replacing concrete -- humidity?

[Matthew Hills]

I need to redo part of the concrete in my garage.
I was planning to move my big tools into the far end of the garage to keep them indoors, but I was wondering if the curing concrete will be releasing too much humidity for the surfaces to not rust. Would the tools be better on a back patio or in a back yard shed?

Matt

[Maurice Mcmurry]

In several recent threads paste wax has been recommended by experienced contributors to protect cast iron and steel in a humid environment. I would leave the tools inside, wax the milled iron surfaces, protect them from splatter, and ventilate the garage when the humidity gets high.

[George Yetka]

I agree with Maurice coat everything metal, you should do this every so often anyways. Ballistol works great on the hand tools. Glidecoat or paste wax on the milled tops. Create cross ventilation. The concrete will put off humidity but if you have a way to cross ventilate such as a fan in one window and a open window on the opposite side of the garage you will take most of that out. leave it running for a week or so

[Charlie Velasquez]

Back of the garage, with a dehumidifier, all under a tarp, or walled off from your repair area with visqueen.
If you go with walling off you could go with a small heater instead of a dehumidifier, just need to keep the air around your tools warm enough to inhibit condensation.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Curing concrete will definitely increase the humidity in the shop. Recommend some ventilation too.

[Bill Dufour]

I would say everyone who has posted so far lives in much more humid climates then you. They say wax the surfaces and ventilate. Maybe wall off the tool section with plastic and use a fan to keep that section at positive pressure 24/7 for a week. The new concrete should be kept damp and under plastic to cure.
Do this before you get dew and it should be fine. If it gets dew at night maybe turn of the fan at night?
Bill D

[Lee Schierer]

A company I used to work for made automated assembly machines with cast iron bases and machined surfaces. When we would prepare them fro shipping we would spray the exposed machined surfaces with Boeshield. We would spray a heavy coat and not wipe it down. When the machines arrived on the customer site, our techs would spray these surfaces again with Boeshield and then wipe them down. The new spray would soften the tacky layer allowing it to be removed. We rarely had any surface rust despite shipping machines in winter in non-heated trucks across the country.

[Thomas Wilson]

It is generally recommended to keep concrete moist while curing. You can do this by covering with plastic. The humidity in the garage above the plastic will be unaffected by the fresh concrete. Some 2x4’s lined around the perimeter will help seal it. You may want to pull the plastic back and dampen the surface occasionally. It takes about 4 weeks to fully cure concrete. It should be damp the whole time. When you uncover it, the garage will be humid. Wax, CRC 3-36, magnetic sheets, all work to keep cast iron surfaces at a reduced moisture level.