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Rust prevention for often used tooling

dmalicky

Aluminum
Joined
Jul 16, 2005
Location
San Diego, CA
I'm looking for a rust protector for things like drill chucks, lathe compounds, collets, etc. -- things that get handled a lot, so you want something on them that will ~stay on them, but not something too thick or greasy.

I know LPS-3 is good for long term storage but I gather its kinda gummy for handling. LPS-2? Other suggestions?

Thanks, David
 
Another product to try is a spray can of Boeshield. It can be found at woodworking supply stores or at www.rockler.com. It is a wax like substance created by the Boeing company to prevent corrosion of aircraft parts for long term storage.

I have used it on motorcycle parts and other stuff.

We moved from El Cajon three years ago and do not miss the crowding on I-8,I-5,I-15 and the bridge traffic to NI.
 
There are a number of protectors out there that work well but I have to admit, for small dunkable pieces, I just make my own brew. I dissolve a little bit of clear axle grease in a gallon of naptha or similiar parts cleaner solution. Dip the piece in and let it drip or air dry. You can vary the amount of residual film left by varying the amount of dissolved grease. You can go all the way from greasy to just slick. Most any type of grease or heavy oil works. I know it's not hi-tec or glamorous, but it works well, is cheap, and easy to apply. Can even be applied with a rag, paint brush, or spray bottle.

There are other homebrews you can do also but I don't remember what dissolves what. I've heard my dad talk about dissolving beeswax in laquer thinner??? for same application. Kinda like a thin and smooth cosmoline.
 
LPS 2 is a good choice. While it may be a bit oily at first the subsequent film doesn't interfer with later use.

Unlike LPS 3, no cleaning or film removal is necessary to make immediate use of the protected item.
 
I'm using Starrett M1 - doesn't seem to be too sticky. Dividers that used to have a slight tinge of brown now seem to have cleaned up.

Also got some Evaporust to clean up a few tools and was very pleased with the result. My large dividers look almost new. Only question is - what to use the rest of the gallon for.

Chris P
 
I like Boeshield. Used it on my lathe when I had to leave it in the garage for a few months.

Here's an interesting article on rust preventatives:
http://web.mit.edu/charvak/www/Science/Corrosion/corrosion.html

There was one of the woodworking mags that tested a bunch of products, and everything let the test parts rust except Boeshield. In fact, they had to extend the test to see how long it woud take.

Whatever you do, don't use WD-40!

Steve
 
Keep them in a box/cabinet with a HUGe bag or can of silica gel.

After I quit working in shops professionally 5 years ago, I stuck the old Kennedy in the garage for storage. In just over a month in my humid, summertime garage, my tools began to show signs of minor surface rusting. I stuck a large bag of silica gel in the bottom and top of the box, and 5 years later, there is no rust, mold, or other unwanted ugliness in there.

It's probably the best and cheapest form of rust prevention out there, and requires no nasty chemicals or dirt attracting films or oils to deal with.
 
SteveM,

What's wrong with WD40? I have allways found it excellent stuff, both as a lubricant and as a rust preventer. The bulk product(from gallon cans)is certainly better than the aerosols but both are pretty good.

Charles.
 
UMMMMMMM!

You said the W wurd!

This is an anti W___ board. Hurry - delete yuhr post before someone else sees it!


Think Snow Eh!
Ox
 
WD40 is the cheapest and most effective moisture retardant. Buy a gallon can with the spray bottle included and spray anything you want protected. Don't bother to say it sucks because I don't believe it and for short term rust prevention it is the best. Your not going to change my mind so don't try. Remember, he is talking about tools used and handled a lot. An alternative I use is 50/50 30w oil and kerosene in a spray bottle used mostly on the lathe and mill.
 
Charles, Carl. Efficacy of WD-40 in the retardation of rust formation depends considerably on the environment of the item to be protected.

I live in Rust Central: the Puget Sound country. In the winter after a cold snap we often get what we locally call the "Pineapple Express" a weather condition where warm humid air from the tropical Pacific. Withing hours, it pushes up through the Ilwauko-Olympia Gap south of the Olympics, displaces the cold snap, and floods the Puget Sound basic with torrents of warm rain while snow was still on the ground and your unheated machinery was still at freezing temperatures.

