Sawstop Rusting Quickly

[derek labian]

Ironically, I had originally laid down paste wax, but took it off a few weeks ago after the WWGOA recommendation for Glidecote.

So I've gotten the Sandflex pads, the CRC 3-36 spray, and the dehumidifier. I stripped down all the exposed iron (jointer, saw, planer, sander, drill press, band saw, and shaper). I used WD-40 and the sanding blocks to get up the rust, it went pretty well. I was very gentile with the jointer and left rust that didn't matter.

I cleaned that up and then laid down the CRC 3-36 with a light stray over all the equipment. It wasn't clear how long to leave it on there though? I left it on about 10 minutes, then wiped off the excess. I've now applied the paste wax. and am letting it dry before i clean it off.

Dehumidifier gets turned on tomorrow.

Hopefully I did this right! it was a lot of work. I need a margarita.

New dehumidifier needs to rest for 24 hours after shipment.

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Wax applied. Any techniques for hand buffing this out? (Edit: I bought a little Ryobi Buffer)

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[Doug Dawson]

I cleaned that up and then laid down the CRC 3-36 with a light stray over all the equipment. It wasn't clear how long to leave it on there though? I left it on about 10 minutes, then wiped off the excess. I've now applied the paste wax. and am letting it dry before i clean it off.


Wax applied. Any techniques for hand buffing this out? (Edit: I bought a little Ryobi Buffer)

I like to leave the CRC on overnight so it dries more by itself, but it probably doesn’t matter. It takes a long time to dry.

As far as buffing goes, just an old tshirt and some elbow grease. I’ve used that Ryobi before and it was terrible, maybe you can return it.

[Richard Coers]

A simple way to limit rust in a garage is covering the saw table. A plastic sheet, custom vinyl cover, etc... Just anything that won't absorb water. Condensation falls from the air and settles on a surface that is a different temperature than ambient air. Cover the saw and the condensation settles on the cover. Paste wax is important too. If you don't believe me, cut a square of cardboard and place it on the table. Rust will cover the table, except for where the cardboard sits. Cardboard does/t make a good cover as it absorbs the moister and then sits there wet. A much more elaborate way to protect it is to build an insulated box around it and keep an incandescent light bulb going inside when the cast iron is colder than ambient air.

[John Gornall]

My shop is on an island in a rain forest near the ocean - no rust

The key is understanding humidity (hydrodynamics) - used to be part of my job as an engineer

Right now it's 44 degrees and 80% humidity outside

Bring that outside air into the shop and heat it to a comfy 70 degrees and the humidity drops to 36%

But seal up your shop, breath all day, and have your shop at 70 degrees and 80% when you close up for the night and turn down the heat and when the air cools the humidity will hit saturation (more than 100%) and you'll get dew and rust.

The key in my shop is ventilation day and night

What is the humidity in your shop? Get a hygrometer and find out. Even better is a recording hygrometer so you can see what happens all night.

100% - bingo there's dew

A little science goes a long way.

[Paul Haus]

I'm going to add 2 cents to this discussion. I have had basement shops for years, so that's my basis. I clean and wax the machines on a regular basis with Johnsons paste wax. Out of all the tablesaws, jointers, lathes etc I've owned over the years, only one ever gave me pain with rust. I had a import jointer that no matter what I did every few weeks rust started showing on the bed. I've had both newer and older machines and quite frankly they do not have issues like that Jet did. I ended up getting rid of it and getting an older replacement and that's been fine as have the other machines. Some just seem to be prone to rust, no matter what you do.