Rust prevention and removal - any advice?

[TonyW]

My limited supply of hand and power tools are stored in my garage which will also function as my future workshop. Rust has been a problem I have occasionally experienced and I am looking for ways to prevent (as much as possible) in the future.

Having done some searching on rust prevention I have ordered Liberon lubricating wax and camelia oil and some Garryflex pads for light rust removal.

Are there any other "magical" potions or cures for this problem or do I just have to expect the inevitable is likely to happen?

Thanks Tony

 

[ByronBlack]

If your garage isn't very well insulated and is going to get damp, then I think you'll always get some rust, all I can suggest, is to store your tools in a good toolbox and include a rust inhibitor - axminster sell them. Or try using some of the bags of silica you get in shoe's, this wicks away some of the moisture in the air, but a good storage box is definitly worth investing in.

 

[j]

You might also consider a heated tool cabinet. There have been a few threads on this subject. Usually just a low wattage bulb connected to a thermostat in the cupboard.

Maybe the heat from a few cordless tool chargers is enough to keep the condensation off your tools

HTH
J

 

[Rob Lee]

You might also consider a heated tool cabinet. There have been a few threads on this subject. Usually just a low wattage bulb connected to a thermostat in the cupboard.

Maybe the heat from a few cordless tool chargers is enough to keep the condensation off your tools

HTH
J

Hi Tony -

I agree with the above... it's the temperature differentials that'll get you - not the humidity (as much)... a single 60-100 watt bulb gives enough heat to prevent condensation...

Look also at Boeshield for long term storage...or even poly tung oil....

One of my favorites for rust removal was OxiSolv....

http://www.oxisolv.com/html/rust_remover.html

Cheers -

Rob

 

[Paul Kierstead]

I find the little rust erasers fantastic for removing light rust. Available at Rob's place, plus lots of other places I am sure. Watch out for the grit afterwords, nasty stuff.

For preventing, I use paste wax, Waxlit, TopCote and Camilia oil, all depending on application and mood. For planes/chisels especially I use the latter because it smells almost nice and is pleasant to use. I use a little bottle applicator like this. It makes things very easy; a little wipe, I spread it around with my hands, all done. At the end of my shop-day during clean-up, I put a little on every plane I used, and also keep them very clean, which seems to help.

For larger surfaces on machines, that kind of thing, I tend to use the other solutions.

 

[TonyW]

Byron. Thanks for the comments - next on the agenda a decent toolbox and the rust inhibitor...its colder and wetter here "up North" than the sunny climes of Essex

J The heated tool cupboard is intriguing will do a search


Paul I am going to try the Camelia oil and paste wax

Rob Will keep my eye open for the products you mentioned
I guess living in Canada you guys no a thing or two about temperature differentials

Thanks again for all the good advice

Tony

 

[wdartsch]

Hi all,me newbie ,
I have been enjoying this forum for quite some time-thank You !
First time i feel like beeing able to contribute.
My solution---Old refrigirator,drill a small hole ,fix a15W elektric bulb and you are done.Insulation works both ways+nice and clean.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

The heated tool cupboard is intriguing will do a search

I've been doing this for about twenty five years. Simply build a large tool cabinet with a pair of side hung doors and include shelving and drawers to suit.

My tool cabinets are about 1200 mm wide X about 900 mm tall and 400 deep with a central vertical divider that's cut away towards the back bottom corner. A bit of careful planning and you can bang together a tough and durable plywood cabinet economically out of whole sheets of WBP birch ply. Mount the thing on large casters and you have portability too. Make the height the same as the height of your workbench and you have additional support available for large frames, etc., when required.

Where the central vertical divider has a cutout at the back bottom corner install a light bulb holder, wire and a plug. For long life fit one of the long life energy saving bulbs and leave it running permanently. I find a 7 watt bulb of this type works well and they do really last. Slainte.

 

[woodbloke]

wdartsch, welcome to the forum, wrote:

My solution---Old refrigirator,drill a small hole ,fix a15W elektric bulb and you are done.Insulation works both ways+nice and clean.

sounds interesting.....but what about all tool collectors on the forum, some would need an old walk in deep freezer :wink: :lol: - Rob

 

[Inspector]

My solution---Old refrigirator,drill a small hole ,fix a15W elektric bulb and you are done.Insulation works both ways+nice and clean.

