Remove Rust from Tool Tables with WD-40, Scotch-Brite, and Sandpaper 

I have an old Jet 14in. band saw that might be a bit older than yours, and the table top had considerably more surface rust on it as well. I started by removing the table, and the trunions, and submerging it in Evapo-Rust in a small plastic tub. I let it sit for about 26 hours. When I removed it from the tub, wiped it down with an old rag and running water as per the directions, it didn't have a single spot of rust on it. I quickly dried it with some old towels, and then waved my heat gun over it for a few minutes on each side just to make sure all the moisture was gone. Removing the rust revealed to me that the last time this saw had been dressed, whoever did it using a circular sander, and it has deep scratches that I am still working out. It's about half way there, and I hope to have it smooth in a day or three.

Hi J, I used your video to bring the new-to-me table saw back to life from neglect. I got amazing results just like you showed here. I recently bought another tool which could use the same treatment but I had forgotten which RU-vid video I used last time. Took me a while but I found it. Thanks again, and now I'm subscribed.

WD40 works great on rust. I used it to clean up my band saw. However, instead of using Glidecote, I used Johnson & Johnson paste wax on the iron surface. The wax provides very good protection for a very long time. In fact, I used the wax on the bed of my wood lathe and it has been rust free for over two years despite frequent use.

Dw40 and Scotchbright does work great. I used this technique on a 70 year old 8" Jointer. One thing I did differently, was to sand by hand with a freshly jointed block of hardwood on the infeed and outfeed tables and fence. It really doesn't take that much longer, but insures your not rounding edges or bellying the middle areas.

Awesome!! I must say I have watched umpteen videos on this topic and you have used the least amount of product AND applicators and best results!!! You win in my book!!!💪💯. THANK YOU!!

For your final buff use a damp to wet cloth and some neat cement, cheap and is what we always used on a site to clean metal tools , it doesn’t grain your metal it smooths it and keep the rust at bay for longer 👍

That worked beautifully! I came to your video looking for the best, most conservative, way to remove rust from my table saw top.

Tried this same method (without the sand paper, yet) prior to seeing this and it worked great on my old 113 table saw. WD40 works excellent.

Does the glide coat leave any residue on wood set on the plate? I’ve always, always used paste wax. At my old age, I don’t know if I can change

before you apply glidecoat wipe the table with denatured alcohol or mineral spirits to remove oil residue.

Thanks. I got a bandsaw cheap, but it needs cleanup. This was perfect.

One of the best I've seen. Everyone else has you making a salad Vinegar and oil.

At work we use a silicone lubricant spray. Makes your workpiece glide very well. I want to look into more of these sprays to see which is best

WOW!! and I though PB blaster worked. Ive been wasting my money. Honestly, I didn't think something so simple would be SO effective. Thank you so much for this :)

This is incredible! I’m totally doing this to my table saw top 😍

Wow! Thank you for this. I've got a table saw that has been mothballed for going on three years and circumstances have developed I'll get to bring it out of hiding soon! I put some protectant on the cast iron table before putting it into storage but I've been afraid to peek at it's effectiveness (or lack thereof). You made the reconditioning look easy so in the event that my saw needs some TLC, I'm dreading this chore a LOT less.

Put the scotch bright pad on a random orbital sander or buffer.....hook and loop holds it just fine....much faster and better.

PB Blaster Works super well also, glidecoat is fine just to leave on your saw you don't have to wipe it off just let it sit on it until you need to use it.

At first I thought that was a wooden table lol. Well done, thanks for the help brother :)

I have a drill press that can definitely use this tlc. Thanks for the demo!

Yeah, the table saw I just bought makes that thing look shiny new from the start, lol. I have the distinct feeling I'm going to be sanding a whole lot longer.

That is amazing results. Gonna try this on my table saw!

I'm not going to lie, I had no idea you could spray WD-40 with the straw still attached!!! I always removed it.

Thanks... Now I have a plan for restoring my shaper table. Wasn't sure which way I wanted to go, just needed to see some results first. Looks brand new. I have no idea what the people who gave this a dislike were expecting but they are out of touch with reality. I've done my share of restoration and this is honestly about as easy as it gets, just patience and very reasonable effort. I guess they wanted some miracle in a bottle. That someone else came and used for them. All that said, since it's a lay it on and leaving soak proposition, have you considered or tried naval jelly? (No, not THAT naval)... ;) It's pretty darned effective and no sanding or scrubbing (possibly a little scotch Brite work, maybe). It'll get all the way down, eventually and stays put better than a straight liquid. I have a gallon of WD and was about to go that route, when I remembered I have a bottle of NJ in the back of my solvent/paint locker. Think I'll give it a try and I'll let ya know. Still have to go get some Glide coat, though.

great job, Gonna buy that rust joiner and clean the table, thanks

Great video! I have a Powermatic 66 (USA model) that I will tune up and also a very heavily rusted floor standing belt drive Duro drill press that was in a relatives barn for years. It want to restore it because it still runs and is a beautiful piece of equipment.

