rust removal

[driz]

Any of these methods really should be preceded by removing all of the flake rust and as much of the underlying rust as possible mechanically. It ***** but the best weapons I’ve ever seen are the 4.5” wire stainless wheel and cup brush. I use a lightly held blunted pneumatic air chisel to remove the heavy flake. It works better than a needle scaler for me. The air chisel can leave a stippled appearance but it cleans well where pristine appearance isn’t so important.


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[drivesitfar]

LUG: thanks for the lengthy and well thought out post. that said even if you have posted it before it sure could be posted again a few times in various places just like telling everyone to dispose of stained or BLO soaked rags in a metal bin with a cover so they don't self combust and burn your garage or house down.

just curious do you put in more than a few wrenches or tools at once and does time vary because of amount of rust or are you able to see if the tool is rust free in the solution cause i've never used Evaporust?

DRIZ: yep I use wire wheels on my bench grinder and cup wheels on hand grinders a lot, but I don't have any air tools. I need to use my dremels more for those hard to get places and i'm sure I will once I get caught up with all this HOME IMPROVEMENT DIY.

thanks guys for the good words and information!!

 

[Shiftless]

Lugz:
Your explanation is better than I would have written and I’m the retired Chemistry teacher! Good work!

Like you, I used to filter the used Evaporust but I no longer do that. I keep used in one container and fresh in another. But I use different bins or jars depending on the size of what I’m stripping. My thoughts are that unless I’m ready to keep lots of different containers with varying levels of being used up, I’ll just keep using a large amount until it’s spent and no longer performs its duty. All of the used stuff gets mixed together so the concentration of active molecules is equal and of course gradually declining.

All 7 of those rusted up hand pruners went into an 8 qt. enameled stock pot with the points down. I poured in the Evaporust about 3 inches deep. The stuff I used is totally black but it still works. Because the action slows to a halt around 60*, I put the pot on the stove for a few minutes and got the temp up to about 110. I moved it back to the garage and wrapped it in dirty old towels that I use for wiping up messes and cleaning paint brushes. That’s to keep it warm overnight. If I had lots of extra room, I’d grab a discarded ice chest to use for insulation.
For smaller projects, a guy could use an old electric crock pot for heated Evaporust. Mine was busy with Simple Green. And the old stock pot is way bigger so I could do all of them at once.

Drives:
I got my wheel from an eBay seller that had several of them for sale. They’re all gone now. He/she had them listed for $34 with free shipping.
I probably should have bought all of them and sold them at a small profit here on GJ.

.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Any of these methods really should be preceded by removing all of the flake rust and as much of the underlying rust as possible mechanically.

That is highly dependent on the person and the intent. I am a collector and all the tools I am de-rusting are collectibles. As a rule, I won't use anything mechanical on most collectible tools with a natural steel finish. No disrespect to the collectors here who claim that it's possible to use a dull well-used wire wheel to remove rust while not removing any steel from the substrate, I don't think it is. Wire wheels and grinding can also ruin a user if it renders a tool unsafe to grip.

That said, your point is well taken and maybe doesn't get as much attention as the final step always does. I remove as much rust as possible with an abrasive pad, steel wool and even a dull knife blade.

I have removed rust with hand grinders and wire wheels when it's cancerously corroding a toolbox I am restoring. I have also broken my own rule on a few wrenches that were so far gone, it had to be done to save them, and when I knew I was going to japan it. And, I have taken a series of hand files and a buffer to several tools to remove owner's marks. It can be done. I consider those exceptions to the rule for general de-rusting and preservation, though. Just my preference.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...do you put in more than a few wrenches or tools at once

I do a few tools at a time much more often than one at a time. It just depends on what I find. I generally don't like to keep a backlog of rusty tools around. So my operation is pretty much real time. I like to de-rust, oil, and store on the same day, as soon as I return from the flea market, or the next day at worst. Evaporust and Metal Rescue work so quickly and so easily, rarely do I leave tools in overnight, and almost never for 2 nights. They really are pure magic to our hobby. I do occasionally set some tools aside that are in such horrendous condition that I don't want to "ruin" my solution with them. I will wait to put those in when it's almost spent, and those may take 3 or 4 days.

