Wax and grease

[Dan Hintz]

I'm looking for your sources for paste wax (for coating saw tables, lathe ways, etc.) and grease (for coating threads bearings, etc.).

The only thing I can think of for paste wax is auto stores, but much of that stuff has silicone in it (unless someone has a specific type they use themselves, like say, Turtle Wax?). I have a can of Valvoline's high-temp grease for wheel bearings and such, but I'm not sure if there's something better out there.

It took me a couple of hours to get the rust preventative off of the bandsaw table, and I'm currently breaking down my metal lathe to de-gunk it (Jet really lays it on thick!). Before I rebuild, I want to make sure it's properly re-gunked. :)

[Terry Beadle]

I bought my paste wax from the grocery store. Works great and is reasonably priced ( given today's prices that is ).

Grease is best bought at an auto parts store. There is a white grease that works great on the thrust gearing in a table saw etc. I use WD40 on most surfaces except for the threading in a wood plane in which case I use 3 in 1 oil. After 30 years of this usage I've never had a thread problem. Just needs cleaning every once in a while which takes a couple of pleasant minutes.

[Cody Colston]

I use plain old Johnston Paste Wax for both tool tables and for lubricating the gears, trunions, etc. It's proven, it's cheap and it's available just about anywhere. I usually wipe the tool tables down with MS once a month to remove any dirt along with the old wax and then lay down a fresh coat, buffing almost immediatly after applying it. The wax is difficult to buff out if you let it completely harden. I've never had a problem wih rust on my tool tables.

On the lathe ways, I actually use silicone spray after cleaning them up with 220 grit sandpaper to get any finish, sap or whatever off of them. I simply don't set my finished pieces on the lathe ways.

[Jamie Buxton]

+1 on Johnson Paste Wax. Used it for decades. But it is getting difficult to find. The last time I needed some, it took visits to four groceries and three hardware stores to find one.

[Mark Godlesky]

I got Johnson's paste wax at the orange borg a couple of years ago. I think they still carry it.

[Neil Brooks]

Johnson's ... I see it all over the place.

Auto parts stores or Wal-Mart for grease. I like LubriMatic Marine Wheel Bearing Grease (http://www.plews-edelmann.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=1998&location_id=2635).

If you buy the "tub" of grease, 'decant' it into something like a film container. A little goes a long way, and ... this way ... you don't risk contaminating the whole tub, as you use it.

[Randy Dutkiewicz]

...another FIRM believer for Johnson's Paste Wax. Hands down it has been the best product for maintaining my CI tops for the past 10 years. As stated, the trick is to not let it harden before wiping it off - but the protection and the slick finish it leaves is great! Regular reapplication is a must and I usually do mine immediately following the usage of my equipment. For thrust gears, I've always used a white lithium spray/grease. I find this much better than using any type of real "gunk" grease product as sawdust LOVES to clog up the gears. Lastly, the best overall preventative I've found for rust is using a dehumidifyer...IMO this is a MUST - especially in warm/hot climates where I am:)

[paul cottingham]

Love waxlit. Put it on everything.

[Howard Acheson]

Furniture paste waxes like Johnson Paste Wax, Minwax and Trewax are all about the same and can be used for cast iron tabletops and even for lubrication of heli worm gears in table saws. It will not capture or hold dust.

You can buy these waxes at most home centers and some supermarkets. You can also find them at woodworking stores or on-line stores.

[phil harold]

butchers wax and minwax are in my shop at the moment along with 'slipit' gel


You can get slipit at a tool store and rockler

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

[David Hawxhurst]

any paste wax will work just fine not need for the really good stuff like you would use on your car. however i use what ever i have on hand usually a good auto paste wax.

for bearing grease i like synthetic greases. i use amsoil, but any brand name would work just fine.

wd40 works great for removing cosmoline or what ever the manufacture put on for shipping.

[Larry Edgerton]

Wax should not be used on mechanical parts such as gears and trunnions. It is not a lubricant. I use Amsoil synthetic grease myself, but just because that is what I use on all my machinery like tractor/cement mixer/etc. I put it in a single point grease gun for a chainsaw sprocket tip, its small and easy to apply just a little bit. These grease guns are cheap at any farm store and beat the heck out of putting your fingers in a tub. Amsoil does not dry out over time the way petroleum based grease does and for other applications resists heat very well.

I used to use Blue Coral two step wax on my tops but can't find it any more so I use Johnsons as well. In between waxings I give it and the fences a squirt of TopCote every once in a while.

For an easy cleaner you might try a can of brake cleaner, its made to cut grease on brake systems, is fairly inexpensive, and evaporates fast. May not want to use it in the house though.....

