[TaK]

Hi Guys,

I'm wondering what sort of oil or protective chemical you guys are using on your mills and tooling to keep them from getting corroded. Any good recommendations for something that will be effective and easy for a hobbyist to find?

Thanks.

[underthetire]

Grease, spray oil (not WD40!!!!!) or for longer term, LPS-3, all available at hardware stores.

[txcncman]

Usually enough way oil squeezes out during the day that wiping that oil around with a clean rag puts enough oil all over that there is no corrosion.

[H.A.S.]

A slightly oil coated rag, works wonders on all your machines.

[pickled]

A very light coat of Amsoil's water resistant grease works real good. I typically only put it on if I know that my vice or 4th axis will be mounted on the table for a long time for fixture purposes. I was real impressed that it held up to 100's of hours of flood coolant.

[aarggh]

Grease, spray oil (not WD40!!!!!) or for longer term, LPS-3, all available at hardware stores.

Curious, why not WD-40? After having just sprayed some on my rails!

cheers,
Ian

[underthetire]

Wd 40 turns sticky, and cause cast iron to rust even faster in some cases. It's good for cleaning, gets fingerprints off, but always treat bare surfaces with a good oil after.

[flyinchips]

I have never observed WD40 causing rust. I know it turns into a brownish varnish after it sits for some time. The varnish will come of with a solvent like kerosene or lacquer thinner. Removing the varnish requires effort and many object to the extra work when oil works so well.

[TaK]

I also had some bad experience with WD40. I think it stripped the oil off the parts and then didn't do a good job of protecting them itself.

I have some cutting/tapping oil that has the feel of vegetable oil. Do you guys think that is suitable?

[txcncman]

The petroleum parts of WD-40 have relatively low flash points. You think you are adding oil to something and in a few days it is gone.

What type of oil would you put on something if you wanted it to still be there 7-14 days later?

What type of oil would you put on steel machined parts before shipping them to a customer?

This is not rocket science.

[aarggh]

This is not rocket science.

I would consider it not at all unreasonable to believe that if it's been around decades and appears to be universally advertised as a "lubricant and anti-rust", that it's fairly safe to assume it's suitable as a "lubricant and anti-rust". I don't think rocket science comes into it at all. It all comes down to product knowledge, hence the questions in the forums obviously.

cheers,
Ian

[txcncman]

I would consider it not at all unreasonable to believe that if it's been around decades and appears to be universally advertised as a "lubricant and anti-rust", that it's fairly safe to assume it's suitable as a "lubricant and anti-rust". I don't think rocket science comes into it at all. It all comes down to product knowledge, hence the questions in the forums obviously.

cheers,
Ian

Many companies lie. Most advertisers lie. I have not checked WD-40's recent advertising, but I think it is actually advertised as a rust penetrant, not a rust preventative. I do not know your age or experience level with WD-40. My age is 47 and my experience with WD-40 is near 33 years. I tend to use heavy oils and grease as rust preventatives, not light oils that you can spray out of a can. The point of having a light oil that can be sprayed out of a can is for convenience and ease of use. Also the anti-friction and anti-wear properties of heavy oils is much better than light oils. I won't get into the physics of it here.

[RomanLini]

Bearing shops sell spray grease, it has the convenience of application of a spray can and sprays on wet, but the solvent dries out in a few seconds and leaves a nice grease layer.

Many factories use spray grease on machined steel parts. They spray the parts and wrap in paper, like that tacky red grease you get on new gears etc.

[aarggh]

Well I think i'll be cleaning the stuff I sprayed with WD-40 off with some kero and using a good spray oil instead!

One called "fluid film" seems to get a decent write up on the forums.

cheers,
Ian

[TaK]

For those still interested, I think I have my answers. From the replies to this thread and other research ( especially: RUST PRIMER ) I'll be using the following:

For the mill, lathe, and vises:
Mobile Vactra No 2 Way Oil (MSC P/N: 60002151)
A thin film of this stuff on every exposed surface.

For the small tools and tooling:
Fluid Film

Also, it looks like I should be able to remove the tiny surface rust I have with WD-40 and steel wool No. 0000.

Thanks for your help.