Need help with new tools

[Jeff Dunlap]

I just got my new bandsaw and jointer form grizzly, and was wondering if anyone could help me. The proective coating, i believe its cosmoline that is on the cast iron surfaces, what is the best way to remove it? I see they sell a citrus degreaser does any know if its limonene? Or does anyone know if there are any compataiblity issue with using some types of solvents on cast iron, what i definetly shouldn't use? Any help would be greatly apperciated. Thanks in advanced for your help
Jeff

[Ben Cadotte]

WD-40 and a rag works good. Might need a bristle brush for castings that are not finished flat (rough). But WD-40 cuts through it pretty good. And its not harmfull to any of the tools. Also get some regular paste wax and wax up your tables and fence to prevent rusting after you clean them with the WD-40. I bought a gallon can and a hand sprayer a couple years ago. Much better price wise than the spray cans. Think its about $20 a gallon at the borgs. Its what I clean my tools with.

[Brian Kent]

What Ben said…

or orange citrus cleaner and a rag. Then protect with Boeshield T-9 (I got mine from a bicycle store as a chain lubricant) and wax.

[J. Z. Guest]

The best cleaner for this is denatured alcohol. WD40 has oil in it, which eventually evaporates. But you don't want to be putting paste wax on top of the WD. You want that surface 100% clean. Regular old isopropyl alcohol will do the trick too, but it is more expensive per ounce.

[Lance Norris]

Ive always used disc brake cleaner, the kind in the spray can. Works great.

[Greg Hines, MD]

My vise was covered in cosmoline when I got it, and spray engine degreaser worked like a charm on it.

Doc

[Mike McCann]

mineral spritits works great also. and you can wax right after that.

[Jim Becker]

Kerosene to get the majority off and mineral spirits to finish the job. Then wax with a good paste wax (NON AUTOMOTIVE!...they often contain silicone and you don't want that in your shop) to keep it from rusting. Re-wax every so often. Some folks use other stuff, such as commercial preparations, but I've had good results for many years with just paste wax. SC Johnson paste wax is a good choice.

[Gary Falls]

I used methyl hydrate on my jointer and planer and it worked extremely well. I think I used mineral spirits on my bandsaw last year and it was a real pain in the....

[Dave Lindgren]

The old military way was to get about a mile from any source of flame, and use gasoline. I won't even go into the hazards involved, but it worked on several hundred m1 Garands I was stuck with. For my Grizz 1023 I used laquer thinner in a well ventilated space, and it worked fine. YMMV

2FO2BB