...and does time vary because of amount of rust

Because of the number of tools and the amount of rust on them, yes.

...are you able to see if the tool is rust free in the solution

Yes, but only for the first several immersions. I am generally de-rusting a few dozen tools every week during the high flea market season. After a few weeks, the solution gets darker pretty quick. As others have said, and as I will re-emphasize, do NOT mistake that for losing its potency. There are still active molecules in there, you just can't discern them. It will work for a long time after it's darker. I check on my tools pretty often. I just pull them out, wipe them off, visually inspect, and make a decision to put them back in, or finish cleaning them. I scrub them with penetrating oil and steel wool or a Scotch-brite pad. Re-oil. Wipe. Done. The ease of cleaning up after using these solutions cannot be overstated. They are detergents. You don't have to worry about the solution or the rags. No gloves. No masks, etc. Coupled with the intensity, it's hard to beat.

EDIT: I probably go through about 6-7 gallons per year. Cost about ~$120.

 

[Shiftless]

Just like Lugz, I value the patina on old iron. I’ll polish vise handles but for the cast pieces of old vises I don’t use wire wheels or the even more extreme, sand blasting.
For vises I plan to coat with BLO, the old patina looks great.
For vises that I plan to paint, I preserve the cast iron texture which like Lugz said, is somewhat smoothed over with wire wheeling.

I do wire wheel the slides on those old vises. Petrified oily grease is not something I preserve.

All of the above are just my own personal preferences. If somebody wants to sandblast their vise and paint it high gloss purple metalflake with pink pinstriping, go right ahead.

 

[drivesitfar]

LUG: thanks again for the detailed information for me and all of us. I guess on the extra rusty stuff you either wire wheel or maybe dunk in a vinegar solution to get it to a point where either you are done or then dip in Evaporust?

nice system you have and maybe one day i'll get a handle on all of the tools and stuff I own.

 

[macgee]

Shift:

That handle looks good, glad the wheel is working out

Drives: That's a nice little grinder, I really like Wissota's they're very underrated and have a good profile converting them to wheeling.

As I mentioned a couple of pages ago (1 or 2), for the last 5 years I found the best deals for 220 bristle brush wheels is typically on eBay but now been much harder to score at low prices, if you're doing a Zoro order with a coupon, they sell them and would be a good price when getting it with a discount and free shipping.

https://www.zoro.com/scotch-brite-radial-bristle-brush-t-c-6diax716w-220g-61500187754/i/G1234256/?q=3m radial brush


And I agree with you, The only thing I use WD40 now a days is for fluid cutting or milling aluminum. The stuff is bad and contains water in it, causing it to rust surfaces later on, plus it causes things lock up after a while. Classic example was using it on Lista cabinet ball bearing drawer sliders (I was lazy and sprayed it), it literally stopped sliding after two years. My earlier ones with Tri-flow are still sliding very well. It does work well as a cutting fluid for aluminum.

Lugnutz:

Great info about the chelator molecules, nice to know. I also stopped filtering; found no real gain and a pain to do. I'm buying Evaporust for $15/gal. delivered to my door. By far the biggest gain I have found in using Evaporust is to keep it sealed air tight whenever possible. I use food grade containers to store it in and use it as I mentioned in another thread that someone posted the link above. I keep Evaporust in one see through container with a second inset tray that that fits inside and has holes in the bottom (a strainer) that the items sit in, I seal the top when I'm even soaking tools. This has greatly extended the life/strength of the bath compared to my previous way of doing things with it. The info in your post is also great info. Also using it heated in an Ultrasonic cleaner does miracles.

I too believe in not removing any (good) metal whenever possible, The trick is to only remove the rust, sadly when rust is present it also eats into the good metal causing pitting. I try never to sand, especially not grind or try to use a steel wire wheel whenever possible. Its way too easy to remove/damage the good stuff on a item you're trying to save. I found Wire wheels can be pretty destructive to surface finish, they can cause a finish to look damaged from pitting but instead its the tiny hairs marks/strikes going into the good metal causing that micro dimpled finish look that's not very nice and removes/micro dents good metal.

