Ideas/advice please.
I’m in the Pacific NW, coastal climate, and am noticing small spots of rust on my tools.
I’ve just taken them out of storage and placed them into my new garage/shop building. It is not yet insulated but will be shortly. Slab on grade and standard 2 x 6 walls.
The rust is appearing on stationary tools and the hand tools in my steel tool chests. Since they do not get used each day as yours do I need to find a way to prevent rust becoming an issue. I know I will be cleaning, waxing and wiping down everything as I unpack, and probably set up a schedule to do this regularly.
I understand that I’ll need to keep the workshop temperature as stabile as possible with insulation and air movement (fan?) but is there something I can place into the various storage cabinets or drawers that may work continuously?
Suggestions will be appreciated. There is a sizeable investment to protect.
bum
…The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain…
Be kind to your children….they will choose your nursing home.
…aim low boys, they’re ridin’ shetland ponies !!
Edited 3/9/2007 3:15 pm by oldbeachbum
Replies
I keep a can of Butchers Wax handy and wipe it on my tools to keep the rust off.
Its easy and cheap and it works!...hmmmm, sounds like an old girl friend I once had..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFexyK8J1Iw
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Gun Oil should work too. They also make those little packets that you get in some clothing and product packages...for the life of me, I can't remember what they're called other than the 'do not eat' packets. But I believe you can buy jars of the stuff at pharmacies (I think they're used to store various things like hearing aids and the like). Of course, that will really only work if you store your tools in sealed drawers or cabinents.Other than that, big dehumidifier?
for the life of me, I can't remember what they're called other than the 'do not eat' packets
Desiccant packs
I understand that I'll need to keep the workshop temperature as stabile as possible with insulation and air movement (fan?) but is there something I can place into the various storage cabinets or drawers that may work continuously?
I keep a boat in the same damp climate - and winter in So Cal, wearing shorts not GoreTex and fleece. Boat winters in the NorthWet.
We use an air dryer in the boat over the winter that has worked well to keep the mildew and such way down. It doesn't warm as much as dry - 500 watts. Something similar are the damp chaser rods used in gun vaults and closets.
The ToolBear
"Never met a man who couldn't teach me something." Anon.
I have had fair success with motorcycle chain lube in a spray can.Its a light lube combined with some sort of wax.it coats and then dries, seems to help shed water ,dirt, sand,and mud unlike other oil and grease lubes.
I've had the same problem. Stopped when I through moth balls in my tool box. I'm not quite sure how it works, but it does seem effective.
Must be the camphor vapors. Sounds like a cheap and easy idea once I get everything all cleaned up.
I really dislike the odor, though....The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...
Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home.
...aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
I can't even smell it now. I threw a box of the moth balls my truck box, and possibly because of all the other smells in there I can't smell it, or maybe the balls are just old (they are probably 4 years old now). The age doesn't seem to matter. There is probably some commercial something-or-other out there that is odor-free.
Another thing that might do the trick is Waxilit from Lee Valley, or probably any sort of topcote sort of product generally used for tablesaw/machinery tops.
Good luck.
Same climate here. I use gun oil (as someone suggested).
The other thing I finally did was built an insulated 8'X8' room in my shop where I store all my good chisels, slicks, drawknives, planes and such plus smaller power tools. I leave a 150 watt heat lamp on 24/7 and everything stays just perfect.
Cast iron table tops get a liberal coating of talcum powder, yea baby butt stuff, seals the pours, makes them slick and keeps them dry.
Wipe tools down before putting them away with an oiled rag, get some desicent to place in drawers. Hand prints on my tools are the very first place they start to show rust, it comes because of the acid in the skin oils.
If your tool storage area is really damp think about either a small heater or a small dehunmidifier.
Thanks, I'll try a couple of those tips....The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...
Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home.
...aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
I knew you guys would come through. Thanks for you input. With all the types of stuff one collects over the years I can probably use each tip for one thing or another in the collection. It just amazes me how many items you can accumulate. You don't realize it until you pack, unpack and have to clean them all. As I said, too big an investment in time as well as money to ignore and not care for.
