Just relocated to DFW and everything is RUSTING

[Astro-Eric]

Howdy folks,

New to the forum...

I just relocated to the DFW area from far West Texas in the dry, dry desert. Except for the dust, I had little trouble keeping my tools and machines healthy. But 8 months in the DFW area and everything is rusting, my machines, my raw material, files, vise, V-blocks & 123 blocks and even some of my machines.

I've been spraying everything rusty that I find with WD-40 Rust Inhibitor, but its messy, stinks and is pretty expensive. What are others doing to mitigate this?

Thanks,

Eric

 

[jkeyser14]

run a dehumidifier in your garage or add air conditioning. If you get enough ventilation and airflow that can sometimes help too.

 

[nadogail]

IMHO, Fluid Film is a good product to protect things from Rusting.

 

[txvwnut]

I keep the little desiccant packets in all my toolbox drawers and WD-40 my machines.

 

[pmiranda]

Weird. I don't think of DFW as being particularly humid, especially in summer, but a light oil on everything would help. Just rub a bit of all-purpose oil or WD40 on a rag and wipe down stuff. Pretty much what I use to clean stuff after using, especially if I have to clean stuff with water (like shovels and plumbing tools).

 

[niget2002]

I've lived on dfw for 15 years. I keep my cast iron tops waxed and I keep dessicant packets in the tool box drawers. Other than that I haven't had any issues. Do you have a shop or just a garage?

Oh. I also keep a fan on during the summer to circulate air.

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk

 

[Slednut]

Any chemicals in the garage like stuff for the pool/hot tub?

 

[stonesfan68]

Any chemicals in the garage like stuff for the pool/hot tub?

Yes, make sure that you aren't storing chlorine tablets or acid in the shop or your tools will rust more quickly. I found that out the hard way when I moved to Houston and bought a house with a pool.

 

[strutaeng]

Huh? I live in Dallas and have a unconditioned garage and have mild steel in there for the last 5 years and absolutely no rust! At my old house I had a cast iron table saw in my attached garage and no rust. Was also unconditioned space.

Outside yes, stuff will rust in a breeze with all of the rain. It's a lot more dry in West Texas, obviously. Unless you have some condensation issues in your garage or shop, you should not have rusting.

Maybe provide more details?

 

[jkuro]

15 years in Dallas and no rust in my garage.

 

[Showkey]

So some with no rust some with rust..........measure the indoor relative humidity. Astro measure the humidity prolonged levels above 70% bad things start opening.

The other variables are the shops sealed and insulated, metal buildings vs stick wood construction. Concrete floors ?

Does seem odd for Dallas to have an issue.....now Houston or Corpus they have humidity!!!!!
But dew point of Dallas is 62* Corpus is 72*.

 

[Squirel]

Watch for temperature/humidity swings. If it is cold at night and warm and humid during the day your tools can condense moisture like a can of beer. I made that mistake once. Opened up the garage after a stretch of cold weather because it was warm out and everything was wet in a matter of minutes. Spent the next couple of days getting the surface rust off all the cast iron table tops.

 

[karoc]

8 months I was going to say due to travel. But check this out https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=459935
There are other threads as well as this one that all has good options

 

[rjacobs]

Ive lived here 6 years and never noticed anything rusting beyond what I would call a normal speck or two here or there.

 

[liliysdad]

I am 2 hours north of you, and never had an issue.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Never seen anything in that area rust since it’s so dry so that’s strange


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[My Old Tools]

DFW is large. East side is wetter. Actually, Dallas has a fair amount of humidity, especially winter and spring. This year it went well into June to about the first week of July. In winter, sweating is a big issue, keep a fan running 24/7 to help with this. We were seeing 70% plus humidity in June with 90+ temps. My MrCool at startup started dumping huge amounts of water for the first 12 hours or so, now just a few drips since I leave it running.

 

[lilredex]

Get some camphor blocks for your tool drawers, and just clip the package corner off. Mine have been rust free for many years using them.

 

[manwithtools]

As mentioned, just some air movement will help with this. Ceiling or box fan running 24/7 will help.

 

[Stefan S]

Along the lines of the chemicals. If there is a water softener check for leaks in the salt brine tank etc.

 

[rayra]

OP, you running a swamp cooler in your garage?


https://www.weather.gov/fwd/dfwann

sez 50-80%

 

[ddawg16]

DFW has 2 seasons.....summer and winter....

And Summer is more humid than winter. I don't miss it...

Yes....I'm a native Texan....

 

[cdestuck]

Try a periodic coat of Johnson paste wax in the yellow can. Really helps against rust, helps the wood glide across the table saw and jointer and won’t screw up any thing in the wood when you stain or whatever

 

[Hank11]

run a dehumidifier in your garage or add air conditioning. If you get enough ventilation and airflow that can sometimes help too.

^^^^^ This ^^^^^

 

[PugetDude]

I moved to Phoenix...

 

[glentre]

DFW is large. East side is wetter. Actually, Dallas has a fair amount of humidity, especially winter and spring. This year it went well into June to about the first week of July. In winter, sweating is a big issue, keep a fan running 24/7 to help with this. We were seeing 70% plus humidity in June with 90+ temps. My MrCool at startup started dumping huge amounts of water for the first 12 hours or so, now just a few drips since I leave it running.

Anytime you get lets say 92 * and maybe 72 % RH, your dew point is 82*. It is unlikely you are getting any surface condensation in the summer but in the spring and fall with cool nights and warm humid days, opening up your garage when the inside temp is under 82 and letting in that kind of outside air, you will get flash condensation over everything including tools, cars, floors and particularly organic items like leather and cloth. I suspect your problem happened in the spring and is not a problem now. Fans plus being careful about opening up under those conditions will prevent the condensation. If it can't be helped, dehumidifiers would help to resolve the problem.

