rusty tools

[Jane Voelkel]

I've inherited some rusty tools--table saw and jointer. Has anyone tried any of these products:

G96 Bust Rust
Rust Free
Rust Remover

Were they effective? Any negative effects on the tools on which they were used? Any other products you would recommend? I know steel wool is effective, but I would like to use an easier method if possible...

Many thanks...

[Brian Hale]

I've never used them but, depending on the extent of the rust, i'd suggest 320 or 220 wet/dry silcone abrasive sandpaper and elbow grease to remove the heavy stuff. light machine oil works well as a lubicant. Keep working it down to 400-600 grit but only enough to remove the rust; you don't want to reshape the surface. A tablesaw should take no more than 10-20 minutes. Clean the oil off and apply wax. I keep a roll of wax paper in the shop. Crinkle it up real good, open it up and rub the cast iron surfaces briskly to leave a fine wax coating.

Other will help with the products you mentioned i'm sure.

Brian

PS, Welcome to the Creek!!

[Kent Cori]

I've used Rust Free with excellent results on some light surface rust. It took all of 2-3 minutes total and very little elbow grease. No harm to the underlying metal other than some slight discoloration (lighter than surrounding cast iron.) If the rust damage is not too deep, give it a shot. At the very least it will reduce your follow-on effort.

I recommend using Boeshield T-9 afterwards. It's made by the same folks that make Rust Free. If the resulting surface is not slick enough, just add a coat of paste wax on top. This works in hot, humid Florida so it should be fine almost anywhere.

[Chris Padilla]

Agree with Kent. The Boeshield products are very good. They make the RustFree and the T-9.

[Michael Perata]

http://www.action2k.com/bullfrog.htm

[Dean Baumgartner]

I cleaned up a shop full of rusty tools using WD-40 and scotch brite pads. You should use a sanding block or scrap of wood to maintain a flat surface. After going over the surface with the WD and scotch brite, clean with either paint thinner or denatured alcohol to remove the oil then apply several coats of Johnson's Paste Wax, Seems to be working quite well on the tools I did and the whole process didn't take more than an hour for a table saw top.

Dean

[Wes Bischel]

Jane,
Depending on how heavy the rust is you may want to use a single edge razor blade to scrape the rust off before using the above noted products for final cleaning - the process is referenced in this article.

http://www.oldwwmachines.com/restoration/RustRemoval.asp

I acquired a bandsaw that had been sitting outside and was heavily rusted. I used the razor blade technique and it now looks as good as new.

Wes

PS Remember to take before and after pictures!

[Russ Filtz]

You can also try a palm sander (or ROS if too heavy rust) with the scotch brite method.

[Dominic Greco]

I've inherited some rusty tools--table saw and jointer. ...

Jane,
I've had more than my fair share of restoring rusty tools. :D Besides starting out with all second hand tools that needed refurbishing, I got a lifetime of experience in rust removal back in Sept of 99. :(

You can read all about that, and my techniques for tool Restoration in my article Restoring power tools after a flood (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/articles/5/) here on SMC.

I believe that it contains my recommendation for T-9 Topcoat as a rust preventative.