Shining Bare Metal Areas on Equipment

[freudianfloyd]

I posted last night about a shear and brake that were given to me, they are very nice Di-acro tools so I want to take care of them. I also have a drill press that could use this. Anyway, I would like to shine the machine's bare areas up. What is the technique for this? And what do you protect the metal with when done.


Thanks

 

[raddksn]

I like to use a scotchbrite and WD-40 to get it clean. Then after that spray WD-40 on a rag and wipe every month or so!

 

[Nor'Easter]

Rust Erasers. I find Scotch pads to coarse.

 

[Farrier]

Scotch brite pad and jewelry's paste. Spray with high quality clear coat aerosol spray afterwards. WD-40 and similar collects dirt.

 

[mike butler]

clean area with scotchbrite
wipe with acetone
apply 2 coats Johnsons paste wax
this works especially well on my welding table
requires reapplication approx 1 to 2 months
I use this on my 52"shear,8'shear,band saw table,
drill press table,4 sheet metal brakes,hammers,
dollies,hand shears,36" slip roller
any bare metal gets waxed. YMMV
mike

 

[freudianfloyd]

Thanks guys. I will give these suggestions a try.

 

[Kevin54]

Another vote for Scotch-Brite pads and WD-40. You can also get different grades of SB pads. White is real fine, green a little more abrasive, grey more so, and then red is coarse.

 

[yaidunno]

As Kevin said, many different grades are available. Base material and desired finish will determine which to use. I keep a box of maroon colored ones in the shop. Probably should get a few different ones myself. Using WD-40 is great when finishing the metal, but for protection, Fluid Film is hands down better than WD-40. Not the cheapest stuff, but it works great.