[Don Morris]

Have to pass on the greases. Not up on that. But I think I remember Kelly Mehler recommending Behlen's Blue Label Paste Wax (contains Carnuba wax, no silicone). Grizzly sells it too. I've used it on wood and TS tops and the like. The saying goes: it's like giving your Table Saw table top, power steering, when you put a coat of Blue Label Paste Wax on it, and then put your cross cut sled on.

[shane lyall]

White lith grease on the gears and a good scrub with windex and x-fine scotch brite pad followed by any silicone free paste wax on the table tops that stock slides on. DON'T wax drill press or miter saw tables. DAMHIKT! LOL! It made sence at the time.

[Dan Hintz]

So it sounds like my Valvoline high-temp bearing grease would be fine for all of my moving parts, and I know I have a tube of white lithium as I use it to keep my car door gaskets supple, should I decide to go that route.

I went to the local Home Depot a week or two ago looking for paste wax, and the guy said "If we have it, it would be in aisle X". Of course, nothing that I could find, so I was beginning to wonder if I was looking in the wrong spots.

[Paul Stroik]

The Johnsons paste wax I use is found in the housewares section. There are two types. The one in Housewares is without Silicon and has the red stripe one the Yellow can.

[Ron Bontz]

Dan. I also found Minwax paste wax at a Menards some time back.

[Mike Cozad]

I just this week picked up a can of Johnson's Paste Wax at the Borg for about 6 bucks. It was in the same aisle as Windex, Simple Green, bleach, etc.

[glenn bradley]

Right. JPW at the BORG is stored with the cleaners and floor care products around my parts.

[Dave Lehnert]

The wax is found in the cleaner section of a store. Home Depot has it where the trash cans, mops, buckets are located.
Sears Hardware has it. Ace hardware.

I remember reading a long time ago not to use an auto wax on your tools. Can't remember the reason given. A friend used auto wax on a jointer and it was not as slick.

[Dan Hintz]

Well, that explains it, then... the halfwit kept insisting if they had it, it would be in the paint aisle :(

[John Fabre]

Briwax original is what I use on all metal table tops, never had a problem after ten years of using it.

[Keith Outten]

Johnson's Paste Wax has been my choice for decades for cast iron surfaces. Should you wait to long to remove it or you prefer to let it dry your randon orbital sander is the perfect tool to polish the dry wax on the surface. Use a White 3M pad on your ROS, this is a killer way to rub out a finish on a project as well.

I use bearing grease on my ShopBot gear rack, it is nasty and because of the location of the rack it has ruined many T-Shirts. Recently I was told to use candle wax on the gear racks of my CAMaster Stinger. I thought I would throw that out as a suggestion, some of you may find it to be valuable.

If you only use your ROS for sanding you are missing the boat. Get a set of 3M pads and then consider Trizac disks for polishing pastic and kitchen counter tops, I'm sure that you can find a polishing bonnet that will work wonders for some applications like removing hard water stains from a shower or tub :)
.

[Joe Angrisani]

Dan.... As far as greases go, there's a thousand choices. In a nutshell, the white lithium greases are the thinest and suitable for low-speed, and tight-clearance situatons. Your standard dinosaur-based bearing greases (plain ol' gold as well as red and blue) will be fine for greasing most things like trunion pivots and gears. Stay away from the black moly greases.

One of my favorite little secret lubes is "Phil's Tenacious Oil". You can find it at any real bicycle shop. Comes in a small squeeze bottle. It's just runny enough to flow into places where you'd think WD40 or white lithium grease or 3-in-1 oil might be the choice, but the solvents then evaporate leaving the wonderful lube INSIDE sleeves and such, not just on the exterior. And it clings tenaciously, just as you would expect. :) Little green plastic bottle about 3" high and 1" in diameter.

[Darin Higginbotham]

Dan, I'm just going to throw this out there take it or leave it. I used to use lithium grease but got sick of cleaning the sawdust that stuck to the grease out of the gears. The product that I went to was Dupont's Teflon Multi-Use, a dry lube from the borg that is recomended for factory,farm and home, it eliminates the sawdust gunk mess been using for year and half with no problems, just my 2 cents. Plus it sprays upside down.

[Karl Brogger]

I've been rubbing the decks down with paraffin wax, buffing with steel wool, then applying Bostik TopCoat in between waxings. Ridiculously slippery, and it lasts a fair amount of time.

As far as the worm gears go, grease is basically grease in this application. Its a pretty low stress environment, nothing to fancy is needed. Just had a thought though, and excavator buddy prefers Mystic JS-6 grease because it seems to be stickier than the others. I use my saws daily, but only have to grease the tilt and height mechanicals a couple of times a year. I use a synthetic, but thats only because that is what's in the grease gun for trailer bearings.