Good idea, over here our refrigerators come with light bulbs :idea: in them that come on when the door opens.
That makes it a bit easier to bypass the switch so that the light is on all the time. :lol: :lol:

 

[TonyW]

My solution---Old refrigirator,drill a small hole ,fix a15W elektric bulb and you are done.Insulation works both ways+nice and clean.

What an ingenious solution and very "Green" not needing to be recycled

Sgian Dubh Nice idea pointing me in the right direction

Thanks to all

Tony

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi wdartsch

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers
Neil

 

[wdartsch]

sounds interesting.....but what about all tool collectors on the forum, some would need an old walk in deep freezer Wink Laughing - Rob

Try to get your hands on some Murrican ones -good enough for a dozen of N8 jointers and a couple of Disstons.

Hi Sgian Dubh.why use energy saving lamp?
In this case you WANT the heat,not the light,else you have a fridge with a glass door :wink:

Wolfgang

 

[chunkolini]

As a metal worker I know a bit on this one. Phosphoric acid is the perfect rust remover, kind to the steel and quite tasty to the juveniles.

WOT? I hear you say. To get rid of quite serious rust soak your tools overnight in Coca Cola, contains a high percentage of phosphoric acid. The rust will rub off easily.

Or if you prefer the branded route go to this site www.bilthamber.com and check out a product called deox-c . From what I can tell it is phosphoric acid based, a dry powder, dissolved in water it derusts steel and passivates the surface. I have used it, great stuff, and for a change it works as described.

regards, chunko'

 

[TonyW]

As a metal worker I know a bit on this one. Phosphoric acid is the perfect rust remover, kind to the steel and quite tasty to the juveniles.

WOT? I hear you say. To get rid of quite serious rust soak your tools overnight in Coca Cola, contains a high percentage of phosphoric acid. The rust will rub off easily.

Or if you prefer the branded route go to this site www.bilthamber.com and check out a product called deox-c . From what I can tell it is phosphoric acid based, a dry powder, dissolved in water it derusts steel and passivates the surface. I have used it, great stuff, and for a change it works as described.

regards, chunko'

Coca Cola - never occurred to me (have tried the penny cleaning trick though). Thanks for that and also link to the branded product. Just a minute if you put steel in Coca Cola does it turn into Irn Bru?

Have also found reference to using Citric Acid (one on Alfs site)

Also been reading about electrolysis. Looks a little messy but seems to offer the benefit of replacing the rust with new metal - similar to electrolytic silver recovery in the photographic industry. Anyone had experience of this method?

regards, Tony

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Hi Sgian Dubh.why use energy saving lamp?
In this case you WANT the heat,not the light,else you have a fridge with a glass door :wink: Wolfgang

I agree, the light is not important, it's the heat you're after. The reason I recommend the low energy bulbs is their longevity. Put one in and forget it for years. They burn and burn and burn.

On the other hand an incandescent bulb, say 25 watts, might last only 24 hours, or even blow instantly. On average an incandescent bulb left running continuously will last between four and six weeks-- or at least that's my experience.

The low energy bulbs are comparatively expensive individually, but the cost of regularly replacing incandescent bulbs soon adds up and overtakes the initial cost of the low energy bulbs. Slainte.

 

[AHoman]

I agree, the light is not important, it's the heat you're after. The reason I recommend the low energy bulbs is their longevity. Put one in and forget it for years. They burn and burn and burn.

Richard,
Are you talking about "compact fluorescent" bulbs? I've been using them here at home and noticed that some of them run quite hot, at very low wattage. They last about 6-7 years. I wonder whether they would be appropriate for the application you mentioned.
-Andy

 

[promhandicam]

My solution---Old refrigirator,drill a small hole ,fix a15W elektric bulb and you are done.Insulation works both ways+nice and clean.

Good idea, over here our refrigerators come with light bulbs :idea: in them that come on when the door opens.
That makes it a bit easier to bypass the switch so that the light is on all the time. :lol: :lol:

And how do you know that the light isn't on all the time :wink: unless you get inside to check :lol:

Steve

 

[Adam]

Alternatively, why not add in a heater element

http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/endecaSearch/ ... KU=4408299

£7

15W in the example above.

Or a 10W one.

Adam

 

[Jasper Homminga]

Tony,

My garage is badly insulated and (for that reason) unheated. I use a number of things against rust: wooden toolcabinet, camelia oil and a moisture eater (translated from the dutch "vochtvreter"). Extra bonus is that the cabinet smells of lavender. :lol:
I don't need any of these measures in summer , but all of them in winter .

Good luck,
Jasper