While I do use bristle brush wheels a lot and the patina can be lost using them (So take heed). I will not go through this process for items with a very nice beautiful patina or collectable because of it but 90% of items I'm working on are to be used hard again so there collectible value will also be hurt by using them. My goal is to get trashed discarded items back into service and performing back to it's original intent or better.


All:
I agree with Driz about trying to remove thick rust and crud before using evaporust, it's important. Any item covered in grease and thick clumps of rust, those areas will not get de-rusted, evaporust cant reach in the metal and do its job when it has thick layers of grease, grime and you'll have to keep doing baths again and again to get it de-rusted.
Evaporust is not a degreaser so clean off all the grease before doing a bath as well as the extra layers of powered rust. Just don't damage the the surface and good material in the item underneath your trying to clean. Its a pain. A ultrasonic cleaner is so good for this, I really like them and cant believe I went so long without one., its a game changer.

I know I get gripes about the finish of some of my items, I agree they're too shiny but time does its job giving them a patina. I'm not a collector but much of a person who wants to extend the life and usage of the tools and machines to be used for another couple of generations. I'm definitely a big believer of not removing the good metal or finish.

When dealing with a bad very rusty flat surface, I use a brand new (fresh) razor blades holding at 30 degrees or sharper angle to the surface, with entire edge of the blade on surface and carefully run it along the top of the rusted surface, cutting the top coat of rust off and it doesn't remove or scratch (hopefully) the good flat metal on the surface below *use it to slice/cut top coat of rust off; not scrape it! Don't flip the razor over, you already created a bur on it's edge and can only use one side otherwise you'll damage/scratch the surface, they do doesn't last long, just go through them (they're cheap) and throw it away; you'll have to use a bunch of razors but very effective when done correctly and saves massive amounts of time and wheeling.

 

[drivesitfar]

Shift: nice post!! I forgot to mention i loved your prior post acknowledging LUG and just mentioning that you were the Chemistry teacher (maybe LUG was in a past life?).

MAC: very good post!! very informative.

I especially like the razor blade trick and I need to get one of those ultrasonic cleaners now. I guess it's good that I don't go clothes shopping cause i'm always spending my funds on new tools or something to shine up or fix them.

 

[Cruzan80]

I especially like the razor blade trick and I need to get one of those ultrasonic cleaners now. I guess it's good that I don't go clothes shopping cause i'm always spending my funds on new tools or something to shine up or fix them.

Yeah, finally have something for my wife and family to get me for my birthday (under a month). Tabletop parts cleaner and ultrasonic cleaner. Degrease in one, rust remover in the other. Looking at a 3.5gal washer, and 10L cleaner, if anyone has recommendations, or suggestions otherwise. Don't have room for a full standing parts washer, and most of it is small restoration work, as opposed to automotive. Father in law has a big washer if I need it.



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[drivesitfar]

I think Horse13 or maybe it was MacGee that have a small ultrasonic cleaner. i'm actually thinking of taking the legs off a solvent washer that has a power brush and finding some bench space or maybe making a small shed to do this work.

LUG actually has a small desk with a big piece of aluminum plate he washes up all his old WWII tools on.

so do you send your kids the links to purchase since they all want to shop online?

 

[Shiftless]

macgee:

What a transformation on that bandsaw.
Is that a big gouge or crack or ??
Did you mill the entire table flat?

 

[drivesitfar]

Shift: I'll let Mac say for sure, but what I think you are seeing is his rust scrapings.

 

[Shiftless]

Shift: I'll let Mac say for sure, but what I think you are seeing is his rust scrapings.

Oh...that makes perfect sense! Sorry.

(Scene #2...shift crawling off and back to his drywall repair job)

 

[drivesitfar]

No worries Shift. I had to look a couple times and then read Mac's razor blade rust removal trick (yep don't turn that blade over and just toss it).

so after you are done I have some drywall I need touched up here in the PNW.

good luck cause that is almost art to get drywall finishing just right.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

By far the biggest gain I have found in usage of Evaporust is to keep it sealed air tight as much as possible.