Besides, I like fondling my tool(s) ;0)
Peace,bum
...The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...
Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home.
...aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
Edited 3/10/2007 1:20 am by oldbeachbum
I live on the windward side of Oahu, talk about rust! Humidity and salty air blowing off the ocean wreaks havor with my tools, I've been relatively succesful with baking soda, the fridge boxes and constantly WD40 stuff, I've used other fancier better stuff but it gets expensive quick.A dehumidifier rod (pug in type) sits in my tool room and seems to help a little also, sorry, I wish i had a magic solution for you.
Automotive wax on the table saw helps alot and fairly cheap and easy to use.__________________________
Judo Chop!
"It just amazes me how many items you can accumulate. You don't realize it until you pack, unpack " I don't even want to think about all the tools I own, many long forgotten about, that are stored away with the best laid plans of mice and men.All the suggestions here I think are good, I have a similar situation in an unheated uninsulated garage with my stuff (someday....right). I have used paste wax like Andy said on my stationary equipment like the table saw, rubbed other stuff with WD type oil, and for the stuff like machinery that you don't want collecting dust & dirt that oily nooks will attract, I have had great success with the drylube sprays.
In large truck storage boxes a simple radiator heater hose loop through the box will heat things a little while driving and keep moisture from condensation minimized.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
I religiously clean my gun bores with Hoppes powder solvent (maybe because its smell invokes great hunting memories) and their oil for storage, especially for the bolts in my rifles. Then someone I trusted said to just finish the guns with WD-40. I did, and I've never looked back.
You're not the first to mention WD-40. I've always been under the impression that it is not a coating or lubricant. More of a penetrant / cleaner that would leave the object being treated 'bare' with no protection.
Must be some kind of film or residue left over, then, if it works as you guys say....The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...
Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home.
...aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
The desssicant packed in those teeny packets is silicon dioxide aka silica gel. You can buy it cheaply in quart plastic buckets (like cottage cheese containers) at a hobby shop, where it's sold for drying whole flowers. The flower sets stem-up in a cup, then the silica is poured around it. I used to place trays between my single-pane windows and their storms to avoid fogging. I've also made dual-pane windows that didn't fog by placing a half-cup or so of the sand-like stuff between the panes. You could just place the dessicant in small containers in each tool drawer. You can also set it in the oven to dry out and start over if it gets totally wet. I've never had to do this, but i don't live where it stays that wet, that long, as your climate does.
neither of you two think much of yur firearms...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I have not used them, but I understand that these Vapor Corrosion Inhibitors work.http://www.theruststore.com/VCI-C12.aspxhttp://www.theruststore.com/Gun-Rust-Protection-During-Storage-W24C2.aspxHandy for tool box and places where you have a bunch of small tools and items.They also a a number of the spray on products.http://www.theruststore.com/Rust-Preventers-C4.aspxAnd the descicents.http://www.theruststore.com/Moisture-Control-C6.aspxA rust removers..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Drive to warrenton costco, Buy 10 twin packs of wd40, Go home spray tools, toolbox, garagedoor tracks, car, truck, fishing reels.,, lures, outside outlets, window hardware, Any metal you see spray it down, Do this once a day and you will not have rust for a solid month, No matter what you do figure on a new lawn mower every 2 years
WD40 doesn't last long here - salt airI have a spray by Boeshield called B-9. It was developed by Boeing Aircraft. I understand it is related to antifouling surface spray for the airplanes. It is a light wax spray that penetrates the metal surface fissures.I also use a product called Slip-it. I have it in a can that I rub on like a paste wax on table saw tops and large surfaces, and inn a spray can for other things. It does not rub off once it sets like a wax or oil spray does. The only tools that suffer from rust are the ones I forget and leave in teh back of the truck when it rains....
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I use that stuff
I use that stuff .WHooeEe..what did I win ?.
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., wer ist jetzt der Idiot ?
Marinas and home improvement stores sell Damp-Rid, in 1 pound containers. Boat owners hang it in their boats over the winter or during long-term storage. I'm not sure if it can be rejuvenated like silica gel, but it's not terribly expensive. You can put small packets of it in your tool case, too.
