Jay Pique wrote:
On Sep 19, 9:23 pm, Tom Veatch wrote:


But, I don't think it was moisture the guy with the blowtorch was
after. Like another poster surmised, it was probably mill oil he
was
burning off.

Now that's interesting. The whole story is this. One of our guys
and
a metalworker built a table for a client. It's made from pieces of
hot-rolled steel that had further been cold bent into curves. They
welded together the parts, sanded it and then applied a coat of
beeswax. And it rusted. So now the metalworker thinks that if he
heats the steel really well it will evaporate trapped moisture and
then they'll seal it out with beeswax. (I know, I know....) In any
event, since it sounds like it's not moisture they're burning off
anyhow, the whole question of whether a kiln would work is pretty
much
moot. (Obviously wouldn't be hot enough to burn off oil, either.)

Now for the real question - how do we prevent this table and chairs
from rusting? Not much response from the metalworkers grumble.

To how to keep it from rusting, Rust-Oleum works quite well. If you
want something better, any automotive paint shop should have a wide
range of systems intended specifically to work on steel and can match
just about any color. Or you could go with the full MIL-SPEC system
with MIL-T-8514 etch, MIL-P-23377 epoxy primer, and a MIL-PRF-85285
topcoat. If it has to have a metallic appearance then paint it with a
metallic paint.

If it is _all_ steel with no plastic or wooden or other parts, or if
it can be dissasembled and all the non-steel parts removed, and if you
can find a plating shop with a tank set up that is big enough to hold
it then you could have the whole thing chromed (or plated with another
metal of your choice, but don't count on anything but chrome being
available without a significant set-up charge). This is going to be
an expensive option, but will leave you with a durable shiny metal
surface.

Oh, and if the "metalworker" is one of your employees, you need to
have a long talk with that boy.

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)