cast iron gunk

[speed]

hi all

how do you clean the gunk/anti rust stuff of of new cast iron? i tried soapy water but was taking ages for very little result, is there anything i could speed up the prosses

thanks jamie

 

[DaveL]

You should be able to do it with white spirit or paraffin. Do be careful, use rubber gloves and plenty of old rags, which need to be disposed of, not left in a crumpled heap in the corner of the shop. Once you have cleaned the cast iron you need to use something like Liberon lubricating wax to stop rust starting, this has the bonus of making machine tables slippy.

 

[speed]

hi dave

thnks for the info.

 

[Woody Alan]

Don't try to clean it all off, scrape the bulk of it off with an old credit card or piece of plastic (not metal) then use white spirit or whatever for the final residue.

Alan

 

[Blister]

Thinners :wink:

 

[carpenteire]

Don't try to clean it all off, scrape the bulk of it off with an old credit card or piece of plastic
Alan

This is the best approach I reckon, I've used thin hardboard (or 3mm MDF) for this purpose, finished off with plenty of cotton rags and white spirit.

 

[got wood]

I totally agree with the scraping off first as above. I tried a metal scraper (I was really gentle!), but still scratched the surface a bit (purely cosmetic of course). I resorted to a credit card which was perfect.

 

[Woodmagnet]

I use the "credit card" things from supermarkets, they also make good scrapers for car windscreens and they are great for wall filler. :wink:

 

[speed]

thanks for the replies everyone,

i will scrape the thick off will save some elbow greese,

does the wax have to be furniture wax? i have some zymol car wax and its made of natural prooducts bananna and cocunut oil's etc

 

[Digit]

Like Blister I use thinners, for cleaning just about everything.

Roy.

 

[Andy Pullen]

WD40 works well too.

 

[ivan]

In some ways car wax is good - it's very hard when set. However it may contain silicones which you definitely don't want anywhere near a finish. A tiny spec causes fish eyes or cratering pock marks in the finish.

Ax sells carnuba flakes which is what makes car polish hard, so you can make your own. Make up a very thin cream with flakes and white spirit, very economical.

 

[speed]

hi guys thanks for all the replies

i have just spent the afternoon setting up the bandsaw and i used a block of wood to get the thick bits off then white spirit to get the rest off, i dried what i could using paper towels the ultra fine film will air dry tonight then i will se about applying a wax