Thread: keeping things rust free

I keep mine covered with a heavy canvas tarp, seems to help a lot.

Cheers,
Greg

i use lanotech

I once saw a lathe covered with a canvas or cotton sheet that seemed to be impregnated with oil. A bit like a Driza-Bone coat. Can you buy or make this stuff?

which lanotec product do you use tanii51? There are a few:

Lanotec - Natural Wool Lanolin Products | Products

the one in the blue spray pack spray it on an let it set ( i think its the heavy duty type)
john

thanks

Originally Posted by morrisman

I am always battling rust on my lathe . It seems to appear overnight . I oil the bedways and so on but during Winter , it's a never ending thing .

What has proven to work best at preventing rust .

Mike

Put a weak lamp bulb under the lathe bed (just a 5 Watts will do the trick) and keep it powered 24/7 during the cold months. This will warm up your lathe's metal parts just a tiny bit above roomtemperature. It effectively prevents moisture in the air to condensate onto the cold metal parts (which is the cause of rusting). An old cotton linen used as lathe cover will greatly improve efficiency.

The energy use of such small bulb will cost you peanuts.... especially if compared to the next best solution of running a small reverse cycle airconditioner in air dryer mode. The latter would however protect your entire shop contents, not only the lathe.

Some people have used a power resistor permanently screwed onto the lathe bed, with a low voltage power supply, instead of a light bulb. You know, these golden color resistors cast into an Aluminium extrusion with ribs and two lugs for screws...

Chris

Yes, it is condensation ..little droplets of water . It even mixes with the oil smear and goes a white colour . Nuisance .

I will throw an old blanket over it The lanolin sounds Ok too ..I think super crap auto sell it

Re the bulb/resistor for warming the lathe: I put one of these in my gun safe to help reduce corrosion:

Stego Elektrotechnik | Enclosures and Fans | Fans and Thermal Management | Cabinet / Enclosure Heaters | Thermal Management Enclosure Heaters Chassis Mounting |01602.0-00

They are made to reduce condensation in electrical cabinets. Only $11.30. It runs off 240V, so no power supply needed. Only 8W so it's cheap to run. Not sure if 8W is enough to warm something as big as a lathe though. They make bigger ones.

I use the stuff called fluid film from H & F on page 82 of the 2011 catalogue works for me lanolin based but seems to have something else in it ,hope this helps
Cheers Bob

G'day All,
I use CRC long life.

Long Life

From the manufacturers data
"CRC Long Life Anti-Rust Lubricant provides a long term protection to all metals subjected to rust and salt corrosion. It is also an excellent lubricant for extending the life of metal-to-metal sliding surfaces.
CRC Long Life provides both superior lubrication and heavy duty corrosion protection for metal parts and assemblies that are stored indoors.
Recommended as a final film that is used for precision machine surfaces, and is a protective coating for assemblies in storage or in shipment."

Good for all your tools and the steel things you are making.

I ended up buying a 20 litre drum of the stuff as $17 - $23 for a 300g spray can was just too expensive.
If anyone is interested and in South Australia (Adelaide) I would be happy to pass some on for $20.00 a litre. Just IM me and we can work something out.

My experience with sheets alone has had mixed results.

The sheet offers fair protection but has a tendency to wick oil off the machine and can cause protruding things like handles and knobs to rust at the point of contact.

If there is excessive moisture the sheet can actually retain it and promote rusting, although this is not so bad if the sheet has become impregnated with oil.

The best cover I have found is the heavy PVC bladder from a water bed. A single bed bladder is good for a hercus or one from a double/queen sized bed can be cut down to fit most machines in your workshop. With careful cutting the bladder can be made to form a very professional looking fitted cover.

All my machines have covers fashioned this way and the bladders can be had for FREE !!
Just find a waterbed store and they will most probably have a skip around the back full of bladders waiting to be recycled by you. Council cleanup days are also a good source of discarded waterbeds.

I picked up a above ground swimming pool liner from a op shop for $7 ..it covers an old Land Rover and its been excellent for that. The only thing is, its rather heavy and is a pain to move .

Ok the water bed bladder thing sounds good.

The water vapour in the air is the problem . Not such a problem during Summer.
Mike