Fess Up - Shellac Does Not Work As Long Term Rust Preventer

[Tom Watson]

Awhile back I was banging the Newsgroup with the idea that shellac was the be all and end all of rust preventers on cast iron equipment.

Over the last two weeks I have had the opportunity to work with equipment that I shellacked last December.

It didn't work.

I've got major rust on equipment that was treated with shellac.

I was hoping for the killer app - I wound up with something that might, and I mean MIGHT increase the time needed between treatments with more traditional barrier coats.

I'm sorry if I lead anyone else down the wrong path.

(watson - who thought it was going so well after a couple of months - but doesn't think so now.)

Regards, Tom.

"People funny. Life a funny thing." Sonny Liston

Thomas J.Watson - Cabinetmaker (ret.) tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (real email)

[Charlie Self]

My best results overall have recently been obtained using homemade wax. Shopmade. Approximately normal bits of beeswax, paraffin and a good bit more carnauba, with coats put on the table saw using steel wool. It was then buffed with a cordless power buffer. Incredibly slick as well as super shiny.

Anyone who wants to try this might be able to work it with two ounces of regular wax (Johnson's Butcher, Minwax, )etc. plus about a half ounce of carnauba. Carnauba is what adds the hard to most waxes. Too much makes it a bit flaky, but some extra just makes it harder (and a real bitch to hand buff).

Charlie Self "Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half." Gore Vidal

[Mark & Juanita]

So did the rust get under the shellac? Did the shellac get delaminated from the surface as the surface rusted, or did the surface under the shellac rust while the shellac remained intact and in-place?

Wonder what that implies regarding the utility of shellac as a finish relative to protecting the wood from moisture? Seems like this implies that shellac has very little, other than looks, going for it.

Which BTW, is too bad, I like the look of shellac and the ease of application.

[Michael Baglio]

Tom, I'm in my... hmm... 3rd? 4th? month of shellac base with wax topper and no rust yet. Never got that kind of wear with wax alone, so, so far, so good. So, thanks.

Michael Who thinks maybe one day he oughtta just do what the manufacturer says and _talc_ the whole thing and see what happens...

[GerryG]

[Unisaw A100]

Well Tom, I have the solution. Problem is you'll have to pack up all the 'chines there by the mill and ship here to the Sout' end of the Tamarack.

UA100, who has never shellacked, waxed, Boeshielded or anything to any machine and has been rust free the entire time...

[Tom Watson]

I didn't put the wax on after the shellac. Might give that a try.

I'm in a really bad spot, down in a valley, next to a stream. On high humidity days the rafters drip.

The biggest problem is that I'm not in the shop everyday. Use seems to be the best rust preventer - for people too.

Regards, Tom.

"People funny. Life a funny thing." Sonny Liston

Thomas J.Watson - Cabinetmaker (ret.) tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (real email)

[Tom Watson]

I don't know how you get away with it, Keeter - living next to a swamp an all.

I wonder what guys go through who have shopsnear the ocean.

Regards, Tom.

"People funny. Life a funny thing." Sonny Liston

Thomas J.Watson - Cabinetmaker (ret.) tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (real email)

[patrick conroy]

similar thought crossed my mind... I think a high humidity day in Denver is 2%.

Yabut - the nosebleeds...

Saw ya quoted in PW. Kewl! Figure it was only 60-90 seconds tops, so you ought'a have 13 1/2 or 14 minutes left! :)

[Pat Barber]

Live 3 miles from Atlantic and 200 yds from a salt marsh.

Lots and lots of TopCote.... wish I could buy it in bulk and put it on with a garden sprayer.

It is very $$$ but it works...

Tom Wats> I don't know how you get away with it, Keeter - living next to a swamp > an all. >

[Fred the Red Shirt]

I thought that sellac was corrosive to ferrous metal which is why cans of premixed shellac are lined on the inside with a protective coating.

[Charlie Self]

Fred the Red Shirt asks:

AFAIK, shellac is OK on iron, but tin cans are usually lined with tin (or whatever these days)...most items will eventully draw water to them after opening, thus creating at least a potential for rust. The lining, I'm told, is to prevent rust from that source. There are vegetables that do create such a problem, and most of those cans today have some kind of white lining, a plastic I think.

Charlie Self "Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy." Edgar Bergen, (Charlie McCarthy)

[Michael Baglio]

Pat, maybe you need the homebrew version. Here's a recipe from 10 years ago. I've not tried it, but there seemed to be a lot of positive comments at the time...

original follows--

---------------------------------- From: John Pierce ( [e-mail]) Subject: Re: Router Bit Coatings Date: 1994-03-31 06:07:24 PST

I use another low-cost method. Get a big glass jar. Then go the supermarket and get one of the packages of paraffin for canning (they are pretty cheap).

Use a chisel to slice off some paraffin chunks into the jar: enough to cover the bottom and maybe a bit more. Then fill the jar the rest of the way with pure mineral spirits. Let it sit.

What you have here is a low-cost, low-viscosity solution that will put the paraffin in every nook and cranny of whatever you're working with. After the mineral spirits evaporate, It leaves a *thin* paraffin layer. You can buff this if you want.

Keep the jar handy and dip small tools after sharpening. You can also brush it on. That's what I use on by bandsaw table.

Another advantage is that you don't have to heat the paraffin, thereby risking a fire.

---------------------------- end original

Michael

[Unisaw A100]

I m'member that during my brief residence there. Seemed like all you wanted to do was pick your nose all day. On the up side, the snow usually dried up before it melted. On the down side, pitted windshields (wind screens Andy).

See! Ya pick and ya pick and before you know it your skull comes crashing down.

Yahbut, it's the third magazine I've been in and well, I'm not bragging or nothing but, well, it's the third magazine I've been in.

sigh...

UA100

[Australopithecus scobis]

Which makes them just dandy to hold small quantities of the finish of your choice whilst applying same.

-

[mac davis]

damn.. that's just too logical for this early in the morning...

Mac

[Nova]

Congratulations! See:

(RD&G)--Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

[Tom Watson]

>(RD&G) You made me look.

Yer a monkey!

Regards, Tom.

"People funny. Life a funny thing." Sonny Liston

Thomas J.Watson - Cabinetmaker (ret.) tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (real email)

[Larry Jaques]

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 17:34:23 -0400, Nova calmly ranted:

>(RD&G)But is he the cause of the mandate or the result?

-------------------------------------------------------------

• * Humorous T-shirts Online

• Norm's Got Strings * Wondrous Website Design

• *

[Unisaw A100]

Larry Jauqes

'Murican Wooddorker, it's rumored, has an upcoming issue featuring The Men of Rec.Wooddorking.

You heard it here first. Now, avert your eyes.

UA100