BobS wrote:

When Woodworkers Warehouse were still in business, I would pick up a can of
Topcote or the other well known spray (that I can't remember the name of..)
and while a bit on the pricey side, they do work well from my experience.
On a hot humid day, if drops of sweat hits the tablesaw and it's only been
waxed - rust will start showing in about 30 min. If I used the high-priced
spread stuff - no rust.

With any of these products, including wax, proper application is key and two
coats is the minimum to get good protection. How long it lasts depends on
how much you use the tool but I'd say a monthly application for a hobbyist
user should do it.

As I recall, Tom Watson was going to do a test that involved coating his
cast iron with several coats of shellac but I never did read the results.
There are other products out there that are better than wax but again if
applied properly, it will provide temporary protection. You may have to
renew it weekly but it's not expensive to do so and only takes a few
moments.


Tom reported that his test had failed. Rust appeared.

I've seen standard waxes work almost as well as TopCote and Boeshield
T9 (the one with the name you couldn't recall). I did an article on
making shop waxes, and in the course of making waxes, I must have put
more than a dozen coats of haaaaaaaard waxes on my table saw top, all
power buffed (cordless Turtle wax buffer, microfiber bonnet). Not all
of that buffed off. Wood floated on that surface as if it were not
actually touching the saw table. That lasted about 10 days. I also
managed to drip a fair amount of sweat on the waxed surface: it beaded
up, the beads broke up, and no rust appeared.

But it's a PITA to keep up, I must admit. To really keep that level of
shine and slickness and rust protection requires about once every three
day application and buffing out. I don't have the time, and probably
wouldn't take it if I did. I do the top about biweekly if I'm cutting a
lot of wood, about monthly otherwise. No rust. I try to sweat elsewhere
these days.