RAS cleaning/restoration

[Mike Schuch]

Most bolt holes I don't worry about. If the bolt hole is threaded the bolt will ream the paint out when you reinstall the bolt... this is just what has worked for me it is not a bad idea to cover the holes like you suggest. Cotton, a wad of paper or even a wad of paper towel should be plenty.

I have never used wax for covering parts. I don't get too anal about taping stuff like the machined surfaces of the turret off. I just slap some tape on and trim with a razor blade. If a bit of over spray hits an area like the turret machined surfaces it is really easy to remove with a razor blade or steel wool with a bit of paint thinner. I worry a lot more about doing a good job of taping things like badges off where I would not want to clean them off later with steel wool and ruin them.

Your column base and arm have some rust coming through the paint. I would surface sand this with a Scotch bright pad but I would not worry about getting every trace of rust removed. Hammerlite sticks very well to metal but it sticks even better to sanded down rust. The sanded down rust gives the paint something to bite on. I have used other paints that don't do well with a bit of surface rust... but Hammerlite and Rustoleum hammer finish paint both adhere very well to rust that has had the surface powdery stuff sanded off.

For rattle cans I recommend thin to medium coats. The can will tell you after what time it is best to recoat. It seems like I usually apply a second or third coat after about 15-30 minutes... before the base coat has cured. This allows the top coats to interlock with the lower coats.

[Don Jarvie]

Lots of good advice. To clean the screw holes I use a pipe cleaner that has the metal brush to clean cooper pipes. I also cut the handle off one and chuck into my drill. Twist in right and then left to back it out. I also ball up masking tape to put in the holes. I also use paste wax when I put the bolts back in. Just stick the bolt in the wax.

i have a 16 inch jointer on deck to restore. I need to wait for the good weather to repainted it. I like to spray auto paint.

[Robert Payne]

Robert, what kind of solvents do you recommend?

Matt, I would avoid a solvent like acetone since it may dissolve or loosen the existing finish. Instead, I'd use mineral spirits until I was fairly certain that all of the grime and oily residue was removed and then repeat with a clean cloth and fresh mineral spirits to get all remaining residue. The suggestions to use Scotch Brite pads to roughen the surface are good as a final step if you plan to use the spray paint.

[Don Jarvie]

What I like to do is after I take everything apart I give all the parts a wash with Superclean. It takes all the grease and dirt off. Just was and rinse. There is no residue left over.

Superclean will fade the paint so keep this in mind if your not going to repainted everything. I repainted everything so this is not an issue for me.

[Matt Day]

I've heard good things about super-clean.

So what's the general order of things once disassembled?

Clean loose dust/dirt
Scotch brite wheel or pad stubborn grime and light rust
Superclean
Paint

How many coats do you normally do? I might have to wait until warmer weather to paint as I don't have a spray station inside.

[Myk Rian]

I have a 1979 year of that saw. The old DeWalts have nothing on these old Deltas.

Well, I beg to differ. I've had both. Equal in my eyes, but I like my DeWalt because of the single arm.

Anyway, I've used needle scalers, (loud, messy, used tons of air), wire wheel brushes, (messy, tends to round off the paint instead of getting it off), and chemical strippers.
I prefer the strippers.

[Doug Ladendorf]

I've heard good things about super-clean.

So what's the general order of things once disassembled?

Clean loose dust/dirt
Scotch brite wheel or pad stubborn grime and light rust
Superclean
Paint

How many coats do you normally do? I might have to wait until warmer weather to paint as I don't have a spray station inside.

Warmer weather certainly helps at a couple of stages. I think your order looks good. +1 on Superclean. I always scrub with it, then rinse with water to get all the grime and paint off (it will remove paint though not to the extent of a stripper). If you can lay the parts in the sun to dry that helps and I also blast with air to speed things along and get in the holes and crevices. Then you will need to mask, at least I do on machined surfaces. I take a bit of paper (I have a roll of that pinkish rosin paper handy), make a tube then slip it into threaded holes where it expands in place. For large surfaces I use paper for the bulk taped down along the edges, then trim with a razor blade. I also like to remove the machine plates rather than mask them off. They are usually not too difficult to remove and put back on, and I like to know it's done right. How far you go with these things depends on how you feel about that project.

I like the hammered products too. I've had success with other Rustoleum rattle can but on large surfaces it can be a challenge. I've also found I can skip primer. One of the projects I worked on will chip down to the primer pretty easily. I thought I had sanded the primer enough but despite the marketing claims I've found primer does not necessarily provide a better bond with the finish paint. Now I just go straight to the paint, usually two or three coats depending.

Doug

Oh, one other thing: take lots of pictures of the parts you are disassembling! It will help immensely when reassembling. Also get a box of ziplock bags for the shop and a couple of sharpies. Bag and label things as they come off to keep things together and identified. Have fun!