Have you thought about the surface damage? The surface has lost it's flatnes quality. Or it's not critical?

Awesome video. I Am going to be doing exactly that. In Aus we have silverglide- which is essentially the same as glidecoat. Thank you!

Wow! The outcome was better than new..

Amazing 😍 thanks for this video my table that I just assembled a few days ago already has a bit of rush I gotta tame it ASAP

Holy crap it looks brand new!

Use some paint on the sides? It looks like it. Pretty slick looking.

How do you ensure the surface is still perfectly flat when using a sander ?

nice video thanks , what sand paper you use?

What a lovely job thanks from the UK

does the glide coat prevent rusting in a humid environment

I'm impressed. I'll be cleaning up my old table saw before I sell it.

looks really good, I've got an old Craftsman table saw to do, that is how I'm going to get it clean.

Holly Molly! Amazing, great job, thank you for sharing!

Great video! Can’t wait to try it on my table saw!

Nice job

I see it clearly says it works on a cast-iron surface, but I am curious to know if it also works on stainless steel? I have an espresso machine that has developed some rust on the backside and would like to remove it.

Thanks for the great video! My husband took the band saw out of our shed the other day and was so upset to see the rust all over the surface. Our son gave it to him, so he's pretty upset. We're going to try this tomorrow.

How long should I wait for the wd-40 to soak? Did he buff before applying the glide coat? Any videos recommended for buffing tool surfaces if he did? Any alternatives to a scotch brite pad if I want to conserve any marking or etching on a hand saw perhaps?

How does that glide coat affect the material being cut? Would it affect staining or sealing wood?

fabulous thanks so much

G'day what is Glidecoat? Is it a wax or polish as we cannot get it in Australia

Best and most practical video I've seen on this subject.👌🏻👍🏻

Will T-9 lubricant work as well as glide coat?

Interesting technique! Can't wait to try this.

Since when does cast-iron have a grain direction?

Not a huge fan of WD but, DAMN THAT LOOKS GOOD!

Awesome, nailed it! Thanks!

I have wet/dry sanding disc for my orbital sander, would this work the same? I dont have a flat sander.

Nice job!! Table looks brand new.

That sure works, thanks for sharing this tip.

No BS though, how long did you need to scrub it and how long with the sander? When I tried sanding it with WD on the table the paper went to shoot. 😉 Realistic time table? I've been scrubbing for hours on a badly rusted Facebook marketplace find

Nicely done

good clean, now use Waxolit for protection.

great work!

How long did you let the WD-40 soak before each step?

Not surprised that WD40 worked; WD40 was developed for just this purpose. WD stands for Water Displacement as a rust dissolver. Using WD40 as lubricant is incorrect; it will stop squeaks short term, but it leaves no lubricant behind. I would suggest 3 in 1 for lubrication.

Nice job!

Late to the party, but nice job on the cast iron top. Just curious to see if you have compared the Glide Cote to regular paste wax for longevity? Does one stave off rust better than others? I am in South Florida, and if I don't wax every two months, the rust starts creeping back in. Always looking for a better solution.

Very nice, great job!!!!

What type of Scotch-Brite pad are your using? What coarseness or item #?

Very impressive.

Well done! The table looks beautiful now 🙂

Holy sh*t! Unreal resultskis

That's bad ass!

is there anything to put on it to keep it from rerusting or does that glide stuff stop rust?

Next, what to do about that stain on your floor....

Great video and amazing results!! If I could give you 1,000 thumbs up I would. I subscribed and look forward to move of your videos.

Little bit of furniture wax will keep it from doing that and make things slide a little easier too…

The problem starts when you want to keep your machine accurate, as all those methods you showed are using abrasive materials.

Isn''t the scotch bright pad way less abrasive than the 220 grit sand paper? You could probably skip the hand scrubbing all together and just start with 120 on the palm sander, then 220, 320, 400 and 600. I read somewhere that a smooth surface is less likely to rust because of the smaller surface area, but too smooth and your wax/glide coat wont stay on.

Soapy water does the same

Verekkes mooi man!

Nice

Wow!

open your bin, throw WD40 in it and buy Ballistol

"Going with the grain" What grain? It's cast iron.

Mother.........

Super lube is much Better"

That’s not rust that’s neglect

wd40 is not a penetrant