On Sat, 4 Mar 2006 16:42:30 -0600, "Charlie H." wrote:

What do y'all use on your machines to keep the finished cast iron surfaces
from rusting ?

I bought SLIPIT Woodworkers Sliding Compound applied it liberally and buffed
it, but there are some rust spots appearing on my new machine. This is the
first new cast iron tool that I have owned and I would like to keep it in
good condition.

Thanks,
Charlie

Johnson's paste wax, frequently applied. I broke down and put an A/C in the garashop late last
summer which certainly makes a difference in rust problems. I live about 30 miles SW of downtown
Houston where the dew point is around 80F half the year.

I still wax my hardware about once a month, maybe just out of habit now, but why risk it? It
doesn't take much time, and is something constructive to do while "pottering" about the shop.
Besides, I like the way the wood slides across the tablesaw after a good wax session.

I have a theory about waxing metal, in that it is similar to seasoning cast iron cookware. Takes a
while to get all the pores in the metal filled, but when you do, a lot of the rust issues go away.

When I first started shooting muzzleloaders almost 30 years ago, I used to have a lot of problems
with rust. I'd detergent clean, scrub, hot water rinse, dry, then oil with some gun lube or the
other. Then somebody told me about "seasoning" a bore using natural waxes and lubes. Made sense to
me at the time so I tried it for a while. That while is now more than 25 years. I'm convinced it
works once you get the barrel seasoned properly, and have been using this method on my
muzzleloaders, table saw, jointer, etc ever since.

Regards,
Roy put an 'rp' in front of the zip code to reply by email