I use a Sterilite bin with locking latches when I am soaking a tool, but I still pour the solution back into a second Evaporust container and tighten the cap well.

shift - i loved your prior post acknowledging LUG and just mentioning that you were the Chemistry teacher (maybe LUG was in a past life?).

Nope. But I had a very good one in high school. His name was Cletus Hollywood, stood only about 5'2", wore a bowtie and suspenders, always had a cheery expression on his face, but brooked no foolishness from anyone. That's the second Gold Star that "Teach" Shiftless has given me. You'll see the first, an experiment involving Evaporust and cadmium, when you catch up on my Lugzsonian thread.

LUG: I guess on the extra rusty stuff you either wire wheel or maybe dunk in a vinegar solution to get it to a point where either you are done or then dip in Evaporust?

Nope. I don't bring those home.

 

[Cruzan80]

so do you send your kids the links to purchase since they all want to shop online?

Well, my son is 7, so... In general, I do try and find links, just because it makes it easier. I did also find a couple people who adapted brushes to the small parts washers.

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[Shiftless]

Evaporust ate up all of the rust on these pruners. One of them was worse than the others.
The big advantage of Evaporust on this kind of work is that there is rust between the moving blades in the hinge area. Just wire wheeling them will make them look great but they still won’t work very smoothly. I rinsed these while scrubbing with the popular toothbrush sized wire brush. Then dried them off quickly with a heat gun. Cleaned the handles, sharpened and oiled them. They open and close as smoothly as new ones. With a few seconds of stoning, they are just as sharp too. The steel parts got a coat of BLO. Ready to go back to work.

 

[macgee]

macgee:

What a transformation on that bandsaw.
Is that a big gouge or crack or ??
Did you mill the entire table flat?

Thanks,

What your seeing is the rust scrapping powder removed with sharp razor off the top surface made into a cocaine line (joke).

It definitely takes some practice to get the right angle and feeling, I let the blade and surface do the guiding and barely apply any force. Razor blades are extremely flat/straight, around .0005" across its length so use that as your template/reference and don't go into the lows, just try to only remove the highs of the crusty surface. Be very careful of burs, they will scratch your surface. Razors are hardened steel and will win a battle with your cast iron surface so be very careful. I have used razors to slice off the raised thin dings and burs on surfaces, mostly unintentional hidden ones under the rust but can be very effective and keeps the surface very flat/matching existing height of immediate area.

I use Evaporust almost everyday and for convenience I'm keeping my evaporust in one useable air tight bin and not pouring back out into another one to save, I use it, keep it air tight and when noticing degrade of strength I toss it and pour in a fresh batch; for me this has worked best and not bad economically when comparing to past. The more convenient it is to use, the more I will use it. The strainer tray keeps the heavy used liquid/chelator below it. Heat helps extend potential out of a batch.

Heat is totally your friend with Evaporust, I can not say enough about how much better it works. Also, Having your rusty item needing a bath getting it warm will really help. Ultrasonic cleaner with a good heater makes very quick work and very effective. I've also use Evaporust in the ultrasonic cleaner that can really help reach rust inside complicated surfaces and internal parts like a drill press chuck, I've had really rusty Jacob chuck measure .002" runout and work smoothly after doing this. All of this helps reduce use of brass brushes and scraping and labor.

I agree when working with a collectable item, a different process & attitude is needed and less invasive steps should be taken. The items and techniques above are not for collectable items to be displayed on a shelf. Cleaning up a valuable collective item is more labor intensive and an art form in itself to get it right that you can't tell it was cleaned/worked on. My stuff is obvious but thinking of keeping things working as it should, thinking in thousands of an inch while working on it and measuring after working on it. Putting an old vise on a surface grinder (not a bench grinder) to make it true again will take away its collectability but it will make it much more functional and useable again as it was intended to; at least that's the intention.

I'm heading back into the shop to finish rebuilding a Delta bullet 8300 motor, its like going to a private gym to get a workout, it weighs a ton. Enjoy your day!

Sorry for all my typos, incomplete and badly written posts; they seem to be getting worse and worse lately.

