Cleaning Cast Iron

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  • Pappy
    The Full Monte
    • Dec 2002
    • 10453
    • San Marcos, TX, USA.
    • BT3000 (x2)

    Cleaning Cast Iron

    The painting is finished and I am ready to start the reassembly on the 8" jointer. All the bare metal parts are getting 3 coats of paste wax with a final coat of Boeshield T-9.

    The only areas not completely cleaned are the table tops and the fence face. The rust was neutralized with an electrolysis bath but I would like to polish them out better. My ROS uses PSA paper so my thought is to put on the coursest paper I have to provide grip and use sythetic pads to clean and polish them with paste rubbing and polishing compound prior to the final waxing. I sent a querry to Turtle Wax today to make sure neither contain silicones.

    Another option is to switch the pad to a hook and loop style then find the ready made polishing pads. Drawback there is the extra time to find the parts and supplies. I would like to get her up and running on Tuesday when I am off.

    What's wrong with this idea?
    Don, aka Pappy,

    Wise men talk because they have something to say,
    Fools because they have to say something.
    Plato
  • MBG
    Senior Member
    • Apr 2003
    • 945
    • Chicago, Illinois.
    • Craftsman 21829

    #2
    This is how I have cleaned CI tops:

    1) clean w/ Greased Lightening
    2) Flood the top w/ WD-40
    3) use a gray Scotchbrite pad under my 1/4-sheet finish sander
    4) apply T-9
    5) apply a couple coats of Johnson's paste wax


    I also found this a while back:

    "Dave's dirty dozen"
    1) Scrape as much of the sludge as you can off with cardboard from the shipping container or a plastic scraper.
    2) Use Simple Green right out of the container and tons of paper towels to get the rest off.
    3) Wash off the Simple Green with more paper towels and clear water. Dry off with even more paper towels.
    4) Spray the top down liberally with WD40. The WD in WD40 stands for Water Displacing, by the way.
    5) Take a finishing sander, like a Porter-Cable 330, and put it on a ScotchBrite green pad. Random Orbital will work, but makes a **** of a mess.
    6) Sand the top evenly until you feel like you've "massaged" the WD40 in very well. This also will knock some sharp spots off your top, a good thing.
    7) Take even more paper towels, and wipe the top until dry. It will feel slightly oily.
    8) Using a quality furniture paste wax (Johnson's, Minwax, Butcher's, whatever is available in your area), wax the top thoroughly and allow to dry.
    9) Wipe off the bulk of the excess wax with paper towels.
    10) Wax it again.
    11) Buff well with paper towels.
    12) Last step. Take a piece of wood with straight edges, and rub the surface of the saw in the direction of cut with the wood, as though you were cross-cutting it.
    It's a **** sight more steps than "wash off with kerosene", which is what all the manuals say. But, it leaves a top that is seriously ready for work, and won't need to be screwed with every couple months. I rewax my tops e

    very year or two, and they ain't rusty...

    I'm sure others will have other suggestions, too...


    Comment

    • kwgeorge
      Veteran Member
      • Jan 2004
      • 1419
      • Alvin, TX, USA.

      #3
      The Scotch brite pad under the ROS is a great place to start for sure. I understand from many different places that the TopSaver product from Woodcraft will remove stains from the cast iron. Then if you really wanted it to shine you could use something like Mother Mag Wheel polish.

      Ken

      Comment

      • cabinetman
        Gone but not Forgotten RIP
        • Jun 2006
        • 15218
        • So. Florida
        • Delta

        #4
        I leave my sanding pad on my finishing sander and place it right on top of a Scotchbrite pad. I don't use steel wool in the shop. If that is needed, I use bronze wool as it doesn't rust or discolor wood fibers. Wd40 does work well if you can get every single trace of it off. My experience with Johnsons Paste wax is good. I use it on all CI. Don't let it dry completely, because it is heck gettin' it all off. Once the CI is cleaned and waxed, I'll rewax maybe once a week or more if needed. Makes a big difference to also do the working side of the fence and out/right feed table tops on the TS. As for the painted areas on the jointer, and edges of a CI top, I'll prep them for paint and use Rust-Oleum paint. I've mixed it and gotten real close with color.



        "I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

        Comment

        • Andrew Benedetto
          Veteran Member
          • Mar 2003
          • 1071
          • SoCal, USA
          • Unisaw w. 52"Bies,22124CM & BT3K

          #5
          Barkeepers Friend Cleanser has a fine polishing cpd. and oxalic acid to neutralize the rust. In a gold can @ Walmart in the cleanser section. You will be amazed at how well it works on metals and is really cheap. Will remove rust from most surfaces, plastic too.

          Green pad,then a rag w. the BKF. If you want a hi-shine , Blue Magic Polish in the auto section, but that is just for show really .
          Andrew

          Comment

          • Pappy
            The Full Monte
            • Dec 2002
            • 10453
            • San Marcos, TX, USA.
            • BT3000 (x2)

            #6
            I got a reply from Turtle Wax today. The rubbing and polishing compounds are silicone free. Cleaned up the fence and some of the smaller pieces today. The grey pads under the ROS worked great with the compounds. Still have to wax, wax, wax all the bare metal.

