Favorite way to remove rust...

[Bryan Wuest]

For really small items like pliers, I use naval jelly. For items that are a little larger or have hard to reach areas, I use electrolysis. For larger flat areas I have also used naval jelly or a wire wheel. As long as it is only light surface rust, I don't worry about the rust on my lathe bed, it actually helps the tail stock grip better.

[Rich Engelhardt]

You guys seriously put acid on your tools and attack nice flat surfaces with something as aggressive as wire wheels?

I'm way too timid to try that.

[Tom Rick]

Soak in light oil or WD40, scrape down with razor blade and buff out with Scotch-Brite pad.

[Russell Johnson]

I use a product called "The Works" it's a toilet bowl cleaner that costs ~$1 at Wal-Mart. Put it on there 30 minutes give a little scrap little more 30 minutes and nearly all of it will come off.

[Scott Hildenbrand]

Gregg: Why yes... Yes I did.. Oddly, protectant is not in Firefox's internal spell check and it botched and plugged that in, instead.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

No offense intended, but aren't you a little late for getting the tools out? It's time for winter, (for you guys up there) and hiding the tools.....

As far as the rust, +1 on the Barkeepers Friend. I use it clean rust all the time. BKF and WD-40 with a scotchbrite pad. WD is not good for long term, I use Boeshield and paste wax.

Sanding/cleaning with any power tool is out of the question in MY book. Even a RO sander will take off metal and make your surface not flat. Since that looks like a spiral head jointer, I'd say whomever made it went through a lot of trouble to make the bed flat. And I agree that a wire wheel will remove metal faster than you may think.

Just my $0.02.

[Don Alexander]

YIKES some of these suggestions are good and some are just plain ruinous if you want to keep your tools in good condition don't even get near them with an anglegrinder/wire wheel type rig ..... stuff like WD40 will remove rust but then you have to remove the WD40 or ruin alot of nice wood when you go to use the tool/s

speed isn't nearly as important as what you are left with when the rust attack is behind you

a little elbow grease and more importantly some common sense will make you alot happierin the long run

[Bryan Wuest]

YIKES some of these suggestions are good and some are just plain ruinous if you want to keep your tools in good condition don't even get near them with an anglegrinder/wire wheel type rig .....

The wire wheel I use, and I am sure most others are referring to, has brass "whiskers." The only way it will damage metal is if you run it in one spot for so long that the whiskers break off and you start to grind with the head itself.

[Steven Hsieh]

Brush on Evapo-Rust. Let it sit for 30 minute, use wire wool and scrub, Wipe clean, if more rust re-apply again.

[Chris Parks]

I have removed a lot of rust from old machines many times as I only buy old machines. An ROS and successive finer grits of wet and dry paper using kerosene as a lubricant. It does not remove metal and even if it did I bet no one could measure the amount. It is metal not wood and to remove any meaningful amounts of metal would require more than a wire brush or a piece of wet and dry paper. Mind you in this case a bit of elbow grease is all that is needed from what I can see.

[Carroll Courtney]

OOOOOOOOONOOOOOOO,I'm removing metal.I like the cup wire wheel ideal thanks-----Carroll

[greg a bender]

I've had very good results using Rust-Free and 000 steel wool.
This on tools stuck in a damp basement for years. It will stain cast iron if left on too long. And it does stink, but it does work!

Greg

[Mike Konobeck]

Another Barkeepsers Friend friend. You may have to use a more aggressive way to get the deeper rust off but don't use a wire wheel or other abrasives that are too aggressive on things that need to stay flat. Use a ROS with higher grit like 220 and/or sandpaper on a flat board. With the sandpaper and a board you can use oil to help lube minimize the work. Make sure you increase the grit up to around 400-600 if you want a truly smooth surface. If you don't care about a few scratches from lower grits then don't worry about it.

After you get it to the point where most of the rust is off with the power tools or sandpaper/board then go to the BKF. Use an oil with the BKF. Do not mix with water. Mixing with an oil and using the green Scotch pads does amazing things. I managed to pull nearly all of the stains out of a piece of equipment I just picked up. NOTHING else worked. Didn't even have to work that hard at it but plan on spending some time. Give it a couple rounds to get is really clean.

CLEAN with mineral spirits before proceeding and let it dry. Don't move to the next step until the mineral spirits has evaporated. Give it a while. Don't know what the magic number is but you don't want it effecting the protectant you put on next.

Follow that up with Boeshield or other metal protectant. Make sure you let the Boeshield soak in for a while then wipe off. Boeshield is sticky if you let it "dry". Once you wipe off the Boeshield so it is not sticky then follow up with Topshield or other surface lube.

Do a search for Barkeepers Friend and you should find a few posts. This is the thread that turned me onto using BKF. We use it around the house to clean things like stainless pots/pans and ceramic. Never thought about using it on a tool until I had to. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...+stains&page=4

[Karl Brogger]

I'd go just a little more elaborate--a knotted wire cup wheel on the angle grinder. Works very fast, doesn't throw wires nearly as much.

Kirk

That's my vote. Then if you're psychotic, 320g, 400g, 600g, 1000g, wool bonnet on a 9" grinder with a rubbing compound. DAMHIK

And as far as protecting it if you have to in the future. Grease, plenty of it too.

[John McClanahan]

Be careful using a brass wire brush on an angle grinder. From what I have found out, most brass wire brushes designed for use on power tools is actually brass plated steel. (Some simply don't say) While it looks like brass, the tips doing the work is the steel core. Solid brass wires are not strong enough to hold up to the repeated flexing of a high speed tool.