[Don Whitten]

Well, that explains it, then... the halfwit kept insisting if they had it, it would be in the paint aisle :(
Lowe's stocks the Johnson Paste Wax with the household cleaners etc., which BTW is located in the aisle that is next to the paint department and stocked by the paint department personal, as some of these chemicals are also flammable this department has extra fire sprinkler systems installed in the racking as well as overhead in case of a fire. The wax is not heavly sold so stock is limited to one facing and can easily be overlooked with all the chemicals in the run.

[Rich Engelhardt]

+ Whatever to Johnson paste wax.

For grease, I usually grab whatever gun grease I have handy, which is usually Tetra.

[Dan Hintz]

Stay away from the black moly greases.
Any particular reason?




Considering some of this grease will be lubing the threaded shaft (meant for cutting threads) on my metal lathe, and this shaft is along the front of the machine and open to being touched, dark-colored greases are concern (albeit minor). I've lost a few decent shirts due to permanent dark grease stains.

[Joe Angrisani]

Any particular reason?

Moly grease is a different animal. The grease is just a carrier for the molybdenum disulfide (don't shoot me if I got that wrong). With moly grease, it's the moly-disulfide that does the lubricating even if the grease itself drys out. Think of it more as a dry lube in a greasy carrier, not 'grease-grease'.

I would seriously consider Phil's Tenacious Oil for that threaded shaft. It was "designed" for bicycle chains, so it absolutely won't get thrown as the shaft spins. In it's liquid state it will flow and coat the threads nicely. Run the widget back and forth on the threaded shaft a few time, then when the solvents evaporate, you're left with a super-thin, super-effective lube.

[Dan Hintz]

Moly grease is a different animal. The grease is just a carrier for the molybdenum disulfide (don't shoot me if I got that wrong). With moly grease, it's the moly-disulfide that does the lubricating even if the grease itself drys out. Think of it more as a dry lube in a greasy carrier, not 'grease-grease'.
I would think that's a good thing... the carrier eventually disappears, but the lubricant itself stays around.

[Joe Angrisani]

Yes and no. Depends on the application, and this is probably a question better posed to a machinist or metal lathe manufacturer. But the carrier grease doesn't disappear as you are thinking (the carrier in Phil's T Oil does disappear). With moly grease, it drys and turns to a "clay-like" material. Works better in a semi-sealed environment like inside a C/V boot on a driveshaft.

Wurth used to make another great "sticky lube", but I'm not sure it's still available or not. I forget the name, but I want to say it was 'W2000'. Came in a spray can like WD40, and was truly a runny liquid like WD40, but left a great sticky lubricant when the solvents evaporated.

Update: The Wurth product is HHS-2000.

[Neil Brooks]

Another $0.02.

When I'm bike wrenching, I turn more often to my "home brew" than to anything else.

It's a mixture (people disagree on proportions enough to know that it almost doesn't matter) of 1:1 Odorless Mineral Spirits and Mobil 1 synthetic oil.

The OMS cleans, and then evaporates, leaving Mobil 1 behind.

Like ... cheap, heavier-duty WD-40.

The variation seems to be ... using MORE OMS, not less (2:1, 3:1, ....).

[Alan Bienlein]

I just use pledge on all my cast iron surfaces. Never had any problems with finishing and it's readily available. Thats 30 plus years without a problem. As far as lube goes I would think you would want some type of dry lube for the gears and shafts on a tablesaw since grease will just get caked with all the dust.

[Dan Hintz]

Alan,

I've considered graphite powder, but I'm unsure if it will truly provide the lubrication necessary...

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I'm in the camp of avoiding any grease in wood machinery. Grease attracts dust, and that gets packed in the gears. Lithium grease is not sticky, so I used to use that. Presently I'm using dry teflon. Seems to work well, a quick shot with air and the gears are clean. Trunions and everything seem to spin and move just fine. Use that on the bolts and nuts for those that you adjust all the time. Makes them move freely as well.

Just my $0.02.

Oh, Moly grease seems to attract dust from other equipment as well as the one you put it on...... I really would avoid that. It is probably the best grease out there, but dust really likes it. BTDT

[Norman Hitt]

Alan,

I've considered graphite powder, but I'm unsure if it will truly provide the lubrication necessary...

Dan, there is a Dry lubricant that comes in a spray can that I absolutely cannot remember what it is, but I think it may have been Glenn Bradley that posted about it a while back. Anyhow, when I did a deep cleaning and partial refurb of my 20 yr old PM-66, I got some, and used it on every moving part and the saw has never operated this smooth before even when it was new. The nice thing is that it is much easier to get complete coverage with the spray as you crank all the parts into different positions and it contains No silicones or graphite (which can pack and harden over time) and does not arttract dust.

