Last week I noticed in this group that "TAP" had some tools for sale
in the Dallas area. Gave him a call, took a look, and grabbed a Jet
JTAS-10XL that he had just gotten out of storage. Outfeed rollers,
mobile base, extension table, router lift, unused Bosch router. Total
of about 400 feet of plywood cut through the saw - lucked out! Grabbed
a Jet drill press and a Grizzly 2HP dust collector he had laying
around too. Picked it all up this Saturday AM (2 buds helped - for
beer).

TS was clean, neat, looked new, BUT - TAP had wiped the table down
with what he described as "white lithium grease" before he put it in
storage. Probably not a bad idea, tho I might have used a better rust
preventative. Did a minor clean up Saturday PM, set it all up (no
probs, only sheered one Chinwanese bolt) and ran a couple of trial
cuts to build a dolly for the drill press - what a pleasure! 3/4
plywood wasn't even there as far as the saw was concerned.

Tonight I decided a proper table clean was in order. So here's the
process I used (neophyte that I am), and the results.

Step 1.
Paper towels and paint thinner. Keep cleaning until towel shows no
signs of gunk (2 passes). I would have used naptha but the water
heaters are in the garage areas and naptha is a "bit" volatile to use
close to pilot lights. ~5 minutes

Step 2
Old fashioned white polishing compound from the auto supply store
(~$3.00). Rub on, rub off. Lots of surface oxidation on wiping
clothes (old T shirts), so do it again. ~10 minutes

Step 3
Wipe down with paint thinner and paper towels to remove loose
oxidation and rubbing compound residue. ~2 minutes

Step 4
Johnsons paste wax. Rub on, buff out. Do it again. ~10 minutes

Is that table slick? Being a guy who wonders if time is well spent, I
ran a test as I went.

Test Conditions
6" rule held vertically at edge of table. 10" steel rule from top of
6" rule, slanting to table. Actually it's a 12" rule, but I put the
10" mark on top of the vertical 6" rule (30 degree slope if I remember
the 3,4,5 triangle correctly). Sled was a 4" long hunk of maple 1X2,
square at the leading end, unsanded on the bottom (not prepped in any
way).

The Test
Hold sled at 10" mark on steel rule, let it slide down the slope and
measure how far it moves across the table.

Results
Untouched table (table had minor amounts of greasy residue) - max
distance on table in 5 trys = 2" of leading edge of sled. The other 2"
stayed on the slope.

Degreased table, 5 trys max 3". 1" of sled still on slope.

Polished table, 5 trys max 5", 1" from end of slope to trailing edge
of sled.

Waxed table, 5 trys max 8", 4" from end of slope to trailing edge of
sled.

You can make a TS table slicker!

Regards.

Tom