[trian_burner]

I am a student at a high school who has recently gotten a new Tormach Slant-Pro and an ATC for our existing PCNC 1100, which makes it easier for people to make things on the mill with minor knowledge and little assistance. We have come to realize that our flood coolant had been eating at the paint on the bottom of the chip bin, and it didn't protect the bed or the tools from rusting for very long; if anything it caused them to rust. So what coolants do you use, and where do you order it from?

[sharmstr]

John Grimsmo had the same issue. He went with Qualichem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQb_93TM83Y I believe John Saunders (CNC NYC) uses Qualichem as well.

[GLCarlson]

Topic has been discussed to death here. There are partisans for practically everything from lard oil to the exotic. Do a search, you'll find lots of comments.

The essential take-away for "didn't protect" seems to be a failure to use at the right concentration (or higher), or a failure to recognize situations (like disuse for a longer period) when one might expect coolant failure.

[oneineight]

My machine gets occasional use right now and I'm using Kool mist 77 with a mister.
A local tool supplier gave me a bucket of Qualichem extreme cut 250 when I showed him my paid invoice for the machine,
I plan to start using that when my programming skills are good enough to run the machine more often.

[jttoner]

Flooding on a Biblical scale using a sump pump in place of the aquarium pump included with machine. The fluid is Castrol recommended to me by Brian Carmicheal of wot-cnc.com. Works great, no rust or other corrosion, and no rancidity. Initially expensive but long term very economical.

[warrenb]

Picocool is my favorite. Lots of Aluminum and Stainless in my shop. Works great, doesn't stink, and lasts a long long time.

[trian_burner]

Thank you for all of your help! This will help us because I cleaned all of our tanks and coolant systems for the Summer, because we wouldn't be using them. So getting the right substance to refill everything is important.

[Steve Seebold]

I have never used anything but SwissLube Blazocut 2000 Universal and aside from being covered with chips it looks the same as it did when I got it a little over 5 years ago.