What's the best way to de-rust a old woodworking face vise?

[Mike Kelsey]

I hve a couple of old vises where the face plate seems to move quitewell along the threaded screw and guide rods, so I thought they might be worth salvaging for my "quick" work bench I'm building. I'm looking for rust removal methods besides electrolysis. Any suggestions?

[Mark Baldwin III]

I use a rust removal chemical from the hardware store for anything rusty. I let it stand for a few minutes, then scrub with steel wool. Then I rinse it with warm water, and wipe everything with mineral spirits. Sometimes a light sanding is required. After that, it's your rust prevention of choice. I'm sure there's a thousand other ways though!

[Jonathan McCullough]

Naval jelly, stainless steel scrub brush, and a wash down with mineral spirits worked well for an old Abernathy vise I found. I plan to mask and spray paint it with engine enamel, bake it at a low temp (150 F) and melt some paraffin on the threads and guides while it's still hot.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

How bad is the rust, and where is it? A lot of times, if the rust is in easy-to-get-to or flat places, I just prefer going with abrasive measures.

[Joe A Faulkner]

How bad is the rust, and where is it? A lot of times, if the rust is in easy-to-get-to or flat places, I just prefer going with abrasive measures.
+1 - I'd knock off as much as possible using a plastic scraper, razor blade, sandpaper, steel wool, wire brush, etc. You might check out the product Evapo-rator. There were demos of this product on you tube last spring. I've used. I don't think it is nearly as acidic as naval jelly.

[Trevor Walsh]

I've used a sandblaster on three, that's the easiest and best thing I've yet found, though a wire wheel does wonders too.

[Mike Kelsey]

The rust is on all metal: face plate, screw, rods. It is not flaking or have any signs of pitting. I have a bottle of T-9 Rust Free. Tried it once on a pitted Forstner drill bit with so-so results. Should I heavily spray the vise with T-9, let it sit for a while, then scrub with steel wool?

[Rob Harris]

Mike,

Since the rust is not heavy and flaking, I would go with abrasive removal. If you have an electric drill (sacrilegious, I know), 3M makes two mandrel-mounted scotch brite products that work well. For heavy rust, I use the 4" diameter Large Area Paint and Rust Stripper. It has rather aggressive grit. For lighter rust, I use the 4" diameter Contour Paint and Varnish Remover. I follow up with a fine wire wheel. You can find all three at your local BORG, bLowes, or Ace.

If you want the easy but expensive route, try immersing the vise parts in Evapo-Rust. The rust simply sloughs off like silt.

[Todd Burch]

I'm a huge fan of phosphoric acid.

[Bill White]

Not to hijack, but where can ya buy phosphoric?
Bill

[Todd Burch]

Not to hijack, but where can ya buy phosphoric?
Bill

Any auto-body store - and probably many auto-parts stores.

[Jonathan McCullough]

Phosphoric acid is the active ingredient in Naval Jelly. Also gun blueing, *I think*. Naval Jelly is composed so you can slap it up on a ship's hull without it dripping back down on you or in your eyes. Doesn't splash either, so it's safer. You can get NJ at almost any hardware store.

[James Taglienti]

Sandblast anything that will get repainted and wire wheel any machined surfaces fine steel wheel with oil as a lubricant.

[Eric Dritsas]

Evaporust. Great product, not toxic or dangerous like acid.