Removing rust on drill press shaft

[Clarence Martin]

Got a new 50 pint Fridigaire Dehumidifier hooked up & running in the basement today after the old one quit working. Humidity level reads 70 % . Been running since Noon today. Checked the tools out and the old drill press has rust on the shaft. It's pretty thick scale , covering almost half of it. Can that be sanded off or should I try some CLR ?

[Myk Rian]

Bar Keepers Friend. A powder in a can found in the cleaning aisle.
I'll bet good money someone is going to say WD40. Nope. Nada. It is not a rust remover, but a rust preventive.

[Clarence Martin]

Thanks. I may have to use 80 grit sandpaper on the finishing sander to get the heavier rust off.

[Scott T Smith]

A 1/4" mandrell wire brush on a die grinder does a great job of removing rust w/o damaging the underlying metal (unless you leave it there for a long time...) I would definitely go that route as opposed to sandpaper - which will remove your base metal.

Other options are scotch brite pads for disc sanders - as long as you are gentle with them.

[Myk Rian]

Or electrolysis/spooging.
http://wiki.vintagemachinery.org/RustRemovalByElectrolysis.ashx

[Gary Radice]

By shaft to do you mean the columns, or the arbor that holds the chuck?

In either case, I would start with purple then gray ScotchBrite pads. If you are fussy, then go to 0000 steel wool.

Spinning the shaft is easier than moving the abrasive, but if you are talking about the column, spinning it is a bigger deal.

[johnny means]

+1 on Scotchbrites and steel wool. A little WD-40 makes it all go a little more smoothly. I find most thing that eat rust are pretty nasty and not worth the exposure.

[Mike Wilkins]

WD 40 and a Scotch Brite pad and mine cleaned up nicely. Just wipe it down with a paper towel afterward and a tiny amount of WD will be left for protection.

[Gary Muto]

I had a similar problem with my drill press column. I used transmission fluid with a scotch brite pad. It cleaned the rust off well and left a smooth surface. The column is still discolored though. Trans fluid is a great cleaner.

[George Bregar]

I took the column off an old Delta DP-220 that had been sitting in a barn with muriatic acid and tossed it on a lathe, and used sandpaper and a light machine oil to clean it up. Here's the before and after.


267192

[Myk Rian]

I used transmission fluid with a scotch brite pad.

You forgot to add acetone in a 50-50 mix.
Try it sometime.

[Gary Muto]

You forgot to add acetone in a 50-50 mix.
Try it sometime.

Myk,
Interesting idea. I'll have to try it. Will that help with the discoloring? I suppose the acetone will still dissolve paint so you have to watch out for that.