Glen

 

[Astro-Eric]

Wow, Great stuff. Thanks for all the replies. A little more info.

I'm working in a closed, insulated garage, an hour North of Dallas. It's separated from another garage by a wall and door, which I keep closed. Cars on on one side and my shop is in the other The overhead door closed 99.9% of the time and relatively well sealed. I only open it to move things in or out. I think a humidity sensor is in order to really understand what's going on.

All my tools and machines have been in El Paso for the last 50 years (My Grandfather's Southbend lathe, for 90 years) without any rust. So I'm used to not seeing any rust. Winters and for the most part Summers are pretty dry in El Paso (except for Monsoon season). So the main issue with the machines is dust and the wind.

I was working on the transmission of my Doall band saw (posted here) and noticed that the underside of the cast iron table is rusting. Maybe I'm getting excited over nothing, but I'm used to the tools being pristine. I pulled out a mill file from my tool box and noticed a few areas of rust. It seems that anything without a layer of paint, oil or rust inhibitor is rusting. I noticed that all the machined surfaces of my bench vise have a thin layer of rust.

My box of steel raw material has both rusted parts and not. A ground piece of flat stock is completely covered as are a few pieces of 16Ga sheet. But the bar stock of CRS, 1144 and others are not.

I would agree it's not heavy rust, but still enough to pit the surface of my V-blocks and make me nervous. I was looking at a mini-split system and may give that a go. Would also make for a much more pleasant work environment. I'll add that to the list of things to do after a relocation.

Thanks for all the replies. Pretty interesting forum here.

 

[My Old Tools]

Johnson's paste wax is a good rust preventative for those things you don't want oily. Dallas is very different climate than El Paso as you have discovered. You are now closer to Chicago than El Paso. With your shop closed up tight you really need to move the air around dehumidify or AC. Moving the air really does help a lot, but won't help tools in drawers. I'm guessing you are near Denton.

 

[ZRX61]

Terrarium heater pad from the pet store under the bottom drawer of your toolbox will keep the whole stack toasty & humidity free. Put it between a pair of large ceramic tiles.
Hole drilled in the back for the power cord.

 

[Astro-Eric]

I've actually used the past wax idea on a Dumore sensitive drill that I restored. I bought it from a guy in Kansas and it arrived a rusted mess. I removed the rust on the cast base in a large electrolysis tank. When I removed it the rust was gone but as it dried a light surface discoloration began immediately. The past wax worked well here. It might not be ideal for some of the other tools. But I like the paste wax for this.

Before:



After:



I'm looking at my options for an AC or a dehumidifier. I've moved a fan into the shop to help the circulation. I'm so used to living in the desert that this wasn't even a consideration for me. So it's been interesting to see what others do in this situation. Thanks for all the input.

 

[SILVERPLATE]

No issues here. But welcome to the area.

 

[Gotcha640]

I keep old tools in wood tool chests in Houston, seems to handle the humidity better than metal or plastic tool boxes. Chisels are in cardboard sleeves. Drill press, planer, table saw all get paste wax once or twice a year.

I haven't had a problem with files rusting in the metal drawers, but raw stock, I expect to have to brush/etch/sand blast between fab and paint. When we built a roll cage a few years ago, we primered everything as soon as we got it home, before bending and welding, since we knew it would be a couple weeks before it was done.

 

[Kevin54]

You moved into a humid area this time of the year. Squirt the stuff down with WD-40 and call it a day. There are no miracle cures to stop it unless you move to a place with no humidity. Desiccant's, heater pads, waxing things down....unless you are really **** retentive and want to spend your life worrying over things...squirt it with WD-40, then go outside, have a seat, and enjoy a cold pop.

 

[protegeV]

Howdy

I havent had any rust issues in my shop, but it sounds like I'm about 2hours southwest of you. As others have said DFW is big and different parts can be exceptionally different.

 

[TEXACMAN]

Does your concrete floor sweat ? I live East of the DFW area and in my garage they did not put vapor barrier down before they poured concrete, it gets really slick on humid days. Now in my shop I did put the vapor barrier down and don't have near the issues. A dehumidifier may be a good start to help your situation.

 

[Hobbit]

My roller cabinets, welder (small), most plastic cased items like Paslode framing nailer, air tools, six drills, two reciprocating saws, two skill saws, oscillating saw, multiple Dremel tools, grinder and roller cabinets with plumbing and electrical parts/supplies are in a custom closet inside the house. You would never known. All larger items are in the sheds and lite rust is expected in Bama.

 

[txvwnut]

DFW has 2 seasons.....summer and winter....

And Summer is more humid than winter. I don't miss it...

Yes....I'm a native Texan....

Don’t forget about that one week in March where it’s like California weather.

 

[slow84lx]

20 year resident of Plano and never any rust issues in the garage. My garage is well insulated and a fan runs anytime I am out there.

I did notice this spring that a vintage drill press in my storage unit has more surface rust than when I put it there last summer. It was a humid, wet spring.

Welcome to DFW.

 

[Astro-Eric]

I took a humidity reading in the shop and it appears to be about the same as outside, around 60%. It certainly feels more humid in the shop. I'm looking at mini-split systems now

 

[BearsFan315]

i had to put in a PTAC unit but also a Dehumidifier since once it is at temp and insulated the AC does not run much and the humidity builds up !!

keep it at 45% and does fine, on really humid days where it is raining it does go up to about 50-60% in the garage, then drops back down once it catches up.