Living in an older section of Atlanta, my shop is in my basement. The house was built in 1939 and the basement is dry as long as I don't let the gutters overflow. There are three rooms in the basement. Before SWMBO said that I could convert the exercise room into a shop, tools were stored in the room that also houses the furnace, laundry tubs, and has a floor drain. The joiner bed began rusting a month after purchase. I read articles, tried every liquid and wax listed and it would still get a light coating of rust after a month or so. In a recent attempt at stopping the rust, I removed all the rust, sanded it lightly with 1000 grit, used a coat of one of the popular top preservers, then came back the next day, coated it with a thick coat of paste wax and did not remove or buff the wax.
Then I left town for 2 weeks and did not actually look at the top for another week after that. It had begun to rust again, mostly on one end. A friend was visiting and we discussed the problem. He said, "Do you have any acids around?" There was about a fourth of a plastic gallon of builder's acid tightly sealed. Left by the previous owner, it had been there since we bought the house 18 years ago. My friend thought that could be the problem since he had a rust problem until he got rid of the container of acid. I got rid of that container and moved an additional never opened small container of it into the garage.
Some additional clues: The end of the joiner closest to the where the acid was stored had more rust than the end away from where the acid was stored. I noticed that there was more rust on various cans containers and tools that were near the container of acid than were further from the acid. The top of my bandsaw showed no rust after 2 years although it was only about 10 feet from the joiner. The shop room is about ready and I have moved the joiner into that room. I waxed it 2 months ago and no rust has appeared on it yet.
So, the questions are: Has anyone had a similar experience? Does anyone know if acid stored like this could emit a small amount of fumes that could cause rust? Or, is it just a coincidence?
It's a mystery to me.
Thanks for any help.
John