Haas did an inspection on the 08 VF2 I purchased and rated it 9 out of 10 because of the rust. The machine only has 3 cutting hours on it, so it's a bummer that the rust is as bad as it is.
I've spent some time working on the rust with steel wool but it's not going real well and I'll never get it done with this approach. The steel wool won’t even touch the rust on the weigh covers anyway, plus it's all but impossible to get all the rust out of the tee slots. I got the table top pretty clean compared to the rest of the machine, but I'm not completely happy with it.
If I'm ever going to clean this machine up I need to do it now, otherwise it's not likely I'll get to it later down the road. I've used a technique in the past for removing rust from steel called electrolysis rust removal which is truly amazing to say the least. I know it would work well for this but I would have to do some disassembly in order to use the process. I'm just unsure of what I would be getting into by taking this thing apart and not sure what parts I would have to buy for proper reassembly (If any, gaskets? Wipers?)
The company I purchased this from did attempt to use naval jelly to remove the rust but really made a piss poor attempt of it; they did succeed in stripping some of the bluing from the chip tray but not much else. I live in Arizona so the moister is minimal, putting the effort into this wouldn’t be totally in vain. I’m just not sure if I’m overly worried about the rust or not, what do you guys think, any suggestions?
Chip tray>
Spindle covers, it kind of looks like oil or something in the picture, but it is rust. >
Tee slots>
A few more >>
Also, should this hole have a plug in it? What is it for?>