Band saw table- best way to finish

Hey all, I am almost finished with my 14" Jet refurbishment saga and have come to the final step; cleaning and finishing the table. When I bought the bandsaw, it was sitting in a gentleman's unconditioned shed and since our summers here in NC are pretty humid, you can imagine the rust on the table top. It had sat for so long, that the table under where the miter gauge had rested, was almost immaculate. However the rest of the table was coated rust with minor pitting. What I have done so far, used a nylon bristle brush to remove portion of rust, then utililzed BarKeeper's friend for the next step, which worked great. In fact the smell reminded me of the Rust free stuff I have that is made by Boeshield. From there I used a copper wire brush on my drill to clean it up even more. Last night I threw a 120 grit sanding pad then a gray Scotch Brite pad on my ROS and went to town. That worked pretty well. I am happy with the smoothness I have, and the rust is gone for the most part, except the stains. My question is two fold, 1) should I move to 220 grit to sand the top? 2) Also, is there any way to remove the stains? It is very usable now, but I want to get it as good as I can before I seal it with wax. I read somewhere to use a hair dryer or heat gun to melt it in before buffing it out. Anyone done that? Thanks for your response!

Hi Jay, it's not as humid where I live so all I use on cast iron tables is paste wax, applied by hand.................Rod.

1) I'd stop with the gray pad. Problem with trying to finish metal with sandpaper is it breaks down so fast. 220 becomes 400 then 600 then wears out entirely in pretty short order. Makes it hard to get a consistent result. If you prefer a coarser texture, try a green pad.
2) Heating the wax is almost pointless. When that heavy CI table is cold, it will pull the heat out of the wax and stiffen it instantly - long before the wax can work into the surface texture. Warm up the table instead - slowly and evenly. Might take a little longer, but works way better.

I'd do the best you can with medium through fine steel wool lubricated with Boeshield. Wipe clean, coat again with Boeshield, let it dry at least overnight. The Boeshield will penetrate into the pores of the metal much farther than warmed up wax ever will. Coat with wax as the last step just for table slickness.

Never used Boeshield. Sounds like a nice product. I had trouble with rust until I started running a box fan on low 24x7 (it hangs from the ceiling) and started using Renaissance wax (sit down before you look up the price). A small can lasts a long time.

-Brian

If the rust is light , it won't take much to clean up the problem. However, if the rust has been accumulating for a number of years and appears to be sturdy and deep, the table is perhaps too damaged to return it to its former glory. I don't know if using scrotchbrite is a good idea in removing rust. There are non toxic rust removal , you can even make your own.
If you remove the rust, you should make sure that the rust won't return. I think waxes/paste would do.

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Originally Posted by Brian Kincaid

Never used Boeshield. Sounds like a nice product. I had trouble with rust until I started running a box fan on low 24x7 (it hangs from the ceiling) and started using Renaissance wax (sit down before you look up the price). A small can lasts a long time.

-Brian

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I here you on having a fan run 24/7 it used to rain in my shop until I installed a ceiling fan and kept it on all the time
I use wax and slipit in my shop

I try to stick with steel wools/ abrasive pads and away from any type of sandpaper/emery cloth. My table saw was coated with J&J paste wax in the yellow can almost 15 years ago and has never gotten any rust on it. Here is Chicagoland humidity fluctuates constantly. Tried Boeshield on it once and was not pleased, did not seem to slip and slide like the basic paste wax. No heating the wax here, just some good elbow grease has always done the trick.

I'm also in NC and my shop is where some crazy folks think a car should be parked. Go figure. I prefer a nice coat of WD-40. Let it soak in o/n. Wipe off any residue and then buff w/ paste wax.

Jay
As John and Rod have said all you need is J&J paste wax in the yellow can. If you renew it about twice a year you will be in great shape. I use it on all my CI surfaces, my planer is 30 years old with no rust. Tom

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Originally Posted by Thomas Hotchkin

Jay
As John and Rod have said all you need is J&J paste wax in the yellow can. If you renew it about twice a year you will be in great shape. I use it on all my CI surfaces, my planer is 30 years old with no rust. Tom

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'Nuther vote for Johnson and Johnson paste wax. Cheap and works great. It will be challenging to apply in the cold but keep doing it and soon enough, the cast iron table just seems to become impregnated with enough wax that it needs only seasonal touch up.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

I use FLEET wax, but J&J should be fine. If you're going to heat anything, heat the whole table. Put it in the oven, it's small enough, and bring it up to ~150-175 degrees. Petrochemical based waxes melt at ~175 degrees, Bee's wax about 140,and Carnuba is a little higher than Petrochemical based waxes. You're not looking to melt the wax, just get it to flow on the warm surface. You want the wax below the smoke/boiling point. Like all CI curing you're looking to "open up the pores" of the cast iron. Don't localize any heat on a CI surface, it will cause distortion. The whole surface has to be brought up to temp, or you'll warp it.
Personally, I'm not sure how well it work on a bandsaw table, or if it's worth the effort, but if you ever need to season a cast iron griddle or fry pan, that's how it's done. Just use grapeseed oil though.;)

When i lived in the Houston area the humidity was so bad that I would have to treat my cast iron tops two or three times a year. I always used maroon Scotchbrite pads on a random orbit sander to remove old wax and surface rust and followed up with the Johnson's floor wax mentioned above. Been here in Kerrville for about 6 years now and have totally neglected the cast iron tops but they are all still rust free. The only wax on them is what I have not worn off since the move.