What do you use to prevent corrosion?

[Ned Otter]

Greetings to all --

For those of you who live in hot and humid climates, what is your preferred method of preventing corrosion on your precious equipment, specifically cast iron?

And how often to you do it?

Do you use any different product/technique for long term vs. short term?

Thanks in advance --

[Steve Eure]

I live in a hot humid climate, but don't have a problem with corosion. It's rust. I use standard Johnson's Paste Wax most of the time. Occasionally I'll use a product called Bostik GlideCote.. It works well also. I generally apply it about 3-4 times a year depending on how much use it gets.

[Matthew Curtis]

I don't get into the shop to much as of late.
What I do use to prevent corrosion is Johnson's Past wax. Typically I put it on all cast when I see a spot of rust on a machine. It doesn't take long to put it on all machines. I will removerl the rust spot that I saw with wd-40 and 1000 grit paper first. Then put on the paste wax.

[Frederick Skelly]

Someone here gave me an idea a couple years back to put on a coat of wipe on poly on my tablesaw and hand planes. I've found it lasts a year or so. (I tried shellac too but it wasnt as durable.)

[Thomas Wilson]

I live in humid East Tennessee. I use a dehumidifier. My shop is well sealed so it can be maintained in the 45-50% range.

[Erik Loza]

+1 for Johnson's paste wax. Boeshield gets mentioned often and I use it for other metal protection, just not cast iron tops that see wear from wood passing over them. What I find is that you have to do it a LOT at first. Then, you get to point where the iron's pore get filled with it and it only requires re-application every so often. Like seasoning a cast iron skillet.

Erik

[Tom M King]

Crc 3.36..

[mike stenson]

Crc 3.36..

This. Until recently I had an uninsulated steel roof. Temperature swings are ~30f daily. Even without leaks it'd drip in the morning.

[Charlie Jones]

Johnsons paste wax. Attack any rust spots as soon as they appear. I try to run the air and a dehumidifier during the rainy season. It has rained every day this year. Not really ,it just seems like it.

[Alan Lightstone]

CRC 3-36, though I've been thinking about Johnson's Paste Wax more lately.

[Andrew Seemann]

Air Conditioner. I have a small one in the shop. It isn't quite big enough to keep the shop pleasantly cool, but it does keep condensation off the tools. Believe it or not, it does get quite hot and humid up north here, as bad as the South, just not for 6 months straight.

[mike stenson]

Air Conditioner. I have a small one in the shop. It isn't quite big enough to keep the shop pleasantly cool, but it does keep condensation off the tools. Believe it or not, it does get quite hot and humid up north here, as bad as the South, just not for 6 months straight.

Yep, pretty much unless you're on Superior... We'd be chilly in Duluth/Superior, and it was sweltering up on the range.

[Eric Arnsdorff]

As a southerner who has moved north to Tennessee - it’s hard to beat Johnson’s paste wax.
In South Georgia and within 40 minutes of the coast it was crazy humid 3/4 of the year. That requires some form of environmental control. But here in Tennessee some paste wax is hard to beat. Some naval jelly with phosphoric acid on occasion when I’ve accidentally let a surface go too long and laid some wet wood on it (most of these higher cost cleaners going by all sorts of names use phosphoric acid - so does Coca Cola).

[Terry Wawro]

I've nto had as much luck with paste wax as others. Now here is my go-to routine:

First clean off any rust with WD40 and 0000 steel wool. Then wipe clean with alcohol or paint thinner. Let dry. Spray a heavy coat of CRC 3-36 on it and don't touch it. Let it sit overnight to soak in. In the morning wipe off with paper towels. Now you have a surface that will resist rusting for up to 12 months or more.

[David Gutierrez]

I 2nd the CRC 3-36 works well easy to apply.

[Rod Sheridan]

Paste wax or Silber Gleit........Rod.

[Andy D Jones]

I live in a hot humid climate, but don't have a problem with corosion. It's rust.

snip...


