Recommendations for oils and greases for metal lathe maintenance

[coolidge]

I have an industrial-quality drill press. In its manual, it says in part "Wax exposed cast iron parts with a good quality paste wax.

WARNING: Some paste waxes are water based and will instantly rust exposed cast iron, make sure it's petroleum based. I made that mistake once. Or just avoid waxes altogether as they can contaminate parts resulting in the dreaded fisheye when finishing.

I have also given up on Boeshield. Once a favorite of mine it failed me a number of times resulting in machines rusting so I'm done with it. It works great until it doesn't. Just seems to evaporate or break down and bam rust. Now I'm treating with STA-BIL Rust Stopper.

 

[cneuor]

WARNING: Some paste waxes are water based and will instantly rust exposed cast iron, make sure it's petroleum based. I made that mistake once. Or just avoid waxes altogether as they can contaminate parts resulting in the dreaded fisheye when finishing.

I have also given up on Boeshield. Once a favorite of mine it failed me a number of times resulting in machines rusting so I'm done with it. It works great until it doesn't. Just seems to evaporate or break down and bam rust. Now I'm treating with STA-BIL Rust Stopper.

Thank you, @coolidge . I did have a doubt about that part in my drill press manual.

 

[GeneT45]

I use Johnson Paste Wax on my drill press table. That worked - even in Oregon. I don't think I've re-waxed since moving to AZ. Exposed surfaces on mill, lathe, etc just get wiped with Vactra #2.

I have always purchased my oil from local distributors, in 5 gal. pails. I use enough that that's significantly cheaper than buying 1 gal. jugs (even if I could find them). And OMG has oil gotten more expensive in recent years!

@cneuor - you may be able to get a copy of the manual from PM (if it's not already on their web site) which will help you prepare.

GsT

 

[xr650rRider]

Precision Matthews webite has manual under "Manuals and Documents" in the lathe listing. The search function is a very handy feature. Most/all of your questions have been answered many times in the past.
https://www.precisionmatthews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PM-1022V-1030V-v5-2021-09.pdf

 

[ChazzC]

I use Johnson Paste Wax on my drill press table. That worked - even in Oregon. I don't think I've re-waxed since moving to AZ. Exposed surfaces on mill, lathe, etc just get wiped with Vactra #2.


GsT

I use "Original Formula" Johnson's (1 lbs. can has to be 20 years old, and will never run out) on my exposed CI & steel surfaces other than Mill & Lathe; usually remember to do so about once every 2 years. No issues in South Central PA basement, but I run a dehumidifier when necessary to maintain <60% RH.

I use Renaissance wax on fine tool surfaces; Renaissance also has a cleaner that works well on non-rusty tools prior to waxing.

 

[GeneT45]

I use "Original Formula" Johnson's (1 lbs. can has to be 20 years old, and will never run out) on my exposed CI & steel surfaces other than Mill & Lathe; usually remember to do so about once every 2 years. No issues in South Central PA basement, but I run a dehumidifier when necessary to maintain <60% RH.

I use Renaissance wax on fine tool surfaces; Renaissance also has a cleaner that works well on non-rusty tools prior to waxing.

I was disappointed in Ren Wax as a preservative when I lived in Oregon. I did some semi-rigorous rust-prevention testing and it faired surprisingly poorly.

GsT

 

[Aaron_W]

All I used at first was Vactra 2, I bought a gallon 5 or 6 years ago, and just recently bought another gallon because the first was running low. Don't bother with quarts as that just drives the cost up. With a small machine a gallon might last you a few years, but it won't go bad in that time.

Beyond that I've just bought lubricants as recommended for specific machines. I don't have a lot, some 20 and 30wt non-detergent motor oil for general lubrication, #10 spindle oil for two older lathes that called for that. Some gear oil safe for yellow metals (brass/bronze) for the gear box on one of my bandsaws.

Unless specifically called for grease is generally not recommended. In a metal shop, over time grease will become lapping paste wearing away moving parts.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

I forgot about that! I was looking at that "butt" myself back then when I was trying to figure out what it was saying, and I just copied and pasted that part from the manual PDF file

Thank you for the tip about the lubrication; good stuff!

Skip the waxing and butting and get a can of Boeshield T-9.

Dows the same thing much quicker.

 

[yota]

Vactra2 was recommended by a lot of machine manufacturers back in the day but the formula for Vactra2 changed years ago. they removed a lot of the tackifiers at the request of the large printing companies that were their biggest clients. a lot of machining companies have switched to Mobil Vacuoline 1409. I have both and the 1409 does seem to be better for the ways. not saying Vactra2 isn't good enough so don't go nuts, there are a lot of threads on this online.

 

[ChazzC]

Skip the waxing and butting and get a can of Boeshield T-9.

Dows the same thing much quicker.

I use T-9 on tools/tooling where wiping with a wax isn’t practical; however, Johnson’s Wax is orders of magnitude cheaper than T-9 and works well.