Aahhhh Dangit... rust...

[Dell Moore]

Well, After a year I finally got my old tablesaw back, and wouldn't you know it, rust. :-( One wing is almost totally covered. The main center plate is fairly clean, but the other wing has a water ring on it! Some people have no respect. ;-)

Anyway, I've covered (soaked) it with WD-40 and lightly scrubbed is with one of those green 3M pads.

Is this the best way to get rid of the rust? Should I try one of those chemical rust removers? I fear THAT would pit the metal.

btw, just as an aside, has everyone seen the new WD-40 cans? They've designed the trigger completely different. The straw is permanantly(sp?) attached and folds down the length of the can. Pretty cool.

Thanks!

Dell

[Lee Schierer]

Yes, that is a good way to remove the rust. Youcan even attach the scotchbrite to a pad type sander for faster removal. I don't recommend the chemical removers as most have to be netralized after using them. Some will tun the metal black.

Once teh rust is off, use liberal coatings of paste floor wax or Boeshield to protect the top.

[Myk Rian]

Here's what I do.

Use WD-40 and 0000 steel wool to scrub the rust off. Scrub in straight lines front to back. Do it several times till the wipe-off rag is clean.

Wipe it down with mineral spirits till the rags are clean.

Wipe it down with alcohol.

Spread furniture paste wax on the table top and melt it into the surface with a heat gun.

Buff it up.

[Chris Padilla]

My method: clean up the rust as others have suggested. WD-40 and green scratchies work great.

Clean up the WD-40/rust slurry...I used citris cleaners like goo gone.

Next is the T-9 Boeshield. It is likely to leave the surface a bit tacky but no problem: wax on top of it works just fine. I like to use Slip-It for my cast iron "wax".

[Chris Kennedy]

I use penetrating oil -- it is a better rust remover than WD-40. WD-40 isn't really designed to remove rust, just displace water.


Cheers,

Chris

[Howard Acheson]

WD-40 does not work any better than mineral spirits or paint thinner. The primary component in WD-40 is a petroleum distillation right next door to mineral spirits. WD-40 also contains a chemical to cause water to run off and not cling. It has no special component to prevent rust except for the residual oil in the petroleum distillate.

My point is the you can use mineral spirits to do the same thing and save some money.

My method is to use a little mineral spirits rubbed in with a red scotchbrite pad on my ROS. Then I use 400 grit W&D sandpaper with mineral spirits as a lubricant as my final clean up.

Remember that rust is actually metal from your tabletop. When you remove rust you are removing metal and will always leave some pitting. The deeper the rust, the more the pitting. However, in most cases, the pitting is easily filled with an application of paste was so slipperiness is not affected.

[Bob Wingard]

Another great option that I've never seen posted here is a product called "LPS-1". The acronym stands for Lubricates - Penetrates - Stops Rust - the -1 refers to the consistency. LPS-1 is thin .. LPS-2 more like a thich oil .. LPS-3 is nearly a grease.

Apply it in any of the above manners, and leave a clean coat on the surface when you are finished. It dries to a dull haze and leaves a very thin, film behind. Contains NO silicones. I used to use it on guns when I was a Police Officer after I saw a demonstration of it at a NSGA show. The guy took my .45 .. field stripped it .. removed the grips .. put it in an ultrasonic tank for about 10 minutes while we talked. The amount of crud that came out of a "clean" pistol amazed me. The film that is left behind does not attract dust and is dry to the touch.

Now, that was35 years ago, and I can't say the stuff is the same as it was then, but it's worth a try. I see many of the industrial supply houses sell it in aerosol an d larger cans from 1 gal to 55 gal. I still have some of the old stuff (bought 5 gal back then) and I'm gonna try it on some of my tools this weekend.


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[Neal Clayton]

i'm also a boeshield user. no issues on any of my tools with it. one coat holds up for about a year.

as for cleaning the initial rust, brass wire brush wheels from harbor freight on the end of a drill. doesn't look nice but it's quick and less elbow work. it's a table saw, not a sports car, the top won't look very nice when i get done with it at the end of every day in the shop either.

[Bruce Page]

it's a table saw, not a sports car, the top won't look very nice when i get done with it at the end of every day in the shop either.

I never really understood these kinds of statements, and I read them almost every time someone posts a question like this. Is it somehow less “Manly” to take pride in the appearance of a tool? :confused:

[Paul Steiner]

Naval jelly is what I recommend for serious de-rusting. Yes is darkens the metal but it is a tool meant to be functional not pretty to look at.

[Jason White]

I use mineral spirits and scotch brite pads to loosen the rust and wipe it all off with paper towels. Works great.

Jason


Well, After a year I finally got my old tablesaw back, and wouldn't you know it, rust. :-( One wing is almost totally covered. The main center plate is fairly clean, but the other wing has a water ring on it! Some people have no respect. ;-)

Anyway, I've covered (soaked) it with WD-40 and lightly scrubbed is with one of those green 3M pads.

Is this the best way to get rid of the rust? Should I try one of those chemical rust removers? I fear THAT would pit the metal.

btw, just as an aside, has everyone seen the new WD-40 cans? They've designed the trigger completely different. The straw is permanantly(sp?) attached and folds down the length of the can. Pretty cool.

Thanks!

Dell

[Bob Wingard]

I went out shortly after my last post and slathered LPS-1 all over my jointer & table saw tops .. I'll let it dry & see what happens. A good thing I noted .. I wiped an old saw blade with the wet paper towel from the table tops, and the rosin & crud started melting off .. .. 5 min. of wiping it on & the blade looks like I cleaned it with Easy-OFF.

Here's the stuff I used .. .. ..
http://www.lpslabs.com/product_pg/lubricants_pg/LPS_Lubricant.html


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