Paste wax, Top Cote and Boshield will all work- you'll have to find out which works best in your area, based on salt, humidity level, etc. I used Top Cote for a while and switched to paste wax- takes about the same amount of time and the wax is a lot cheaper. WD-40 has cutting oil in it, so if the moving parts need a thicker oil film, don't use it. Tri-Flow or chain oil are better.
I don't know what you're using to remove the rust but I have found that the grey Scotch Brite pads are about the best for my tools. In high school, we cleaned all of the machines' bare iron surfaces with emery cloth and WD-40. It works well but is more aggressive than the Scotch Brite.
I used a product from LPS for my machinist tools that would go into long term storage or very low use. I used LPS #3. It leaves a waxy film rated for outdoor use. We had a chemical cloud come thru a shop one day that rusted everything except my stuff that was covered in this.
Today I use it for the shafts of hydraulic cylinders on equipment stored under cover but outdoors. It wipes right off with a rag and WD40. No solvents needed to remove it unlike cosmoline (sp?).
In my experience, WD-40 doesn't do much good because it evaporates. I can get Boeshield locally, but it is quite expensive and I have never tried it.
I have found two products that work, though- both offered by AMSOIL*.
One is AMSOIL MP. It seems similar to WD-40, but it actually leaves a thin wax film when it dries. Same price point as WD-40, and it works a whole lot better.
The other is AMSOIL MP-HD. This is actually marketed as a motorcycle chain lube. When it dries, it leaves a (relatively) thick wax film that does not attract dirt like typical grease does. It will wipe off with a solvent or the regular MP product. I spray the underside of my vehicles twice a year with this stuff. I live in the salt belt, and it makes a huge difference. I also spray it into areas that do not have factory undercoating, like hoods, lock mechanisims and trunks.
The LPS product mentioned in another post is similar.
The MP-HD stuff has a strong odor to it until it dries.
Coated stuff in my garage is rust free.
You can buy AMSOIL online at their website (http://www.amsoil.com).
* Disclaimer: I am a dealer, but I really like these two products. Solid value for the money. The web link above is to corporate- no connection to me.
One little trick to help keeping rust from my own tools is to save every silica packet I come across. Those little paper bags in the bottom of a bag of beef jerky, or a new box of shoes, that say "Do not eat throw away". Well don't throw them away, throw them into the drawers of your steel cabinets of trays in your tool boxes, or carrying cases of power tools. thousands of every day products are shipped with these things. I've found I can use sockets and wrenches from the tailgate of my truck with the tool box open in a heavy snow fall (I live in Mich. and it sucks in the winter to latch and unlatch cold steel with frozen fingers or gloves on) and most of my tools have stayed rust free with no more work than keeping your eyes peeled for those packets at family birthdays or Christmases in everybody's presents.
Plus your tools don't end up all greasy or oil covered!
Seal your floor and insulate... Then get a dehumidifier. Your floor is the greatest culprit i would guess.
- Drew
Thanks, Drew.
Yes, that is coming very soon. We just finished the exterior shell, all electrics and plumbing in January. The conrete was poured in October. Next to insulate and drywall. I hadn't even thought of sealing the floor. We have 6mil under the slab but there will be more 'drying' I assume.
Welcome to BT. Please fill in your profile for location. The others will be asking that of you, as well. I'm fairly new here, about one year. I think you'll find this is a great bunch of people, a little quirky at times, informative and always ready to yank your chain, if they can....The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...
Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home.
...aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
Thats a good point about the floor holding moisture. I always put a tarp on the floor under my car when I store it through the winter, and it works good as a moisture barrier. The sealer is probably best for a floor you are going to be walking on all the time though. One way you can test a floor for moisture content is by taping a clear peice of poly to it and see if condensation appears under it after a couple days. A small square about 12" x 12" should be big enough, and duct tape. If you are covering anything for a period of time it is best to use a material that breathes, because a tarp or poly will trap the moisture under it.