Take Care of Your Cast Iron

O

OTK

Joined
Feb 10, 2010
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This evening I went out to the shop to get some work done and walked into a disaster! It has been in the 30-50F range here in northern Arkansas....well today is was a crazy unseasonal 70F and extremely muggy. The thick cast iron table on my vertical band saw was literally dripping water and had developed some nasty looking rust. Same for the Mill and especially the vise. The Mill, being the most massive, had water streaming off of it, but luckily was pretty well covered in way oil etc. I doused the rusty parts in rem oil and took a brass brush to them, then wiped down with way oil. Things look much better, but there was some damage. I left the fans on and set the AC on the dryer mode....didn't get a damn bit of work done ;)

I post this as a reminder, but also to ask what you guys do to take care of your heavy cast iron toys. Products, techniques, words of caution...whatever you've got.

Thanks!
 
I use Johnson's furniture paste wax. It's not the best but it helps and I hate getting oil residue on my projects. With the wax, I clean the metal then rub in a thin coat. After it dries I rub on a thicker second coat.
 
This happens to me on a near weekly basis. It's especially problematic when the dew point is near the high temp, with low nights. Large machinery will hold temp through the day.

My two mills (2500, and 4500lbs, respectively), won't stop sweating water streams for days, transformers inside the welders, tables on saws and drills, all covered.

I've taken to wiping down my ways and tables with Fluid Film, which is very effective, and a good lubricant. I put Bullfrog Emitter shields in my boxes, silica gel in my welders and in the tuppers I store consumables, etc. etc.

It's a PITA, my precision machines are loosing accuracy by the week until I get a climate controlled shop, but that's the price I pay for living in the South Eastern Rain Forrest, I guess.


Seriously though, fluid film, boeshield, and vapor phase inhibitors are pretty much mandatory in an open space, unless you're dedicated to the primitive approach, or just don't give a damn.
 
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BTW, the best solution for light surface rust on "precision" parts, like tables, ways, etc, is #0000 steel wool. A little kerosene and 0000 will knock it right off, then apply a protectant. Occasionally I'll hit it with 2k grit paper, but you have to be careful to clean up precision surfaces of abrasives, or risk long term damage. Don't use scotchbrite or anything more aggressive to clean up ways or other precision surfaces, or you risk throwing off their accuracy.
 
javand said:
BTW, the best solution for light surface rust on "precision" parts, like tables, ways, etc, is #0000 steel wool. A little kerosene and 0000 will knock it right off, then apply a protectant. Occasionally I'll hit it with 2k grit paper, but you have to be careful to clean up precision surfaces of abrasives, or risk long term damage. Don't use scotchbrite or anything more aggressive to clean up ways or other precision surfaces, or you risk throwing off their accuracy.
Click to expand...

Good to know. I have used red scotch brite in the past to clean up drill press and grinder tables, but fortunately never on my mill. I use the Boeshield T-9 with good success.
 
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