EDIT: Here's the induction starter necklace ring of a old Delta Bullet Unisaw RI motor I'm rebuilding. It was covered in a black a carbon vaseline like gunk that was very difficult to remove by hand, especially in all of those tiny slots. A ultrasonic bath with Simple Green Extreme Aviation degreaser and then a quick 10 min Evoporust bath, then flushed with rubbing alcohol did the trick, no wheeling or abrasives.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a series of pictures that I was saving for the Crescent thread but I’ll post them here. Like Lugz, if a tool is seriously rusted I usually leave them behind but my daughter reported that my 3 yr old granddaughter had found a crescent wrench partially buried in their front yard. I volunteered to clean it up for her before I saw it. I was tempted to pitch it but I didn’t want to disappoint her so I worked on it a little every day for over a week. Multiple evaporust baths were involved. It will never be like new again but at least it opens and closes and she’s happy with it.
-Don

 

[Jayman17]

Wow, some really good ideas and techniques to use against rust in this thread.
Want to thank the people with experience for passing on the info to those of us new to the rehab hobby.

Jay

 

[drivesitfar]

Jay: AGREED!! the boys were spilling their beans today telling us a lot of their secrets.

MAC: wow that looks like a piece of jewelry now. WELL DONE SIR!!

 

[Shiftless]

Here’s the final result of all of that polishing we’ve been talking about after it’s installed. Another thank you to macgee for turning me on to the 3M radial wheel.


.

 

[thehorse13]

I think Horse13 or maybe it was MacGee that have a small ultrasonic cleaner. i'm actually thinking of taking the legs off a solvent washer that has a power brush and finding some bench space or maybe making a small shed to do this work.

LUG actually has a small desk with a big piece of aluminum plate he washes up all his old WWII tools on.

so do you send your kids the links to purchase since they all want to shop online?

You fellas have talked the wheels off this topic so I will simply add my experience with rust and why I use the things that I do now.

1) Wire wheels - As many of you pointed out, nothing ***** more than feeling like you wrestled with a cactus after using a traditional wire wheel. The final straw came when Mrs. Horsey found garage evidence in her carpeting and that's when I discovered Nyalox wheels. I never looked back after I found them. Problem is that they are not usually found in my normal haunts so I have to dig down and pay (gasp) retail for them.

2) Ultrasonic cleaner - Drives is correct. I have a friend who is in the professional car restoration business and he has been telling me forever and a day that I "need" a small ultrasonic cleaner for my addiction. I resisted this forever because I've always used some sort of wheel to deal with rust.

One day I went to Harbor Freight, (a separate can of worms altogether) to grab a really cheap moving dolly. As I walked the isles of seemingly endless horrible quality ****, I saw a Central Machinery ultrasonic cleaner advertised as a store special. Forty two dollars later, and also with a cheap dolly in hand, I took this toaster sized device to my basement for testing. A lot of guys use different formulas such as 50/50 Simple Green, etc. I used straight Simple Green as a starting point for my experiments. I have found that the heat function makes the most difference and that a 50/50 mix is just as effective once the bath comes up to temperature. I now fully admit that I should have got one of these things long ago.

3) Razors, Sandpaper and Rubbing cloths - All of these things have a place. Many of you remember what the surface of my Alemite work bench looked like. I chose sandpaper because of the size of the work space. I can also testify to the fact that the 30 degree razor scrape and friction cloth have their uses.

4) Flash rusting - This is a real deal problem for me and has been my entire life. The mid Atlantic can feel like the swamps of Louisiana during the summer months. I always say that requirements drive solutions so depending what the next step will be for freshly cleaned metal, my process will match accordingly. I can tell you that if you spray some WD40 on a rag and then wipe down your hand tools, there will be no flash rust issue. This of course would be a disaster scenario if you planned on painting freshly cleaned metal. You get the idea.

5) Evaporust and others. Like Lugz and some others here, I tried to filter this stuff it keep the life expectancy of the fluid useful for as long as possible. In the end I realized that by the time I wasted good filters, I was spending more for less effective solution. I now trash it once the color change shows up. I buy in bulk when on sale at places like Tractor Supply or Southern States. I never see this stuff on sale at the Big Box stores around here.

