Protection for cast iron for long term storage

[Sawdust=manglitter]

I will soon be fully packing up my workshop ready for the sale of my current property, and the contents of my workshop will be going into a storage unit until i find myself a new property with a workshop.

What have people used to coat/cover their cast iron tops and steel hand tools for long term storage?

 

[D_W]

a heavier grease (not an oil) or a thin coat of shellac. the latter is my preference - you can give it a brief soak with alcohol later and remove it. If you are willing to use a chemical stripper a very light coating of any clear enamel would also be fine. stripper would take it off in minutes down the road with some care not to get it on any permanent paint, and also leave you with a squeaky clean surface.

 

[Spectric]

Just use a heavy grease and cover that with a protective paper.

 

[ajs]

I will soon be fully packing up my workshop ready for the sale of my current property, and the contents of my workshop will be going into a storage unit until i find myself a new property with a workshop.

What have people used to coat/cover their cast iron tops and steel hand tools for long term storage?

Petroleum jelly.

 

[Inspector]

If you know it will be a while spray painting the top with primer at least will protect it. When ready to recommission them clean it off with acetone. Degrease and de-wax before priming.

Pete

 

[Peter Sefton]

Has anyone used the Carbonmethod?



Will be interesting to see the results.

Cheers

Peter

 

[Jameshow]

I'd use something like waxyoil.

Easy to remove at the other end . .

 

[D_W]

Has anyone used the Carbonmethod?



Will be interesting to see the results.

Cheers

Peter

I've noticed this trend in youtube suggesting auto detailing and shop and everything else with absurdly priced stuff that's mostly hype.

I get why it's hypey - convince people that something that already works isn't good enough and use words like nano.

it's a systemic problem now with how information is conveyed - it was a bad problem with magazines, but now that one can link "personalities" in real time and not just read about things they're advocating, but decide they think someone is friendly based on a one-sided relationship.

It's like farming, except we're the animals.

Everything about that is a turnoff - the whole video is made only to generate revenue from redirect tokens and probably to accept a fee to make the video in the first place. An alternate reality that people seem to think is real.

It'll be followed in 6 months with a dot of a comment here or there among the enthusiasts "I still have rust problems", but most people will not ever come back to follow up.

 

[Jacob]

I will soon be fully packing up my workshop ready for the sale of my current property, and the contents of my workshop will be going into a storage unit until i find myself a new property with a workshop.

What have people used to coat/cover their cast iron tops and steel hand tools for long term storage?

The big prob is when warm humid air gets in and condenses as it hits cool surfaces from overnight, or from frost and weather changes.
If the storage is dry and if the stuff isn't going to get moved about then just thin polythene wrapping everything should be good.
Even better if there's a bit of heat - electric, or sunlight through a window to keep the relative humidity low.
If you can be bothered to paint stuff on, then raw linseed oil would be good. Cheap, easy to brush or swab on and sets as semi permanent layer, which you don't need to clean off - it gets rubbed off as soon as you start using the kit. Good on wood and metal.

 

[D_W]

Sorry to be so negative above. I'm just worn out by the formulaic thing with youtube promotional stuff with buzzwords ("nano, graphene") and products where the SDS is intentionally difficult to find so that you can't tell that there's just not that much substance there.

They're sold and promoted to a group of people where buying a bunch of rust protection and then "slippery" stuff is meaningful money and nobody is out there getting views showing how you can get the same results with stuff that costs almost nothing. it wouldn't matter if they were - the algorithms are keyed to push videos with ad revenue and proven buying audiences in the comments, etc.

It's just horribly disappointing and beyond being just meaningless.

the hydrotreated oils in another prior thread were another example of this. Hydrotreated gear oil is something like $15 a quart or less, and only a little more than that for a gallon of the thinner stuff. but it gets packaged into little containers, sold to woodworkers or whoever the target is at an enormous mark-up with "perceived value", but no real added value. The added value to the seller is in trying to avoid any discussion that lands on specs or contents.

