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Cleaning rust
- Thread starter bongo88
- Start date
- Replies 36
- Views 57,794
Davis In SC
Diamond
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2005
- Location
- South Carolina USA
Petroleum solvent, Varsol, Kero, WD, LPS, Etc..... Let soak and scrub with a stiff brass brush.. Rinse and repeat a few times before taking any other drastic measures..
macona
Diamond
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2006
- Location
- Beaverton, OR
Scotchbrite works well too. It wont hurt the ways. I use the maroon stuff.
DaveE907
Titanium
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2007
- Location
- Spanish Springs, NV
"It depends." A photo would help.
Please don't grab some Scotchbrite which sheds abrasive particles all over where they should never be. Bad advice Macona, real bad.
That maroon hairball won't take much off the hardened ways besides rust but it will leave a gift that keeps on taking away forever.
macona
Diamond
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2006
- Location
- Beaverton, OR
If it has rust on the ways the saddle needs to come off anyway so scotchbrite will work just fine. Cutting one piece of raw cast iron will put more grit into your machine than polishing the ways with scotchbrite. Clean the machine with a solvent of your choice till the rag is clean and no worries.
The maroon scotchbrite has some serious abrasive in it, harder than cast iron. I think it may be silicon carbide (next to diamond on the hardness scale) -- before I grew a brain, I used one of the maroon pads on my car's windshield and badly scratched the glass (the scratches were only along the edge, but it still annoyed me).
That being said, I doubt it sheds much, and you can certainly wipe off whatever does shed. Alarmist warnings not to use them seem silly to me - it's not like you're pouring a bag of 220-grade silicon carbide abrasive grit onto the ways.
That being said, I doubt it sheds much, and you can certainly wipe off whatever does shed. Alarmist warnings not to use them seem silly to me - it's not like you're pouring a bag of 220-grade silicon carbide abrasive grit onto the ways.
macona
Diamond
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2006
- Location
- Beaverton, OR
The outer layer of sand cast iron contains some pretty hard stuff. Wouldnt suprise me if there were carbides in there as it can take out carbide if you dont get under it the first pass.
Scotchbrite Maroon 7447 is Aluminum Oxide 360-400 grit.
http://academic.evergreen.edu/projects/biophysics/technotes/fabric/finish.pdf
Scotchbrite Maroon 7447 is Aluminum Oxide 360-400 grit.
http://academic.evergreen.edu/projects/biophysics/technotes/fabric/finish.pdf
Cal Haines
Diamond
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2002
- Location
- Tucson, AZ
I took some pictures as follows. It looks worse in the pictures. Cleaning the top of the apron is no big deal. I have had luck in the past with the copper wire brush but wondered if anyone had luck with anything else.
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/album.php?albumid=148
Lee
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/album.php?albumid=148
Lee
kpotter
Diamond
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2001
- Location
- tucson arizona usa
I use scotchbrite all the time. Whats worse a rusty bed or a bed that is clean, that machine is so old that any wear you impart by cleaning it is unmeasureble. Do you guys use your machines or just clean and oil them. I have a rivett 1020s that I like to wipe with a soft cloth and squirt oil all over it, and turn the handles and pretend I am worthy of such precision but I dont use it all that much only on somthin worth it. I have a few other lathes to use so that one just gets fondled.
macona
Diamond
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2006
- Location
- Beaverton, OR
Not too bad really. I would pull the saddle though. There is probably crud underneath.