 

[Shiftless]

thehorse13:
Rust removal is a problem all of have to regularly face so it’s important to have a thread to share our experiences and expertise. Thanks for adding your thoughts. You have faced some big challenges (I’m thinking of the work center) and have clearly won the battle.

Do you use all 3 grits of the 6 inch Nyalox wheels? Gray, orange, and blue?

 

[drivesitfar]

Shift: great work on that little vise. so now you are telling me I need to buy more than one NYOLOX wheels? how many grips do they have and where is best place to buy and hope you don't say Amazon?

Horse: great post and thanks for enabling/adding another item to my WISH LIST. I agree walking into a HF store gives me the willies, but I did buy a torch (weed burner) that won't die and it's been working great now for about 5 tanks of propane.

ALL: stainless ultrasonic cleaner added to the list and another gallon of Simple Green.

speaking of Simple Green do you also need to dump and replace it as often as Evaporust or does it last a bit longer. I also hear you guys mentioning cutting it with maybe water?

great stuff guys and we all need to not only remove rust, but also find products to keep rust from re appearing and there is a good Fluid Film thread that just started that's getting a few posts and here's the link if you guys want to head over there to maybe learn, read or add a few more comments.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=475944

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I still filter my SG. I mainly use it for soaking sockets caked in hard to reach places with thick grime, and that builds up fast in the solution.

 

[thehorse13]

thehorse13:
Rust removal is a problem all of have to regularly face so it’s important to have a thread to share our experiences and expertise. Thanks for adding your thoughts. You have faced some big challenges (I’m thinking of the work center) and have clearly won the battle.

Do you use all 3 grits of the 6 inch Nyalox wheels? Gray, orange, and blue?

Yep. I bought the entire wheel kit off Amazon and have never looked back.

Shift: great work on that little vise. so now you are telling me I need to buy more than one NYOLOX wheels? how many grips do they have and where is best place to buy and hope you don't say Amazon?

Horse: great post and thanks for enabling/adding another item to my WISH LIST. I agree walking into a HF store gives me the willies, but I did buy a torch (weed burner) that won't die and it's been working great now for about 5 tanks of propane.

ALL: stainless ultrasonic cleaner added to the list and another gallon of Simple Green.

speaking of Simple Green do you also need to dump and replace it as often as Evaporust or does it last a bit longer. I also hear you guys mentioning cutting it with maybe water?

great stuff guys and we all need to not only remove rust, but also find products to keep rust from re appearing and there is a good Fluid Film thread that just started that's getting a few posts and here's the link if you guys want to head over there to maybe learn, read or add a few more comments.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=475944

I filter my Simple Green too. It seems to hold up much better than Evaporust when I do this.

I still filter my SG. I mainly use it for soaking sockets caked in hard to reach places with thick grime, and that builds up fast in the solution.

Same here but I've found other uses around the garage plus it smells nice and it's easy to dispose of when you're done.

 

[drivesitfar]

Shift: in your post #64 I thought that was a NYALOX brush and from what i'm seeing on YouTube and Google is the Nyalox wheels are sort of like wire wheels only nylon. that wheel you have in post #64 is what you are calling Nyalox too or did you mean to say something else. I like that wheel by the way.

I have a lot of flapper wheels to put in drills, but I might still buy a few nyalox wheels for my bench grinder cause nothing worse than coming inside our home and not knowing you are dropping wire wheels in the hardwood or carpet til you step on one bare footed. OUCH!!

HORSE: are you using old coffee filters I used to see and sometimes pick up at sales ore what kind of filters are you using for your SIMPLE GREEN? also I guess the way you know your Simple Green and Evaporust isn't working as well is that your tools won't come out of a bath nice and clean?

 

[elidas]

OK, so the vinegar is out.

 

[drivesitfar]

vinegar still has it's use. just a little warning on using it make sure to rinse thoroughly with water and dry off completely cause leaving vinegar on cast iron will eat it and maybe steel too.

it's cheap and easy especially if you have some that is too old to use for anything else.

