Disston saw restoring-Evaporust?

[Jerry Olexa]

Restoring 3 old Disston panel saws.....Never used it before, but thought I might try EVAPORUST on one of them where there is abundant rust..
My question is: Will it remove or alter the etch mark on the saw blade?

I prefer to not use any rust removal product on these saws but the rust is a bit heavy on both the D8 and D23... Thought it will perhaps, help in the cleaning process..
All 3 have healthy etch marks which I'm trying to preserve..
Thanks in advance,
Jerry

[Matthew Hutchinson477]

If the etch is dark i.e. filled in with paint/ink/bluing or something like that then yes. I've used evaporust on saw plates and the etch came out the same color as the surrounding steel. However, it was not damaged or removed in any way. Evaporust will not damage good steel. I used cold blue as per Bob Smalser's (or was it someone else's?) sticky thread to raise the etch and it looks great.

I'm with you on being careful with rust removal methods. I used to just use vinegar but eventually I realized that any acid will also eat away at steel and iron in addition to just the rust. In terms of protecting the good steel Evaporust and electrolysis are the two best methods I have used. If you are okay forking over the cash for Evaporust I think it is absolutely the best and most convenient rust removal method.

P.S. Your inbox is full. I tried sending you a message a few minutes ago about that Stanley No. 7 and I couldn't get the message through.

[Nathan Johnson]

Just be sure it's fully submerged. If any part of the saw is sticking out of the evaporust bath it'll leave a line.

Also, check it often and don't leave it too long. I left plane parts in too long and had to sand the black off after the evaporust. I forget the term for what occurs at that point, but I could have skipped the bath for all the sanding I had to do.

[Phil Mueller]

Ditto, what Nathan said...be sure it is completely submerged. Evaporust also suggests you can wrap the saw plate in paper towels or t-shirt material soaked in Evaporust, then wrap everything in plastic wrap to keep it from evaporating. I’ve given this a try, but didn’t get the great results I get when completly submerging it. Might have been the way I did it. Just FYI.

[Joe A Faulkner]

I've found that evaporust will darken the steel plate of the saw, making the etch harder to view than if you simply use scotch brite pads and a little WD 40 to remove the rust. After the WD 40 you might want to hit the saw plate with some denatured alcohol or lacquer thinner and then and then lightly oil or wax the plate. Cleaning the rust off is a bit messy, so you might want some gloves.

[Jerry Olexa]

If the etch is dark i.e. filled in with paint/ink/bluing or something like that then yes. I've used evaporust on saw plates and the etch came out the same color as the surrounding steel. However, it was not damaged or removed in any way. Evaporust will not damage good steel. I used cold blue as per Bob Smalser's (or was it someone else's?) sticky thread to raise the etch and it looks great.

I'm with you on being careful with rust removal methods. I used to just use vinegar but eventually I realized that any acid will also eat away at steel and iron in addition to just the rust. In terms of protecting the good steel Evaporust and electrolysis are the two best methods I have used. If you are okay forking over the cash for Evaporust I think it is absolutely the best and most convenient rust removal method.

P.S. Your inbox is full. I tried sending you a message a few minutes ago about that Stanley No. 7 and I couldn't get the message through.

Thanks Mathew...Good advice.
Sorry, corrected the mail box issue..

[Jerry Olexa]

Thanks..All good ideas...
I may just try again tomorrow doing it without any rust remover....The etch is there in all 3 saws but it is faint and I am trying to retain/preserve them..

I remember once in my early days of cleaning handsaws, I did remove totally all remaining hint of an etch (think that was vinegar bath) on a Disston or an Atkins, or possibly i rubbed too hard/long with the pad and WD-40.
Trying not to repeat that mistake..
But cleaning saw plates takes Time..I'll remind myself: Be patient!!!
May tomorrow be a more productive day!!

[Jerry Olexa]

I've found that evaporust will darken the steel plate of the saw, making the etch harder to view than if you simply use scotch brite pads and a little WD 40 to remove the rust. After the WD 40 you might want to hit the saw plate with some denatured alcohol or lacquer thinner and then and then lightly oil or wax the plate. Cleaning the rust off is a bit messy, so you might want some gloves.

Yes, Joe agree..I'm wearing gloves..

[Stew Denton]

Hi Jerry,

You are not the only one to ruin an etch. I did that to my first saw, when I was a young fellow. I did it by sanding the plate. The saw ended up being a really good user saw, but the etch was completely gone.

Stew

[brian zawatsky]

Something that helps when cleaning off the rust, instead of Scoth Brite I use 600 grit SiC paper with WD-40. Wrap the paper around a small hardwood block when cleaning the area around the etch and it will help to keep the etch dark while allowing you to polish the steel around it. The 600 clogs up pretty quickly if there’s a lot of rust and scale, but it keeps you from putting scratches in the plate so it’s worth some extra paper if you ask me. Only sand horizontally, once you put cross grain scratches in the steel it’s impossible to remove them.

[Jerry Olexa]

Going to try the "hand method" initially with pads and WD-40.. The Evaporust will be my final weapon..
Really want to save the etch. Ordered some bluing compound last night from big "A"...
Thank you all.

[Jerry Olexa]

Something that helps when cleaning off the rust, instead of Scoth Brite I use 600 grit SiC paper with WD-40. Wrap the paper around a small hardwood block when cleaning the area around the etch and it will help to keep the etch dark while allowing you to polish the steel around it. The 600 clogs up pretty quickly if there’s a lot of rust and scale, but it keeps you from putting scratches in the plate so it’s worth some extra paper if you ask me. Only sand horizontally, once you put cross grain scratches in the steel it’s impossible to remove them.

Makes sense, Brian..I'll try the 600 horizontal only.....Thank you

[Andrew Zetts]

Going to try the "hand method" initially with pads and WD-40.. The Evaporust will be my final weapon..
Really want to save the etch. Ordered some bluing compound last night from big "A"...
Thank you all.

If you're considering re-bluing the bottom of the etch anyways, you might as well start with evaporust, since you will have to do a final sanding down of the non etched area to remove all bluing save the bluing down in the etch. You only truly lose the physical etch when you finally sand through it, so you might try to sand the least amount possible.

In my single experience (1870's D-8) it did not remove the color of the etch for me, but I did not soak the plate for very long, and your results may vary.

I used evaporust before by soaking paper towels with evaporust and wrapping the saw plate and paper towels in plastic wrap to prevent evaporation. I found that the plate side facing up got clean marks in a "bumpy" pattern on it because of the bumpy texture of the papertowel. This was because the face up side papertowels were not fully saturated with evaporust, as it the compound drained to the lower side. These marks were purely superficial and can be soaked out, but it's just something to watch for, you may have to flip the whole assembly over a couple times if you are unlucky enough to have a container large enough to just straight up soak the plate.




Good luck!

[Rob Luter]

I had great luck with WD-40 and a razor blade. It scraped off 90% or more of the rust. A wad of aluminum foil as a scrubber took care of the rest.

[Jerry Olexa]

I had great luck with WD-40 and a razor blade. It scraped off 90% or more of the rust. A wad of aluminum foil as a scrubber took care of the rest.

Rob, sometimes simple is BEST.....Agree, I'm getting initial good results with razor blade scraper...