Rust is a type of corrosion, so if you have rust, you have corrosion, but not necessarily vice versa.

I use JPW, but I'm not into keeping the surface the shiny color of virgin iron/steel, I just want to make sure the rust does not progress enough to create surface roughness, or rub off on the workpiece.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Alex Zeller]

Magnetic sign material for all the flat surfaces. It'll provide a barrier that water can't get through yet when you need to use the tool you have no residue.

[Scott Kilroy]

I was going to reply with butchers wax but I think it's the same thing or similar to Johnson’s paste wax. I apply it twice a year or anytime I see rust spots (like when my son leaves a drink on the table saw.

[Mike Fazio]

Briwax. It contains a “hotter” solvent. toluene. Dissolves harder waxes and evaporates quicker. Use in a well ventilated area.

[Melvin Feng]

I've nto had as much luck with paste wax as others. Now here is my go-to routine:

First clean off any rust with WD40 and 0000 steel wool. Then wipe clean with alcohol or paint thinner. Let dry. Spray a heavy coat of CRC 3-36 on it and don't touch it. Let it sit overnight to soak in. In the morning wipe off with paper towels. Now you have a surface that will resist rusting for up to 12 months or more.

I just wanted to say thanks for detailing your procedure. Reading through this thread and how you used CRC convinced me to try it (I bought the gallon on amazon since it was so affordable - now I'm committed to it!). I had been using renaissance wax for years, but similarly have always had lingering rust issues in little time. To do the first soak, I slightly modified your process - I used a fresh green scrubbie, saturated the surfaces, and scrubbed it using the CRC as a lubricant to help lift off the surface rust and remove any remaining wax. I then wiped that off, and sprayed more on to sit overnight then wipe off.

Now, when I'm done using the bandsaw or lathe, I keep a cotton cloth for use only with CRC, and I just do a quick wipe down. Time will tell how well this works for me, but so far I'm liking this initial performance.

I also used this to rehab some hand planes as well, and similarly do a wipe down with CRC after I'm done for the day using the handplanes

[Bill Dufour]

This. Until recently I had an uninsulated steel roof. Temperature swings are ~30f daily. Even without leaks it'd drip in the morning.
Dad put a new aluminum roof on the carport. Each nail dripped dew onto the cars below. he cut little squares of homsanite and capped each nail point over the cars. Can you tell he was retired by the time he solved the problem?

[roger wiegand]

AC and/or dehumidifier. Good for the woodworker as well as the tools.

[Gary Markham]

I live on the east Texas gulf coast. Very high humidity and condensation in a uncontrolled shop. After years of Johnson’s paste wax and total rust bloom about twice a year because I didn’t apply the wax often enough I added the magnetic sign material covers to each machine and have eliminated all issues ove4 the last 2 years. Works great and easy.
thanks
gary

[Tom Bain]

For those that use CRC (I’ve never tried it), have you had any issues with finishing? That is, does the CRC possibly transfer any residue to lumber that might interfere with various film finishes?

[mike stenson]

For those that use CRC (I’ve never tried it), have you had any issues with finishing? That is, does the CRC possibly transfer any residue to lumber that might interfere with various film finishes?

Nope, not that I've experienced.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

I live 10km from Tropic of Capricorn. Hot and humid most part of the year.

1. No AC as if for some reason outside (high humidity) air contact a cooler metal you will have condensation

2. Plenty natural ventilation

3. Standard synthetic motor oil in a thin film on most steel and iron surface

4. Machine oil for more delicate tools

5. To use them. When my tools are not used they look prone to rust faster! 😁

[Doug Dawson]

For those that use CRC (I’ve never tried it), have you had any issues with finishing? That is, does the CRC possibly transfer any residue to lumber that might interfere with various film finishes?

I use CRC (I let it soak into the pores real good) then I use several coats of paste wax on top of it. No rust, and no finishing problems. CRC takes a long time to dry, BTW. I understand why somebody might be concerned about that.