New Sawstop and somebody's sweaty hands

[scott shane]

I just finished a very long process of putting together a brand new saw to find that someone plant their sweat hands down right on the clean, pristine cast iron. I unfortunately didn't see this until days later and In this humidity (NC) started to form a bit of rust. I've tried Rust Free on a small section and see that I'd only be exchanging one set of stains for another. I tried wd40 and some 4/0 steel wool. This lightened them slightly. Will it be possible to maintain the consistency of the factory finish and the remove hand print stains?

[Ben Rivel]

Same thing happened to me. I didnt notice it until after I had T-9'd and furniture waxed it. There were several fingerprint rust spots that started to form days later. Had to strip off the work Id done, buff out the rust spots and redo all the protection. Now the spots have small scuff/scratch/wear marks from the scotchbrite pad I used to remove the rust spots. Annoying, but the table top will definitely get more beat up from running wood on it in time anyway.

[Keith Hankins]

I just finished a very long process of putting together a brand new saw to find that someone plant their sweat hands down right on the clean, pristine cast iron. I unfortunately didn't see this until days later and In this humidity (NC) started to form a bit of rust. I've tried Rust Free on a small section and see that I'd only be exchanging one set of stains for another. I tried wd40 and some 4/0 steel wool. This lightened them slightly. Will it be possible to maintain the consistency of the factory finish and the remove hand print stains?

A couple things to try. Vasoline, on a cottonball will remove rust. It's probably tarnish, but if it is rust, a schotchbrite fine lightly going in the same direction works.

I've had may ICS for several years, and I take care of my tools and have to say that after a few of those you just don't sweat it Kinda like that first ding in the new truck, once its over you just move on. I had a few hand prints from my nephews that put a tad bit of discoloration and and ended up using the scotchbrite adn some bit-n-blade and worked the whole top (not circular patterns), and got it back good, but i've got a few discolorations in location, but not as worried about it now, its a TS.

Cuts damn fine :).

[Bruce Page]

It will be difficult to make the stain completely vanish but with some elbow grease you can come close using grey Scotch-Brite pads and WD40. For the best results use the fence or some other straight edge as a guide to work with the "grain" of the table grind.

[Martin Wasner]

Chrome polish and some steel wool. Heavy cut paint polish and a buffer works miracles too.

[Wade Lippman]

Unless it is actual rust, don't worry about it. It will look much worse in a couple years.
I hope you have learned your lesson about waxing it.

(oh, and keep PT wood off it. DAMHIKT)

[Tom Blank]

Try Kroil in place of the WD-40. It's a great penetrating oil.

[Larry Frank]

It is like having a new car and the first ding in it. It is tough getting the first stain on it. I struggled with the same thing. My advice is to clean it the best you can and then make sawdust to cover it. I have had my Sawstop for sever years and it has a few spots and small scratches and I hate them . But it sure cuts well.

[Robby Tacheny]

I recently got a table saw second hand that had a rust ring from a quart sized paint can. I used WD40, random orbit sander, and 180 grit sandpaper. I didn't press hard or sand more than two or 3 passes, but you can barely see the ring now. I used two new abrasive disks and was surprised how quickly it worked. Green scotchbrite pads are too fine in my opinion.

Robby

[Andrew Gibson]

I live in Florida where rust from sweat is a concern year round. I have found that if there is not some form of rust forming on my tools it means they are coated in cosmoline.

Best I have found for cleaning off fingerprints and the like are the Klingspor sandflex rust erasers. Follow the erasers with some Boeshield T9. I do try to keep my cast iron clean but sometimes I forget to wipe everything down at the end of the day. In Florida even if you do, the the rust may be already forming.

[johnny means]

A little saw dust will cover they right up.

[Frederick Skelly]

Hi Shane. Welcome!

Personally, I'd polish it out as best as I could, cuss a few times, and get back to using my wonderful new saw. I'm not trying to be a wise guy when I say that. I get that it's a BRAND NEW TOOL. But in reality, in 6 mos that cast iron top is going to have more than one spot of rust on it.

Fred

[Matt Day]

I'd try a gray scotch brite pad. Hopefully by now it's not an issue though.

[John Sanford]

Just think of it as the first bit of patina. :D

[Art Mann]

I have developed rust on the cast iron surface of my table saw several times but I generally don't do much about it. I use it often enough that the discoloration wears off.

