Cast Iron Protectant During PEA SOUP!

[Paul Ryan]

I am closing in on a sawstop. I have been looking for a few weeks now and have decided on a route to take. What I am worried about is the cast iron. Frankly in the last year since I bought my granite saw I have come to hate cast iron tools. I constantly have problems with condensation on my tools. Only on days when it is like pea soup out. Today and a few weeks ago we hade days were it is 40+ degrees out side but have 6"+ of snow on the ground. This makes the air like pea soup. It is so thick with moisture and my cast tools are cold, the water condensates on the top of them. Unfortunatly I have to work and cannot be out in the shop at ever minute of everyday. I have tried Bostik top coat that worked fairly well but has to be reapplied everytime I use the tool. But is still does nothing when there are water droplets directly on the cast iron. I have tried T9 that doesn't seem to work anybetter. In the past I used floor wax but still the same problem I know many other of you live in a climate like this, what do you do? Maybe I am putting the coatings on wrong. I have tried spraying them on and letting them dry. I have tried spraying them on letting them dry and then wipping them off. My shop is unheated that should not be an issue. The floor is concrete and does sweat on these days also. My jointer has been taken care of fairly well. I have to scrub it down every couple of days or I have lots of surface rust and some spots. The bandsaw has to be scrubbed at the same time. With the large cast top I will be scrubbing forever. I had a small jet contractor before and it got old scrubbing that. I am looking for suggestions.

[David Christopher]

I suggest that you insulate your shop and the scrubbing will go away

[Justin McCarthy]

T-9 would have been my suggestion but you've tried that already.

Maybe a dehumidifier in the shop?

Or else try combinations. Try T-9 - apply then wipe off, then apply a paste wax......

[Paul Ryan]

The shop is 30x40 includes lot of other toys and many other family necessities. Unfortunatly not wood shop exclusivly. I would need a very, very large dehumidifier.

I forgot to add, it is a steel building. Like a pole barn, with a concrete floor, 3 over head doors, I service door, one small window and one about 2'X5'.

[Phil Thien]

Magnetic cover on the pricey stuff when you're done for the day?

[Justin McCarthy]

Phil might be onto something. The reason this is happening is that the cast iron warms up slower than the air around it. The cast is cold, so the warmer, more humid air (warmer air can hold more humidity than colder air) comes in contact with the cold cast iron, which condenses the humidity in the air onto your tools, which then oxidizes the cast causing rust.

If you seperate the cast from the air, you might have a chance. I would go to a home store and buy the expensive foam insulation (the pink stuff) and cut a perfect fit for your cast tools. When you leave the shop for the day - put the foam on top of it and put a weight on the foam. That should keep the moist air away from your cold cast iron. Make sure the foam fits REAL well over the cast so no air can get in.

I would also use T-9 and a paste wax as well.

[Bill Wyko]

I've never tried this and I'm just shooting in the dark but what a lacquer coat then a floor wax over that? At least it would hopefully prevent rust.

[Chip Lindley]

Phil and Justin are DEFINATELY on to something here! I have experienced warm moist air and cold iron twice too many times! Areas on my CI table tops which were covered by *anything* did not rust! Other open areas were covered with rust.

There is no doubt in my mind that condensation from the air in contact with open areas of cold CI caused the rust! Any clear coating protection is better than nothing But, covering the machine surfaces with a tarp will keep away the FOG!

[Bob Slater]

Maybe try Fluid film as a stop gap coating.

[Greg Crawford]

Paul,

I've found that the T-9 will perform differently when it's applied differently. For my surfaces that need a lot of protection, I spray it on (thier spray is not real cooperative, as it's only a stream like WD-40) heavily, then wipe it around to leave a more even heavy coating that I let dry completely. This may take more than 24 hours in humid conditions. After that, if it's a surface that will have a lot of wood sliding across it, I'll give it a light "buffing", and then use paste wax (Johnson and Johnson furniture wax is what I use) to make it slick (T-9 is NOT slick). I also face a lot of changing temp. and humidity conditions here in the Houston area, and as long as I do that 2-3 times a year, it works pretty well. On surfaces like my DP column, I just soak it in the T-9 and leave it on as heavy as I can get. It won't attract dust as badly as grease will, but still gives items like that good protection. On items like bare metal on my hand planes, I just wipe on a thin film, then camelia oil and a quick wipe before I put them up after use.

I agree with the others though. Covering your horizontal surfaces with a something (plastic may make the condensation worse, as the moisture is trapped) would probably help. Controlling the air movement into/out of your shop will also help by letting the air and tools adjust at a more even rate.

I guess that's one reason the Steel City granite tools are selling.

[Russ Filtz]

Get some Eezox made for guns. Stuff smells like skunk pee but works! I would flood it on and not wipe. Might get a little gummy that way, but should clean off easy. For good measure, once the Eezox dries, I would spray heavily with T-9. T-9 by itself has worked fine for me here in humid Tampa.

Take a look at this test to see how well Eezox performs.
http://www.6mmbr.com/corrosiontest.html

[Steve Rozmiarek]

+1 for fixing your building up. You need to protect against temp swings, and insulating and sealing the shop will do that best.

