All of our stuff was in storage for a little over a year until we just bought our house last Sept. Storage was very hard to find and we at least found one that had a security gate. Didn't stop the 2 break-ins we had where we lost all our tvs, a laptop and some misc stuff. When we finally moved everything to the house, we had mold on our leather furniture that l was lucky enough it cleaned good. Then came my tools, rust on my lathe bed, tablesaw bed, parts of my sorby sharpener and my 17" bandsaw table. I was sick looking at it. I was able to wetsand it all with wd40 and got everything working good. Of course everything that had rust now has black stains on them. I've tried metal polish but it looks like the stains are there for life. At least the sanding has everything feeling nice and smooth again. Hindsight is 20/20 but if I had known that was going to happen, I would covered my tabletops with tape.
I was just sick after unpacking my tools!
- Thread starter bsshog40
- Start date
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egnald
Member
Although it has been around forever, cosmoline is still one of the best rust inhibitors for long term storage of important tools (and firearms).
I have read that plain old Vaseline is essentially a refined version of cosmoline - less sticky and softer but also easier to apply and remove.
Of course WD-40 might also be an option. Although it kind of dries out and gets a little sticky It is supposed to provide protection for a year or more. That and it is readily available and is real easy to apply as an aerosol.
Dave
I have read that plain old Vaseline is essentially a refined version of cosmoline - less sticky and softer but also easier to apply and remove.
Of course WD-40 might also be an option. Although it kind of dries out and gets a little sticky It is supposed to provide protection for a year or more. That and it is readily available and is real easy to apply as an aerosol.
Dave
Well hopefully they won't be in storage anymore. Lol
Surface rust is a constant problem in our high humidity Texas Gulf Coast environment. I use WD-40 to clean surfaces occasionally & I apply Johnson's Paste Wax fairly regularly. It helps a lot, but it's almost impossible to keep everything "rust free" around here.
calabrese55
Member
how about trying some of this
Easy off oven cleaner to get rid of the stains . Just spray on and let it sit a few minutes. Then work it around with some steel wool or wet dry sand paper then wipe off. But immediately after you wipe it off clean with mineral spirits followed by brake cleaner or carb cleaner.
www.rockler.com
calabrese55
Easy off oven cleaner to get rid of the stains . Just spray on and let it sit a few minutes. Then work it around with some steel wool or wet dry sand paper then wipe off. But immediately after you wipe it off clean with mineral spirits followed by brake cleaner or carb cleaner.
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Ya, I use to live in corpus christi. Use to have to clean my motorcycle wheels all the time. The humidity gets good here in east tx. Lol
RKB
Member
Sorry about your tools. You got some nice benches to put them on.
I use BOESHIELD T-9 Rust & Corrosion Protection/Inhibitor.
I use BOESHIELD T-9 Rust & Corrosion Protection/Inhibitor.
sbwertz
Member
While we were gone on vacation some years ago we came home to discover that the 1/4 inch copper line in the attic that carries water to the refrigerator, sprung a leak in the ceiling of our utility room....where my metal lathe is located. Many of the attachments were still in cardboard boxes on the floor, since I had just brought the lathe from OK after my dad died. There was mold growing up the walls, and rust on everything metal...about 2 inches of water in the floor and it had been there for ten days or so....fortunately it only went 2 inches deep because of the air vent by the gas water heater that let it out onto the patio. Took several months for me to get all the rust off everything. Had to replace the whole ceiling and the drywall, too.
TellicoTurning
Member
I keep a jar of Naval Jelly around for rust removal.... I lived in Houston for 25 years, so we had a constant fight with rust due to the humidity.
jttheclockman
Member
I too use BOESHIELD T-9 Rust & Corrosion Protection/Inhibitor. Works well. When the lathe bed becomes a little rusty from water from MM even though a put a towel on it, I use some steel wool and elbow grease and comes right off. If you are ever putting your tools up for any length of time it is a good idea to coat them and paper bags is a bad idea. That will do nothing. You need a layer of something.
egnald
Member
JT is spot on with avoiding paper bags. Actually contact with most kinds of paper and cardboard can be detrimental unless they are coated with something or are made to be acid free because most plain old paper has a little bit of an acid content that can actually promote corrosion. - Dave
egnald
Member
Another thing about paper is that it can even get damp just from absorbing water from the air when the humidity is high. - Dave