What do you use to protect your tools?

[Bob Korves]

Use this if you can stand waxy, nasty goop...

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The black stuff, used by the U.S. military for decades.
Tried and tested. Keeps your clothing and work benches colored to match... ;-)

 

[woodchucker]

I keep the shop at 68 it's probably the best medicine..

I would think the worst time for you is:

1. when it's cold and warms up quickly (condensation occurs)
2. when the equipment is cold and you touch it.
3. when it gets real humid (the hardest to control) air conditioning is best.

wax... I use wax on my woodworking tools to keep the tables from rusting. Butchers wax, johnson's etc.
I just started using fluid film on the recommendation from someone here. They recommended it for my pin gauges, and then I saw project farm do a test of it on his channel... impressive. And it's very light, and lanolin....

If you have a tool cabinet with good stuff, a heating element, or old incandescent bulb keeps things warm and dry.
I keep kitty litter in some of my drawers. I have some hand planes and fine saws that it seems to work well for. Also I should try the fluid film, I have been using 3 in 1 on them. It's been working, but curious about the fluid film.

I think your mini split is going to be your #1 weapon against rust. Does your unit have a humidity option? All the other options will be secondary in nature. Just keep temp changes out of the equation, and humidity. The others will just help.

 

[Dabbler]

I live in a dry climate with a shop that I keep about 40F at winter. We still get a fair amount of rust here, due to periodic warm winds containing moisture, and widely varying temperatures (as much as 70 degrees farenheit in one day).

You are already keeping your shop above the normal dew point, but the dew point can climb due to changes in barometric pressure.
Running a cheap dehumidifier in a garage sized space seems to help a lot.
Keeping air moving with an inexpensive fan will help exposed metal from retaining moisture. it is the duration, not the formation of moisture that causes rust.
Some guys here put all the really vulnerable tools in a single tool box, and run a 60 watt bulb underneath it, which seems to prevent most rust.

 

[projectnut]

Several manufacturers make VCI (Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor) paper. Any tools I've bought new over the last 10 years come wrapped in it. I save it and put it in the bottom of the tool drawers that are used for instruments and delicate measuring tools. You can buy it online. McMaster sells it by the sheet or the roll. 100 sheets 12"x 12" cost about $20.00 more or less depending on the spec. Rolls are 100' long and come in either a 12" or a 36" width. They're a bit more expensive at between $45.00 and $125.00 per roll.

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

 

[Weldingrod1]

Camphor is a decent vapor corrosion inhibitor and smells nice too
Indian groceries sell blocks of it.
The actual wood works too.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[Cadillac]

I second fluid film. I have one towel I use to apply. That towel stays folded up and is pretty much saturated in the FF. When I’m done with tooling I give a quick wipe down and put away. I have tools in cabinets and out in the open.
I have a heater set to 55* all the time when I am in the shop which is always I turn the heat up to 65*. Shop is insulated. Only time I worry is spring time when everything warms up. What I’ve done for the past couple of years is have a fan circulating the air 247. Haven’t had any rust problems since. Fluid film works good!

 

[Aaron_W]

A fan to circulate air does a lot of good and is cheap. Moving air wreaks havoc with moistures ability to cause mischief. It dries the air and mixes up the thermal layers both of which help to prevent condensation. They use giant fans in orchards to help prevent frost damage, based on the same idea.

 

[francist]

Use this if you can stand waxy, nasty goop...

Wow, I didn't realize one could actually still get that. I thought it was just one of those old terms that people kept using regardless if the product was still around. And, they ship to Canada even -- I'm tempted to buy some just to have the experience.

-f

 

[extropic]

I use LPS 1 on precision tools. LPS 3 is intended more for long term storage or a very moist environment. It's produces a thick tacky film. I don't expect you want that on precision tools in regular use.

 

[pacifica]

My shop is dry, no humidity. I have storage for my tools. But I continue to deal with staining/corrosion on instruments over time. In the past, I've used whatever was on hand but nothing with detergents. Right now it has been light machine oil. It works o.k. for some tools, but not so good for instruments. The main reasons I'm no longer happy with this practice is that it leaves a residue, picks up dust and requires frequent handling and re-oiling to where I'm satisfied that it can sit until I pick it up again.

Maybe I'm just being picky, but I think the real problem is I don't know what I'm doing and that is what is causing the problem.

Talking with a fly fisherman yesterday and he swears by Renaissance Wax for preserving fly hooks, reel parts, etc. When I research online, it seems to be popular with gun enthusiasts as well. Any experience with Renaissance Wax here? What do you think?

Or better yet, what do you use to protect your tools?

It's a bit of a tricky question:
paste wax or wd-40 or kerosene or dry lube then lightly wipe off for tools you use a lot and don't want a film
Boe-shield for tools that a light film is ok
lps-3, fluid film or lanolin with a medium heavy film
cosmoline for a heavy film
Usually the heavier the film better the protection.
also you can convert the surface with phosphoric acid and then spray on vht sp229 rust convertor for a lacquer like build finish.
I use all the above except for cosmoline and wipe off tools with a rag soaked in lps-3 before I put away.

Also you can shine,clean and blue steel. Then use any of the above.