Staining and maintainance

[Jonathan Harvey]

What do you guys do to Maintain the look of you bed ways? my ways are starting to stain brown from where the green wood spins and releases it's water. I am wiping the lathe down throughout the day and I always clean the lathe/shavings/shop at the end of every work day.

Is the staining just something I have to learn to live with? I like my tools
to look shiny and new :-)

in the last three weekes I've turned a forty foot sugar maple into almost 100 bowls so that's a lot of sap and water on my ways and even though I am constantly wiping up the wet on my lathe the stains are still growing.

How do I get rid of it and is there something I can put on the ways to prevent it from returning?

Thanks.

[Dick Sowa]

It sounds like the bare metal is rusting. Remove the rust with steel wool and fine sandpaper. Don't let the rust remain, because it can pit the surfaces. Then when you are back to bare metal, use a protective film of some kind. I prefer paste wax, and keep mine waxed constantly. There are other lubricants and protectants you can use, but wax is fast, cheap, and very effective.

[Cyril Griesbach]

WD-40 and a scotch bright pad. Remove residue with paper towel.

Cyril

[Steve Schlumpf]

I've used heavy duty scotch brite pads for the lighter stains and sandpaper for the heavy stains - followed up with Johnson paste wax.

[Aaron Wingert]

A bottle of TopSaver, some elbow grease and a synthetic steel wool pad makes cast iron look like new in no time. The stuff is amazing. I use parrafin wax to help keep my ways (and other cast iron tables and such) clean longer. Rub the parrafin on thoroughly after cleaning with TopSaver and the buff it clear with a cloth. I bought an 8oz bottle about three years ago and haven't ran out yet, so don't let the $20 price tag scare you. A little goes a long way.

[Jonathan Harvey]

Is car wax the same as johnson's paste wax? I have some old mothers wax in the shop would that be any good? It's not liquid but a hard wax.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jonathan - Johnson's paste wax comes in a can and is supposed to be for floors. It is in paste form and you just rub it on, let dry a little and then buff it off. You want a very thin coat of wax on the ways to protect it and also to act as a lubricant for the tool rest and tailstock. Leave it to thick and it can gum up under the rest - resulting in a sticky rest and more cleaning for you.

Car wax should work just fine - just be sure to rub out the excess.

[Jonathan Harvey]

Jonathan - Johnson's paste wax comes in a can and is supposed to be for floors. It is in paste form and you just rub it on, let dry a little and then buff it off. You want a very thin coat of wax on the ways to protect it and also to act as a lubricant for the tool rest and tailstock. Leave it to thick and it can gum up under the rest - resulting in a sticky rest and more cleaning for you.

Car wax should work just fine - just be sure to rub out the excess.

Thanks Steve.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jonathan - you'll find that some waxes hold up better than others. I've tried car waxes and paraffin but keep coming back to Johnsons paste wax because it is simple to use, doesn't gum up the ways and most importantly - I still have 1/2 a can of it after 5 years of use!

[Jonathan Harvey]

well on that recommendation I'll find some this weekend. Don't want the vic to change from it's beautiful blue to rust :-)

[Gerold Griffin]

Just came up from the shop and found a bottle of Rustolum Rust Cleaner leaking that I had purchased to help clean-up a old wood stove. Didn't work on the stove but heck it's over a 100 years old! Anyway, I cleaned up the mess and started on the lathe, tablesaw, etc. Came with a scratch pad and really done a nice job. Go back after lunch and finish cleaning up and apply paste wax. By the way I found it a Wally World.