Help !!! Rust is attacking my table saw.

[RKON]

2 weeks ago the aquastat on my 4 year old water heater let go in my basement. This caused scalding hot water to continuously pour out of the relief valve. What a mess... The Hot water did minimal damage because most of the stuff was off the floor. The humidity and heat from the hot water had the effect of a sauna in my large 1200 sq ft basement. It was hot !! The sad part to this was the furnace and water heater were supposedly service 2 days earlier. That is another story..... The basement is dry and all of the humidity had been removed with in 3 days of the incident.

Although my tablesaw was far from the water it could not escape the moisture. The top had been perfectly rust free and had two coats of a fine English wax. Rust has set in and I am freaking out because I do not know the best cure. Some questions I have are:

What is the best approach for stopping the rust?

What should I use to remove the rust?

Is there a better alternative to Wax??

This has been a complete show stopper on my basement workshop which has been nearly framed and insulated. I am hoping on installing a tub for the Hotwater heater which has a shut off valve in case this happens again. Has anyone done this??

Thanks Rich

[A.I.]

i used an automotive buffer, with Rubbing compund, then polishing compund. the finished ith Carnouba wax.

[Leon]

Use OOOO steel wool and WD40 to remove the rust. Wipe that clean and the apply 2 coats of TopCote to the surface.

[Wayne J]

When I used to work at Delta, we always did the WD40 and 0000 steel wool trick.

Nowadays, I use MoovIt made by LLoyds and super fine wet/dry on a random sander. (I get almost no swirl marks).

I accidently found MoovIt penetrating oil at Princess Auto (Western Canada). They are no different then the US Tractor Supply group, so it should be available there.

happy cutting !

[RKON]

Thanks to all. as well as WD40 and steel wool

[Silvan]

The Canadian version of a Tractor Supply store is called Princess Auto?

[jcofmars]

Robert, may I ask what you do for hand tools?

- Al

[Chris Schanck]

You know, I have a garage shop here in Maryland (not real dry, not real moist) and I used paste wax, didn't like it, tried TopCote, expensive, etc. Than I saw an old posting here that said something along the lines of "Throw an old wool blanket on that saw" and damn if it doesn't work.

For 2 years I've done nothing about rust but keep and old (heavy) wool blanket thrown on top of the saw. Still spotless. I got the blanket at a thrift shop -- it looks like an old army blanket (grey with a black stripe).

Chris

[2manytoyz]

For hand tools I do pretty much the same thing. I spray WD-40 on a rag and wipe the tools before putting them away. For things like my Freud dado blade set, which has a nice storage case with a foam liner, I sprayed the foam with oil. I don't need to spray the blades as the oil will naturally migrate to surrounding surfaces. I keep the case closed, which limits the exposure.

I found last night that a 35 mm forstner bit had been setting on the back corner of my workbench in a block of wood with the cutting end sticking up. Salty air did it's trick. The bit is now badly rusted and will need to be replaced.

This climate is brutal. If I forget to wipe a scraper, every fingerprint will start a rust spot.

I keep a roll of paper towels to wipe off oil before using any WW tools. Only takes a minute, keeps them looking new. If I had an air conditioned shop, this wouldn't be an issue. Since my relatives weren't kind enough to be rich and leave me a chunk of change, it'll be a while before I get my dream shop! Until then, WD-40 will continue to have a prominent spot on my shelf.

Robert

[2manytoyz]

I guess the best advice I can give on this topic is know nothing is perfect. A technique may work great for some climates, but suck for others. Don't blindly follow any suggestions found on the rec as I did. I used 3 coats of paste wax before storing my TS for the hot part of the Summer. By the time I had checked on it, rust had started. I should have watched it more closely until I had confidence in the new (to me) method. :-(

[Denis]

I have been told that spray on teflon is a better choice for spraying on the rustable areas of the table saw or router table... This person works at a "House of Tools" store in Victoria Canada and claimed that with a solid spraying of the clean blade and clean table, that they could get through 70-80 sheets of plywood before gumming up enough to start to bind. Seems like a lot of wood through a table saw, but once recleaned, they would finish the rest of the total of

150 sheets.

They did not carry it in that store, but he did say that it had to dry totally before use. never had any rust problems either!

His words not mine, but the idea seems sound...

[Larry]

Wax sucks for preventing rust. Use a solvent to clean it off. Spray the machined surfaces with a light coat of WD40. Use a rag to wipe before using. I've been doing this in an unheated barn for 20+ years and my tools are like new as far as rust is concerned. Every spring & fall any metal in the shop sweats with condensation many times. The WD40 keeps the condensation from reaching the bare metal.