I used Johnsons Paste wax for years on CI tables, but neither of the last two cans I bought would dry to that gray haze to polish and just did not work to protect the CI like it used to, especially from sweat drops (which are inevitable in my un airconditioned shop). After reading several posts on a previous Forum, I switched to Renassiance Wax and it worked much, much better. The wax is expensive, BUT it doesn't take but a very small amount compared to the Johnsons. You put a small amount on your finger OR a small felt pad and rub it in well, working a small area at a time and it seems to get into the pores of the CI much better and when dry, buff it out with a power buffer. On non contact surfaces that I want to protect from rust, I just clean it well and spray Boeshield and let it dry.

Do check out that dry lubricant though, and I'm sorry I just can't remember what it is made of (and am out of town for a while and cannot go to the shop to look at the can), but with it's ease of use I think it would be very useful to you considering all the equipment you have to keep up.
Hope this helps.

[Neil Brooks]

Idunno' if this is what Norman's talking about, but ... during the restoration of my RAS ... I've been using this stuff ... and happy with it :)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21Ml3KbRmpL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[Jerry Bruette]

Dan

Like others have said Johnsons paste wax for cast iron tops. As for your metal cutting lathe I wouldn't use wax on the ways or grease on the lead screw. Just good old machine oil. At work that would be some Mobile DTE 26.

Does your lathe use the lead screw for your longitutinal(sp) feed, or does it have a seperate rod driving the quick change gear box? If you're using the lead screw for all your cutting feeds you could put a light coat of Magnalube teflon grease on the lead screw. But I would make it very light you'd be suprised how much gunk will stick to the lead screw.

Jerry

[Dan Hintz]

I found the Johnson's Paste Wax exactly where you guys said it would be, in the cleaning product aisle. After asking the very friendly and helpful (was this really Home Depot? Man, after they came through on the Worksharp deal, I'm glad I'm giving them a heavier look than I have in years past) woman in the paint department, she said the cleaning section was part of the Garden Dept., not paint. I walked down that aisle twice and didn't see it, but yet another friendly employee asked Amy if she needed help. Amy told her what we were looking for, but the reply was "I don't think we have any left. Oh wait, here it is!" Right... in... front... of... them... both. And I walked past it twice :rolleyes:

That same Garden Dept. employee suggested I look in the aisl they make keys in on in the middle aisle of the Tool Corral for lube... well, the second suggestions was it. I found a spray can of PTFE (Teflon).

[Norman Hitt]

That same Garden Dept. employee suggested I look in the aisl they make keys in on in the middle aisle of the Tool Corral for lube... well, the second suggestions was it. I found a spray can of PTFE (Teflon).

"THAT's IT", :eek: still don't remember the brand I got, but it WAS Teflon. :D

[Van Huskey]

I like to keep the information about where the Borgs keep JPW a secret, so they actually have it when I go! :)

[Dan Hintz]

"THAT's IT", :eek: still don't remember the brand I got, but it WAS Teflon. :D
Could it have been Fabulous B'LASTER?

[Norman Hitt]

Can't remember, but at an angle close to the top of the can in Bold Print it said TEFLON Dry Lubricant. I don't know if there is much difference or not between brands, of course, I don't know why the last two cans of JP I bought didn't act like ALL previous cans I had used over the years. It really seemed strange, because normally I would apply a thin coat of the wax and rub it in pretty well and then let it set for a little while until it would become hazy and then buff it out. With these two cans, the wax would never get to the haze stage, even once after I let it set for two days. It just seemed kind of oily, really weird considering I didn't do anything different, (including the cleaning process & cleaning material) than I had always done before. I would be curious to know whether anyone else ever had the same experience or not.

[Dave Lehnert]

Just to add to the discussion. Kroil is amazing stuff if you are trying to remove rusted bolts etc..A great lube. Not available in store, must purchase direct. kanolabs (Dot)com/google/
The stuff in the blue can is what I think everyone is talking about from Lowe's. GREAT product for woodworking tools.
184495184496

[Norman Hitt]

Dave, thanks for posting that picture, 'cause that Dupont is exactly the Teflon Spray that I have and used.

[Ole Anderson]

October 2010 issue of Wood, page 26, recommended ProGold PG2000, self drying lubricant for the under table gear and threaded parts. Never tryed it, don't know how it works. Supposedly available from Woodcraft.

[Charles McKinley]

I used the teflon lube for dirt bike chains. Designed to lubricate and shun dirt. THe price was right it was left overs from my brother.