What to use on bright parts to prevent rust?

[Ultradog MN]

I have been messing with my prehistoric Millmaster here. I pulled the head off and went through it. Fixed the hand wheel so it works again and a couple of the bearings in the quill were a bit growly so I replaced them then cleaned up the castings and brush primed and painted it.
This machine sat outside for several months and all the handles had light surface rust on them.
A wire wheel in the pedistal the grinder did wonders on them.
So now I'm wondering what to use to prevent them from rusting again.
On woodworking machinery they use wax I think.
Would that keep the brightwork halfways pretty on this thing? The table - when I get it cleaned up will get oiled. But handles and the like you hate to have oily.
What do you guys use?
Thanks
What's with this board that I can't add photos.

https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto66806.jpg


https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto66807.jpg

 

[cretedog]

Boeshield or Woodworkers spray for tablesaw tops, etc.

 

[dundeeshopnut]

1, Don't leave it outside. 2, Dry shop. I have polished handles and metal parts 3 years ago and no rust has occurred since. Shop is heated/ a little AC and I have no water in it but I am in SW Quebec and we have got HUMIDITY. 3, use it! [LOL] The oil from your hands will stave off oxidation to some extent.

 

[Moblacksmith0530]

Depending on the size of the parts you could nickel plate them, I do that for a lot of older sewing machine parts and it is pretty easy to setup metal plating at home, all you need is some pure nickel, a dc power supply like an old phone charger and some vinegar, ther eare a lot of tutorials on nickel plating you can find on the interwebs. I found a good one on instructibles.

 

[quasi]

Car wax. Take your pick

 

[Cyclotronguy]

Boeshield, Starrett M1, wax all good options.
Disuse and anything holding moisture is the killer!

An effective Rx can be as simple as: Keep metalwork clean and wiped down with the lightest possible coat of ATF

 

[neilho]

Keep it inside, run a dehumidifier, keep RH below 60%.

There are places inside machines that will rust that can't be maintained. Suck it up. Maintain the dehumidifier instead.

 

[RCPDesigns]

All above are great suggestions. One thing that will also help is to polish your brightwork to a mirror finish. Do that and run a dehumidifier and you shouldn't have any trouble at all.

 

[Bob Farr]

Ultradog,

Others have already given some great guidance, but I'll add another option I've used with success. It's called Renaissance Wax, and is used by museum conservators to keep bare metal surfaces free from oxidation. Also commonly used in the jewelry trades -

Home - Restoration Product

Even a small container lasts a lifetime.

Used on guns and wood surfaces as well -

Renaissance Wax | Microcrystalline Polish

Renaissance Wax Rust Preventative Gun Stock Polish 7oz

Good luck,

Bob

 

[Just a Sparky]

Oil, oil and more oil. A nice stickified slideway oil for the ways like Vactra-2. Fluid-Film is a purpose made non-drying corrosion inhibitor that works well for non-wearing surfaces like handles and handwheels if you don't mind it's smell. I find that cleaning grime off of painted surfaces with Kano Kroil and a soft brass brush works well. It leaves behind an oily film which shines up dull, ancient paint a little bit and keeps old scuffs and scrapes from rusting. Works better than carb cleaner and doesn't leave bare metal.

 

[Arclight]

I like this product. Our shop unit has vented skylights and a light mist sometimes comes in during heavy rains. So I'll hit the machines with this before I leave on those days:

https://www.amazon.com/300038-Specialist-Long-Term-Corrosion-Inhibitor/dp/B084VNY27P

 

[kd1yt]

My favorite concoction- take some good quality modern hydraulic fluid (contains anticorrosion additives) warm it up and dissolve into it a small to medium amount of parrafin, or better still, beeswax (or some of both). After the wax is dissolved and it has cooled, "cut" the fluid by diluting with some kerosene or mineral spirits. The lighter petroleum makes it apply and wick well (especially because the wax will have otherwise upped the viscosity), the anticorrosives in the hydraulic fluid definitely seem to yield some benefit in deterring rust, and the wax gives it some persistence and adhesion. "Fluid film" (lanolin as active ingredient) is also awesome and a lot less fooling around. The home concoction involves more fooling around to make it but has the benefit of yielding abundant usable product at a negligible cost.

 

[Ultradog MN]

Thanks fellas.
I like the idea of the home brew stuff and will give kd1yt's concoction a try.
I was actually thinking about using some hand stuff like Burt's Bees.