            Blue Magic would be a No-No! It is silicone based.
            Last edited by Pappy; 11-21-2006, 08:18 PM.
            Don, aka Pappy,

            Wise men talk because they have something to say,
            Fools because they have to say something.
            Plato

            Comment

            • eezlock
              Senior Member
              • Feb 2006
              • 997
              • Charlotte,N.C.
              • BT3100

              #7
              cleaning cast iron...

              Originally posted by Pappy
              I got a reply from Turtle Wax today. The rubbing and polishing compounds are silicone free. Cleaned up the fence and some of the smaller pieces today. The grey pads under the ROS worked great with the compounds. Still have to wax, wax, wax all the bare metal.

              Blue Magic would be a No-No! It is silicone based.
              Pappy, after all the waxing,you forgot to say...buff, buff, buff, and buff
              some more until it shines like glass...I use a random orbit 10" car buffer
              to do all that hard work...easier on me! eezlock

              Comment

              • Pappy
                The Full Monte
                • Dec 2002
                • 10453
                • San Marcos, TX, USA.
                • BT3000 (x2)

                #8
                Originally posted by eezlock
                Pappy, after all the waxing,you forgot to say...buff, buff, buff, and buff
                some more until it shines like glass...I use a random orbit 10" car buffer
                to do all that hard work...easier on me! eezlock
                I use a buffing pad on an angle sander once I get to the final coats.
                Don, aka Pappy,

                Wise men talk because they have something to say,
                Fools because they have to say something.
                Plato

                Comment

                • Andrew Benedetto
                  Veteran Member
                  • Mar 2003
                  • 1071
                  • SoCal, USA
                  • Unisaw w. 52"Bies,22124CM & BT3K

                  #9
                  Pappy, you can remove the silicone easily with mineral spirits and then use wax. I have yet to see any problems with a dry polished surface myself. You sand the wood anyway before finishing.
                  Try the barkeepers, you will be supprised how well it works
                  Andrew

                  Comment

                  • paintandbodtman
                    Banned
                    • Jul 2006
                    • 125

                    #10
                    Silicone around finish material is a very unforgiving foe, yes mineral spirits or any number of solvents should get rid of it but if by chance you don't get it all off and any tranfer from the metal to the wood will not be removed by sanding alone, sanding without first cleaning it from the wood will only imbed it further into the wood. Silicone also has a habit of soaking into anything porus making it very hard to get rid of once it comes into contact with the material. When trying to clean it off of something its best to flood the area with a rag saturated with whatever choice of cleaning solvent which floats it to the surface and then immediatly wipeinng with a second rag while the material is still wet and before the solvent has a chance of evaporateing otherwise all you do is just move it around without actually getting rid of it.

                    wayne

                    Comment

                    • LarryG
                      The Full Monte
                      • May 2004
                      • 6693
                      • Off The Back
                      • Powermatic PM2000, BT3100-1

                      #11
                      Originally posted by cabinetman
                      I leave my sanding pad on my finishing sander and place it right on top of a Scotchbrite pad. I don't use steel wool in the shop. If that is needed, I use bronze wool as it doesn't rust or discolor wood fibers. Wd40 does work well if you can get every single trace of it off. My experience with Johnsons Paste wax is good. I use it on all CI. Don't let it dry completely, because it is heck gettin' it all off. Once the CI is cleaned and waxed, I'll rewax maybe once a week or more if needed. Makes a big difference to also do the working side of the fence and out/right feed table tops on the TS. As for the painted areas on the jointer, and edges of a CI top, I'll prep them for paint and use Rust-Oleum paint. I've mixed it and gotten real close with color.



                      "I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"
                      QFT, and bump.
                      Larry

                      Comment

                      • cabinetman
                        Gone but not Forgotten RIP
                        • Jun 2006
                        • 15218
                        • So. Florida
                        • Delta

                        #12
                        Originally posted by LarryG
                        QFT, and bump.

                        My response in this thread.
                        .

                        Comment

                        • dbhost
                          Slow and steady
                          • Apr 2008
                          • 9209
                          • League City, Texas
                          • Ryobi BT3100

                          #13
                          Pappy,

                          Did you get a different shop? If not I have GOT to see pics of your little shed / shop with an 8" jointer in it!
                          Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

                          Comment

                          • phi1l
                            Senior Member
                            • Oct 2009
                            • 681
                            • Madison, WI

                            #14
                            If you really want that saw top shiny, the first step after having any oxides reduced electrolytically, should be buffing with a a cotton buffing wheel & polishing rouge. When you are done with that you should be able to see your reflection in the top. Then put on a protective layer of a microcrystalline paraffin based wax.
                            But as long as you were getting it electrolytically cleaned, I would have checked into how much it would have cost to have it nickel plated as well

                            Comment

                            • dbhost
                              Slow and steady
                              • Apr 2008
                              • 9209
                              • League City, Texas
                              • Ryobi BT3100

                              #15
                              Holy smokes Batman! I just noticed this was a dredged up 3+ year old thread!
                              Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

                              Comment

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