Rust Reduction

This is definitely a work in progress.

Sitting in an un-airconditioned garage in hot and humid Florida, lots of surface rust has built up over the years. I've seen things rusted much worse, but it would be nice to get the top cleaner than it is.

I've gotten some of the rust off with WD-40 and an orbital sander with 400 grit wet/dry paper, and cleaned off the oil with naptha then applied paste wax (all steps found on the internet). Looks a little less rusty now, and if I do it again in a few months it might get even better. Or maybe I'll design a table saw scrubbing robot :-).

I've looked up a couple of things in the rust front: Rust-Oleum makes a gel you can smear on that is horribly toxic and needs huge ventilation, but apparently works well. Evapo-Rust says you can leave a paper towel saturated with it on a flat surface and cover it with plastic wrap so it doesn't dry up. I may try that before getting the hazmat suit out :-).

I've also seen videos with vinegar rather than WD-40, and Scotch-Brite pads stuck to the face of a sander, (but that sprays everywhere, so some sort of screen around the table top is advisable).

What I really need is for someone in South Florida to start up a mobile laser rust removal service and bring one of those 1000 megawatt rust removal lasers to my garage (yes, I've been watching Edd China videos :-).

See my other Craftsman 113 projects.