My old shop was but 20 x 30 and before I installed a dehumidifier it would fog up indoors under some conditions. You could watch moisture condense on the still cold machinery as on a cold bottle. The moisture has a small salt content from its long passage over the Pacific and was greatly conducive to rust. Spraying on WD 40 to prevent rust was like chiding a teen age couple to prevent them from experimenting with sex.

OTH a friend of mine who lives in central Montana has no rust trouble at all with his machine tools that reside in a drafty old barn year around. For him WD-40 works.

If you live in the weather influence of either coast or the Gulf you will have rust problems. If you live in the hinterland you may not.

Regardless remember this: WD-40 was never intended as a rust preventative or a lubricant. It's a water dispersant. Spray it on and water slides right off. WD-40 doesn't provide a durable protective film nor does it make an effective lubricant. It's an excellent cleaning agent and you can't beat it for cutting aluminum. But it's not a rust preventative nor is it a lubricant. What feeble residue remains when WD-40's goodies evaporates is more like a snail's trail than a protective film. Water seeps right through it.

If WD-40 works for you, it's because of your local weather not for any other reason.
 
I use WD-40 daily, but not for rust prevention - it's great for keeping things clean. For rust prevention Hoppe's gun oil or Starrett M-1 works in my neck of the woods.
 
Working tools gather no rust, Just like a rolling
stone gathers no moss. I don't use any rust
preventative on any of my equipment, or tooling,
even though I lived in area that when you went
to bed at night, the bedsheets would feel like
they just came from the washer.
Use to have the problem with rust formation until
I came to the realization that it was caused by
condensation from warm moist air, forming on nice
and cool tooling. So I then, insulated the shop,
and changed all the doors and windows to the
insulated type. I then installed roof vents, and
a power vent in the ceiling to exhaust fumes.
Since the shop is now kept warmer than the outside
air, I no longer have the rusting problem,
specialy with the tooling in the tooling cabnets.
The problem I found with using WD 40, was that
condensation would puddle on the surface, and
water being heavier than oil, would lift the WD 40
leaving a chickenpocks pattern of rust. Now that
I'm moving to a drier climate, I'm hoping not to
have any problems with rust again.
jamie
 
Hmm - even here in semi arid Colorado I have had plenty of problems with WD40 not working and in many cases exacerbating the problem.

It's good for cleaning machine tools and as a cutting liquid.

Some previous threads explained why it doesn't work very well. I talked to several plastics tooling people and they all laughed as to the effectiveness of the stuff.

Mild singeing off.

Chris P
 
Whole-heartedly agree with Forrest and others about WD40 being only useful in humid areas as a cologne to attract other machinists. Down in the San Antonio area, WD40 is great for cleaning and some cutting, but not a useful rust preservative. That's the reason for the homebrews with grease/naptha or such.
 
WD-40 (WD as in "water displacer") seems to be a multi-use item that doesn't seem to do anything really well.

Boeshield prevents rust better, Kroil frees stuck fasteners better (even Liquid Wrench does), any one of a number of things lubricates better.

It's mostly kerosene, I think, which explains why it is good as a cutting fluid for aluminum.

I guess if I could only have one can of something (if you were stranded on a deserted island, what can of suff would you have?), it might be it, but I don't have that restriction.

I have used it for cleaning surface rust off, but then I follow up with Boeshield as a preventative. It's also not as greasy and smelly on your hands as WD, Lca078 may want to wear it as a cologne, but not me :)

Steve
 
i got fed up with scraping wd goo of the bridge port table every few months after trying some home brew recipes i have gone back to basics, a quick wipe over with a rag soaked in way oil, not dripping just damp so it leavs a film. being a ashmatic i try to avoid spraying any chemicals i can especialy oils and such like. i have never considered desolving bees wax in thinners, if i could find a alchol to desolve it i gess it would be relitivly harmless, but again i gess a residue would built up in time. though any such residue would not afect much perticualy on woodworking tools.
 
Grew up in arid Colorado, thought WD-40 was great-Moved to humid Nebraska and discovered whizzing on the part was less destructive. Haven't tried Boeshield, but have been absolutely pleased with the LPS products, which I learned about here.
 








 
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