Lathe bed spots

[musicman]

Hey Penturners,
I have noticed a few spots on my lathe bed and possibly a small rust line. I have read various people's post on their way of cleaning and lubricating and I am still not having much luck removing these spots. Its probably not a big deal, but since the lathe is fairly new , i would like to keep it looking nice if all possible. I've tried wd40 with steel wool both grades #000 and #0000. I have tried denatured alcohol with blue towels, and 3M green pad. Actually the area I used the green pad, created a scuffed(for a lack of a better word) mark. After cleaning, I then applied Boeshield T9. I'm attaching two pictures, one showing the scuff mark on the lower part of the bed(zooming in may show it better), and the second one showing the spots and possible rust line. I would greatly appreciate your opinion on this issue.

 

[Lucky2]

First off WD-40 is not a rust remover, and the other mark is a scratch deep in the metal. If you get a good rust remover, you may have better luck removing the rust, but to remove the scratch. Forget about it, you would possibly gave to sand deep enough to harm the bed. Your chance to look after the scratch, would have been when you bought the lathe. Because unless you put it there, it was there when you bought the lathe.

Len

 

[jttheclockman]

I agree with Len. I have some rust spots because I wet sand on my lathe and it does not bother me. I sand with some 400 grit paper so it does not interfere with the tailstock moving freely. But nothing to worry about.

 

[TonyL]

I used the T9 line and have been very pleased.

 

[magpens]

I agree with the others ..... I know it's hard, but try to forget about it.

By the time you have made a few dozen pens there will be so many scuff marks, stains, and scratches that you won't even remember these ones.

Having said that, I fully understand that you want to keep your lathe in pristine condition but, honestly, that is just not possible.
If you try too hard you will drive yourself bonkers.

BTW .... it could be my eyesight .... but I can't seen any blemishes in either picture.

 

[EricRN]

Another vote for T-9. I've had success removing some small rust spots with some steel wool and t-9. I wipe the whole thing down with t-9 every couple uses. But the wet sanding and the water used during drilling make rust inevitable.

 

[Lucky2]

Nick, my lathe has been in storage for over two years, in an unheated or air controlled storage space. And living here on the East coast of Canada, we suffer through a lot of high humidity and dampness from the snow. And it does not have one spot of rust on it, because I sealed it as soon as I bought it, and every six months since when using it. I've owned it for over seven years, and it still looks like new. All of my saws and tools do because of how they're treated. When I bought it new I cleaned the waxol off of it, and when it is in use. I wax and clean the bed every six months, with a very good quality car wax. Other than that, I don't do a thing to it, other then wipe it off after each use. I give all of my tools that are made of cast iron the same treatment, and I usually do it on the weekends that the time changes on. The same as my smoke detectors batteries.

Len

 

[walshjp17]

The Boeing BoShield T-9 products (sold at Woodcraft among others) are perfect for any lathe beds, table saws, band saws or other tools.

 

[Richard92]

Dont know if you can get over the pond. I use on the lathe bed and bandsaw bed also all my Stanley wood planes. It was mentioned some so thought I would try it and it's brilliant also great for it's main job.