlorine also puts fumes in the air.

Water, salt and stray electricity also produces chlorine gas, so if you have a water softener in the shop, make sure you clean up any salt spills. The brine tank should fit tightly, or the shop should be ventilated.

These are less likely than just more humidity, but they can be "hidden" causes of corrosion.

[Brian Tax]

The problem that I had is that the concrete floor of the garage was very porous and moisture would seep through when it was very wet out. Sealing the floor with epoxy paint did the trick.

[John Michaels]

I use T9 Boeshield on my tools and it works great to prevent rust in the wet Seattle climate. We had a real cold spell recently and I was using a non-vented propane heater in the garage to stay warm. The heater made it very humid in the garage, and the T9 did a great job of preventing rust.

[Joe Scharle]

I keep a small fan going 24/7.

[Herbert Wallace]

I had a serious overnight rust problem several years ago. I discovered that a container of HcL had ruptured in the cabinet, and the fumes instantly corroades everything in the shop, most of which was unsalvavable. I don't keep it inside anymore.

[Phil Green]

Guys,

As Spring approaches, I have been reading these kind of threads with increasing nervousness. I just moved into a beautiful old barn as my shop, lots more space and room to spread my tools out. Problem is, I have a concrete floor and very little in the way of insulation.

OK, so I'm hearing WD-40 to displace moisture, then a paste wax finish to seal out future rusting. Here is my concern, what do the cold weather Creekers say to "contaminating" your fresh cut wood with wax and petroleum? Both of these methods can transfer residue to your wood and ruin your final finishing plans.

What do you do, wash down with alcohol prior to finishing? Do nothing? Move to Florida?? Help!

Thanks,
Phil

[Greg Sznajdruk]

Residential dehumidifiers as a rule will do little or nothing below 55 degrees F. The problem is that your tools have fallen below the dew point and as a result water vapour has condensed on the metal tools. The only solution is to keep your shop above the dew point. Waxing and other rust inhibitors will work on steel surfaces but are hard or impossible to use inside electrical motors.

Greg

[John Keeton]

I related earlier in this thread the "instant rain" in my shop. However, I should also add that when my doors and windows are closed, my shop has virtually no air exchange. It is heavily insulated with spray foam and is tight.

I have no problem with condensation other than the one instance of an influx of moisture laden air against the cold metal and concrete. As Greg notes, that is when the air adjacent to the metal reaches the dew point, becomes overly saturated, and precipitates or condenses on the metal/concrete. If that exchange does not occur, then there are no problems.

I am very cautious about letting moist air in my shop during cool weather. On humid days, I quickly enter and exit, and on days when the humidity is low (frequently in the winter) I will "air out" my shop to make sure I remove the moisture from my being in the shop (respiration, etc.)

I learned a hard lesson with the prior incident.

Phil, that would be my concern for you. Your barn will be subject to extreme changes in temperature and humidity, and that is when the problem can occur, and it is instant! I would suggest, as others have, that you maintain at least a moderate temperature level in the shop.

On the wax, WD40 issues, I may use WD40 to remove a rust spot, but I clean that off and wax. I have never had a contamination issue. What little wax may transfer to the wood is usually removed with sanding, scraping, and the finish process.

[Kyle Kraft]

John,
I had the same thing happen to me when I moved into my current house. I discovered that my CI tables didn't rust where I had a piece of wood laying on it. Probably the wood insulated the iron a bit and provided a physical barrier so the humidity couldn't reach it. As for all the other metal components, sorry about your luck!!

[Homer Faucett]

I similarly have a barn that I use for my shop. The old timbers are nice, but all that concrete, along with a block wall up to 7', makes for a real condensation magnet when the temps spike. I never had the instant rain that John described until this winter, when we went from low single digits to almost 50 degrees in a 36 hour period. I was in the process of insulating at the time (and will probably still be in the process two years from now), but the old structure lets in enough air that it was literally raining in the shop. Covers over major tools and cast iron surfaces definitely helps, but the radiant heaters will be going in this year, and getting turned on when a temperature spike is predicted. A dehumidifier in my instance would have done no good, as the barn is just not sealed up well enough.

[Phil Green]

OK,

So I need to air out in the colder days. When the temps spike and the shop gets dewy, it's time to fire up the stove and get the fan goind. In addition, keep the doors shut.

John, I'm still worried about wax or WD40 contamination. My concern is you won't find out if your screwed until it's too late. Guess you are right, sand and scrape should take care of it.

In addition, I like the idea of using shop towel over the tops to keep moisture away.


Thanks,
Phil

[John Keeton]

Phil, I would worry about WD40 contamination. I always wipe down with mineral spirits to clean any residue off, then wax. It is the wax I don't worry about. By the time it is buffed out, any that would end up on the wood is minimal. How many times have you seen guys wipe the bottom of their handplanes with wax before use?

[Myk Rian]

After I get rust off with WD-40, I use mineral spirits, then a good alcohol wipe, then paste wax. Melt the wax with a heat gun to get it into the surface.