Rusty Equipment

[scottj owen]

I just found a stroke sander that was stored outside under a tarp, it works fine but has a lot of rust , I was wondering what secrets are out there for removing rust, and refinishing tops and equipment. Thanks Folks.

[Nathan Odle]

I've always been one of those Naval Jelly and steel wool types.

[David Parker]

I was recently researching how to clean the rust off an old 1925 Stanley plane that I got from my grandfather (Type 13 Sweetheart). It seems citric acid is often used. This (http://www.shavingsandsawdust.com/projects/planeCleaning/index.asp) web site has info on it.

Dave

[M Toupin]

1. wire wheel - great for small stuff. Big stuff can be done with a drill or angle grinder and a cup. down side is it's a lot of work and dirty. Can be difficult or impossible to get into some nooks and crannies.

2. naval gel/chemicals - works, but the cost can make it not cost effective and all the normal precautions apply when dealing with chemicals.

3. sandpaper/grinder same drawbacks as #1 plus you can do some real damage to machined surfaces.

4. sand/bead blasting - cheap, fast and it leaves a paint ready surface with no additional work. Down side is you need the equipment or send it out which will add cost.

5. electrolysis - If you have a battery charger and a tank of some sort it's the least labor intensive and cheapest of all.

Mike

[James Suzda]

When I got my table saw the top was a mass of rust. After "playing" with the WD40 and pads route, I tried some Lemon Simple Green and a plain 120 grit pad on my sander. The rust came right off. It works the best if you keep the surface wet with the Simple Green and not let the slurry dry out.
Plus when you get all the rust off you have to make sure you wash all the Simple Green residue off because it is a mild corrosive.
Before pix: http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m24/jsuzda/?action=view&current=Before.jpg
After: http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m24/jsuzda/?action=view&current=After.jpg