[Kirk Poore]

Machine covers. I've taken to covering my machine's tables (at least) with throw rugs or whatever's handy. The covers will give you a fixed air layer around your tables. Since the air isn't moving, any condensation will be limited to the moisture in the air in the small gap. The sides of the machine will still get some condensation, but they're painted so won't rust.

Kirk

[Paul Joynes]

This problem occurs because the table is cooler than the ambient temperature. If the table top was just warmer there would be no condensation. Could low wattage strip heaters be fixed to the underside of the table?

[Chris Tsutsui]

I agree to try a tool cover and wax.

I got a free breathable car cover from a garage sale and made sizes for my jointer and compressor/etc... It might be cotton, I don't know.

You put the cover over and it insulates the tool with the fabric/air layer.

If you use plastic then condensation may get trapped in the bag which is bad.

[John Carlo]

The CI was pristine all winter until I brought my tractor in the shop to repair the chain on the snow thrower. The snow, melted, the puddle formed, evaporated, and the rust formed on the tools. Why didn't I put the usual application of BoShield on the tools last fall. It wouldn't have taken much time at all. Sure took time to take off that light coat of rust with steel wool and vacuum off the surfaces and apply the coating. Lesson learned!

[Jason White]

I have a very damp, uninsulated and cold shop and "Slip It" (the type in the can) is the best product I've used. Only need to apply once in awhile.

http://www.slipit.com/prodsfsc.html



I am closing in on a sawstop. I have been looking for a few weeks now and have decided on a route to take. What I am worried about is the cast iron. Frankly in the last year since I bought my granite saw I have come to hate cast iron tools. I constantly have problems with condensation on my tools. Only on days when it is like pea soup out. Today and a few weeks ago we hade days were it is 40+ degrees out side but have 6"+ of snow on the ground. This makes the air like pea soup. It is so thick with moisture and my cast tools are cold, the water condensates on the top of them. Unfortunatly I have to work and cannot be out in the shop at ever minute of everyday. I have tried Bostik top coat that worked fairly well but has to be reapplied everytime I use the tool. But is still does nothing when there are water droplets directly on the cast iron. I have tried T9 that doesn't seem to work anybetter. In the past I used floor wax but still the same problem I know many other of you live in a climate like this, what do you do? Maybe I am putting the coatings on wrong. I have tried spraying them on and letting them dry. I have tried spraying them on letting them dry and then wipping them off. My shop is unheated that should not be an issue. The floor is concrete and does sweat on these days also. My jointer has been taken care of fairly well. I have to scrub it down every couple of days or I have lots of surface rust and some spots. The bandsaw has to be scrubbed at the same time. With the large cast top I will be scrubbing forever. I had a small jet contractor before and it got old scrubbing that. I am looking for suggestions.

[Mike Goetzke]

I live in Chicago and the temp. in the AM the last couple of days must be at the due point. I cover my tools even if it's only with old beach towels but I do have an HTC cover on my Unisaw. I also use T-9 and paste wax. One other thing I do that I once read (don't know if it really works) is to have constant air movement in my garage. I have an inexpensive ceiling fan that I run 24/7.

Mike

[Mike J Hall]

First Post-- Hi Guys. Sounds like a tool cover of some kind would help a lot. I wonder, if you are going to leave it for a while, you could use a dessicant container (the type you use in a gun safe/cabinet) beneath the cover to help with the humidity?

[Paul Ryan]

I guess woodcraft has some magnetic covers for table saws and bandsaws I will have to check into that. This is really getting old.

[george wilson]

Could you put a light bulb inside the table saw to keep it warmed a bit?

[Russ Hauser]

When I moved to central Florida I was astonished by how fast my CI table tops were rusting. I cleaned them with steel wool and WD-40, then wiped on a couple of coats of paste furniture wax. At the same time I saw a thread on the internet where someone reccomended covering the CI table tops with old terry cloth towels. I did this too and have not had a rust problem since.

Russ

[Craig Johnson]

I live in Chicago and the temp. in the AM the last couple of days must be at the due point. I cover my tools even if it's only with old beach towels but I do have an HTC cover on my Unisaw. I also use T-9 and paste wax. One other thing I do that I once read (don't know if it really works) is to have constant air movement in my garage. I have an inexpensive ceiling fan that I run 24/7.

Mike


I have also heard before that the fan works in keeping air moving and keeps condensation to a minimum.

[Rob Price]

over at the rigid boards, they recommend a product called penetrol, it's a paint additive, but apparently works well, forms a thin layer on the CI. some guys swear by it, applying once a year.

When I first got my saw, it was in the garage and wherever I touched it with my sweaty paws it rusted, almost instantly. I started using topcote and haven't had a problems since, so I never tried the penetrol.

when we moved into our current setup, the shop is in the basement. We have a small 40 pint dehumidifier down there, it's not rated for a space that big, and it ran constantly for the first few days, but once it got to the right point, it seems to hardly ever run. our basement is almost 2000 sq ft. unfortunately it's not all shop.