 

[Shiftless]

Shift: in your post #64 I thought that was a NYALOX brush and from what i'm seeing on YouTube and Google is the Nyalox wheels are sort of like wire wheels only nylon. that wheel you have in post #64 is what you are calling Nyalox too or did you mean to say something else. I like that wheel by the way.

I have a lot of flapper wheels to put in drills, but I might still buy a few nyalox wheels for my bench grinder cause nothing worse than coming inside our home and not knowing you are dropping wire wheels in the hardwood or carpet til you step on one bare footed. OUCH!!

HORSE: are you using old coffee filters I used to see and sometimes pick up at sales ore what kind of filters are you using for your SIMPLE GREEN? also I guess the way you know your Simple Green and Evaporust isn't working as well is that your tools won't come out of a bath nice and clean?

Drives:
That wheel is not a Nyalox. It’s a 3M 33213 radial brush wheel. 220 grit

 

[Cruzan80]

Besides brand name, ideas on the difference?

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[lis2323]

Sorry if this has already been asked but I didn’t see it anywhere

Does 3M or anyone else make an 8” radial brush wheel with a 3/4” or larger arbor for my 3/4 HP 8 inch Baldor grinder?

Or ideally 10” diameter with 1”arbor?

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[Shiftless]

Sorry if this has already been asked but I didn’t see it anywhere

Does 3M or anyone else make an 8” radial brush wheel with a 3/4” or larger arbor for my 3/4 HP 8 inch Baldor grinder?


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You could certainly run that 3M 6 inch wheel on your Baldor. The 3M wheel comes with an assortment of bushings. I’ll bet you can easily make it work on a 3/4 inch shaft.

cruzan:
I like the radial brush wheel better than the Nyalox. It’s wider and softer to better conform to curved shapes.

 

[Cruzan80]

Has anyone tried either the 3M or Nyalox brush to replace wire wheels for things like cleaning bolt threads, and other grimy stuff, etc? Plan was to have one side with an EXL deburring wheel and the other with a wire wheel, but now wondering if I can swap it out for one of these.

If so, what color/grit are you running?

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[Shiftless]

Cruzan:
I think one of the problems would be the fact that the nylon bristles get dirty and contaminated with greasy dirt and then leave a hard film of burned on grease on the bits you are trying to polish.
I have not experimented with using Nyalox or the radial bristle brush wheels on dirty grease. I did get the burned on grease film after cleaning a socket that just had a normal old and used appearance.
You can clean the grease off of Nyalox wheels with a strong cleaner like Simple Green. There is a lot of heat generated at the surface of the bristles as they impact the work surface and generate friction to do the polishing job.

If anybody (macgee or ???) has actually tried this please report to the group.

 

[Shiftless]

2 of my Nyalox wheels are now listed in the GJ classifieds. One brand new fine grit and the other slightly used medium.
I like the radial brush a lot!

Edit 2/24
SOLD to a GJ member.


.

 

[Cruzan80]

Yeah, I am going to have a dedicated buffer going near it, so the wire wheel will mostly be for dirty/grimy, rather than polishing. Trying to figure out the best way to attack different things.

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[drivesitfar]

Shift: I thank you for your information on the NYALOX wheels cause I could see from a few videos that the orange or blue bristles were looking a bit dirty. I do like the 3m wheels and need to buy them and I still might by a couple Nyalox ones so I'll have to give that some thought.

I also couldn't recall the name of the deburring wheels which I have a few of and just haven't made time to put them on a grinder or my buffer yet cause I've seen how shiny they can make old steel.

I agree even before Wire wheeling I usually wipe a lot of the dirt and grime off with some Simple Green and maybe one day i'll have my pressure washer as the ready for these small jobs too.

Cruzan: might I suggest picking up couple vintage grinders and having several different wheels on several grinders sort of like an assembly line. I actually bot a bunch of Craftsman grinder stands in the hope we were moving to a place where it already had a big shop or I could build one and life hasn't allowed that to happen yet.

that said I think i'm going to make a 1.5 inch plywood top on one of my big metal cabinets i'm using as a toolbox and mount 3 different old grinders on it with 6 different wheels. at the moment i'm building a base with tool box locking wheels so even though it's a bit higher than I'd like I think it might work.