[Mike Goetzke]

I have used close to this process on all my new (and old) cast surfaces:


Dave's Dirty Dozen
1) Scrape as much of the sludge as you can off with cardboard from the shipping container or a plastic scraper.
2) Use Simple Green right out of the container and tons of paper towels to get the rest off.
3) Wash off the Simple Green with more paper towels and clear water. Dry off with even more paper towels.
4) Spray the top down liberally with WD40. The WD in WD40 stands for Water Displacing, by the way.
5) Take a finishing sander, like a Porter-Cable 330, and put it on a ScotchBrite green pad. Random Orbital will work, but makes a hell of a mess.
6) Sand the top evenly until you feel like you've "massaged" the WD40 in very well. This also will knock some sharp spots off your top, a good thing.
7) Take even more paper towels, and wipe the top until dry. It will feel slightly oily.
8) Using a quality furniture paste wax (Johnson's, Minwax, Butcher's, whatever is available in your area), wax the top thoroughly and allow to dry.
9) Wipe off the bulk of the excess wax with paper towels.
10) Wax it again.
11) Buff well with paper towels.
12) Last step. Take a piece of wood with straight edges, and rub the surface of the saw in the direction of cut with the wood, as though you were cross-cutting it.
It's a damn sight more steps than "wash off with kerosene", which is what all the manuals say. But, it leaves a top that is seriously ready for work, and won't need to be screwed with every couple months. I rewax my tops every year or two, and they ain't rusty...


Dave Arbuckle


I used a 1/4 sheet finish sander and used T-9 before paste wax.

Good Luck,

Mike

[Leo Graywacz]

Unless it is actual rust, don't worry about it. It will look much worse in a couple years.
I hope you have learned your lesson about waxing it.

(oh, and keep PT wood off it. DAMHIKT)

Yup, just like the first scratch on a new car. Hurts a lot, but they'll be plenty more. It's a tool, not a showcase masterpiece LOL

[Alan Lightstone]

I have used close to this process on all my new (and old) cast surfaces:


Dave's Dirty Dozen
1) Scrape as much of the sludge as you can off with cardboard from the shipping container or a plastic scraper.
2) Use Simple Green right out of the container and tons of paper towels to get the rest off.
3) Wash off the Simple Green with more paper towels and clear water. Dry off with even more paper towels.
4) Spray the top down liberally with WD40. The WD in WD40 stands for Water Displacing, by the way.
5) Take a finishing sander, like a Porter-Cable 330, and put it on a ScotchBrite green pad. Random Orbital will work, but makes a hell of a mess.
6) Sand the top evenly until you feel like you've "massaged" the WD40 in very well. This also will knock some sharp spots off your top, a good thing.
7) Take even more paper towels, and wipe the top until dry. It will feel slightly oily.
8) Using a quality furniture paste wax (Johnson's, Minwax, Butcher's, whatever is available in your area), wax the top thoroughly and allow to dry.
9) Wipe off the bulk of the excess wax with paper towels.
10) Wax it again.
11) Buff well with paper towels.
12) Last step. Take a piece of wood with straight edges, and rub the surface of the saw in the direction of cut with the wood, as though you were cross-cutting it.
It's a damn sight more steps than "wash off with kerosene", which is what all the manuals say. But, it leaves a top that is seriously ready for work, and won't need to be screwed with every couple months. I rewax my tops every year or two, and they ain't rusty...


Dave Arbuckle


I used a 1/4 sheet finish sander and used T-9 before paste wax.

Good Luck,

Mike


Why step 12 with the wood?

[Stew Hagerty]

It's not a hand print... The guy that finished putting your saw together, signed it.
Now go cut wood!

[Mike Goetzke]

Why step 12 with the wood?

I think step 12 is to smooth the wax out.

[Robert Engel]

In 3 months it won't make a difference.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Did you buy this saw to worship, or to cut wood? Choose wisely! Marks and stains don't affect cutting wood.

[Jim Andrew]

Had a hand print on my unisaw, from working on a hot day. After fighting rust for several years, I cleaned up all my machine tops, and took some wipe on poly and rubbed it on. It does wear off, but takes a long time. Did this as an observation that the painted areas of my machines never rust.