-Jerry
Mud
Diamond
- Joined
- May 20, 2002
- Location
- South Central PA
I use Evapo-rust for cleaning rust off precision surfaces and surfaces that I don't want to show signs of cleaning, like wire brush marks or scotchbrited brush finish. For your ways and apron, I'd cover them with paper shop wipes(heavy paper towels), soak them with Evapo rust, cover them up with plastic or saran wrap and keep them wet until the rust is gone. I've done this several times, works like magic. If you use fresh Evapo-rust it will even remove the dark stain that rust leaves behind. Make sure to not let the wipes dry or they will stick to the machine.
swarfless
Cast Iron
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2005
- Location
- South Australia
Lee, I use steel wool moistened with 3 in 1 oil being careful to wipe up the detritus & keeping it well away from intra-slide gaps. At least the steel in steel wool is unlikely to be harder than your way surfaces. The only effective difference between Scotchbrite & Wet 'n Dry paper is the Scotchbrite conforms to surfaces better. If you don't mind using a MILD abrasive + water, stainless steel cleaning powder has a sulfamate in it which dissolves rust very efficiently. The abrasive is meant to be soft enough to not scratch stainless steel pots 'n pans.
swarfless
Cast Iron
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2005
- Location
- South Australia
No conflict with Mud, Evaporust is a dilute sulfamic acid solution. Great stuff, but stainless cleaner easier to source.
Mud
Diamond
- Joined
- May 20, 2002
- Location
- South Central PA
Really! where do you get it, and what is the brand name?
DaveE907
Titanium
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2007
- Location
- Spanish Springs, NV
The caveat to disassemble and clean up afterwards wasn't presented in your first recommendation hence my response. Get that grit embedded in the cast iron saddle and tailstock base: you've created effective and lasting laps for your ways.
In the shops I've worked in and run anyone cutting raw cast iron in a toolroom lathe would have been severely reprimanded at a minimum. It's akin to peeing in the punchbowl.
In a home shop do whatever you want but be aware it is not good practice. I'm another happy Evaporust customer. Used to use electrolytic methods but Evaporust is much easier.
One thing I discovered however is that thin high carbon hardened components can crack or fracture from an Evaporust treatment. It happened on my favorite old folding pocket knife. It was rusty after decades of carry so into Evaporust it went. The flat blade spring was broken when I took the knife out of the Evaporust a while later.
Cal Haines
Diamond
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2002
- Location
- Tucson, AZ
OK, so this is the Sundstrand drive machine from govliquidation:
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/showthread.php/old-10ee-discussion-195746.html?t=195746
That is some nasty rust:
I think you're well beyond solvent and Scotch-Brite stage. I would go with Mud's suggestion and use Evapo-Rust. I've never tried it on ways, but it works really well on nice gages and the like. It won't damage the base metal at all.
It you're not worried about possible damage to the ways, then a phosphoric acid treatment like Naval Jelly would be the next option. DO NOT use muriatic acid, which is hydrochloric acid! The chlorine atoms in HCl will cause further rusting. It's not a question of neutralizing the acid; you can't get rid of the chlorine atoms and they WILL cause rust. It's the chlorine atoms in the road salt that rusts out cars in the Midwest.
I would ABSOLUTELY remove the saddle, for two reasons: First, I would be stunned if a machine of this age didn't have problems with the pumped lube system. Second, your machine has spent some time outside and there are pockets in the taper attachment and elsewhere that will have had water pool in them. I would immerse the saddle, and everything else that I could, in Evapo-Rust. You'll be amazed how well it works.
Cal
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/showthread.php/old-10ee-discussion-195746.html?t=195746
That is some nasty rust:
I think you're well beyond solvent and Scotch-Brite stage. I would go with Mud's suggestion and use Evapo-Rust. I've never tried it on ways, but it works really well on nice gages and the like. It won't damage the base metal at all.
It you're not worried about possible damage to the ways, then a phosphoric acid treatment like Naval Jelly would be the next option. DO NOT use muriatic acid, which is hydrochloric acid! The chlorine atoms in HCl will cause further rusting. It's not a question of neutralizing the acid; you can't get rid of the chlorine atoms and they WILL cause rust. It's the chlorine atoms in the road salt that rusts out cars in the Midwest.
I would ABSOLUTELY remove the saddle, for two reasons: First, I would be stunned if a machine of this age didn't have problems with the pumped lube system. Second, your machine has spent some time outside and there are pockets in the taper attachment and elsewhere that will have had water pool in them. I would immerse the saddle, and everything else that I could, in Evapo-Rust. You'll be amazed how well it works.
Cal