 

[Ttrees]

The big prob is when warm humid air gets in and condenses as it hits cool surfaces from overnight, or from frost and weather changes.
If the storage is dry and if the stuff isn't going to get moved about then just thin polythene wrapping everything should be good.
Even better if there's a bit of heat - electric, or sunlight through a window to keep the relative humidity low.
If you can be bothered to paint stuff on, then raw linseed oil would be good. Cheap, easy to brush or swab on and sets as semi permanent layer, which you don't need to clean off - it gets rubbed off as soon as you start using the kit. Good on wood and metal.

I've done the linseed oil and thinners method and it has given excellent protection to some metal lengths I've got.
Works well, don't need much linseed oil, near dried bit at the bottom and a lot more thinners than parts oil, prob 10 to 1 makes a real thick coat.
Will likely be difficult to get off, great stuff
Cheers Jacob

 

[Peter Sefton]

@Sawdust=manglitter You could use Shield Technology's Metal Guard Ultra.

Easy to apply, easy to remove and gives two years worth of protection, designed for rust prevention and long term tool storage.

I use it on my lathe beds if we are turning green timber or within chucks etc as it's nice and thin.

https://woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/shield-technology-metalguard-ultra-250ml/
Cheers

Peter

 

[Seascaper]

Hello
Suggest you get some Ambersil spray on wax, it comes in a spray can so very easy to apply and lasts well. I have used it to protect marine engines in a damp environment and it does the job. You can source it from RS Components and get it the next day. Make sure you storage place is reasonably sound, some storage places are disaster areas with leaking roofs, I have visited such places to recover valuable items and it was criminal to see such valuable stuff being destroyed from water pouring in and running down walls. So check out your storage place,
Regards

 

[Sideways]

I use three of the products others have recommended.

Metalguard ultra followed by liberon table wax good for 3-6months
Linseed oil could be good for a year. I use it for machine stands. Beyond a year it begins to show rust and needs reapplied.
Ambersil protective anti rust wax for the screws worms and slides under the table. It's good but soft and won't resist handling so I wouldn't choose it for the table tops.

 

[plum60]

Coating everything to later have to strip it off is going to be a bit of a job. I would only do the big stuff, flat stuff or expensive items like that the rest I would encapsulate with some silica gel. You will likely drop into the storage every now and again to fetch something so you can always check how things are if the wrap is see-through. Tape the wrap so it's airtight because storage is always placed on cheaper land where there is often a lot of nature/moisture about.

 

[Fergie 307]

I'd use something like waxyoil.

Easy to remove at the other end . .

I would second that, easily removed with white spirit which will not damage the existing paint etc.

 

[Jacob]

I would second that, easily removed with white spirit which will not damage the existing paint etc.

You wouldn't bother cleaning linseed oil off it would get rubbed off when the kit starts getting used and any remaining wouldn't be a problem

 

[John Hall]

Boeshield T9…excellent stuff…that’s wht it’s for…
https://boeshield.com/why-boeshield-2/
also wrap items in clingfilm..

 

[Vann]

...If you can be bothered to paint stuff on, then raw linseed oil would be good...

I was going to suggest boiled linseed oil. I have a bit of dampness in my garage/workshop - especially in the winter (and it's been wet, cold and miserable here lately - swap you for some of that 40 degree heat you're enjoying). At first I tried camellia oil (just cause I had some), but that's only any good if you're going to recoat within a few weeks. Next I tried heavy mineral oil, but I only get 6 months or so from that.

But I've been having some success with BLO. A very thin coat seems to keep rust away for about a year so far - and dries but isn't tacky within 24 hours. It probably wouldn't need removal from working surfaces - say Jacob says.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Stuart Moffat]

My first action would be to visit the place with a moisture meter to read relative humidity. i used to fret about the rust on my cast iron beds. Then I built my own workshop and no longer have to worry about protecting tools any more. About a decade ago when we moved, almost everything we owned went into storage for about 10 months including through winter. I had no problems whatsoever with damp or rust.