Paging junquecol - Parafin/DNA Spray

[SteveColes]

A long time ago you told me about dissolving paraffin in, I think, DNA to make an anti-rust and slick surface spray for table saws, etc. Do I have that right, or was it Naptha and either way what were the proportions?

Thanks

 

[Howard Acheson]

Paraffin is a petroleum product so naphtha or mineral spirits would be the solvent. Alcohol would probably not dissolve it.

That said, I'm not sure that thinned paraffin would make much of a cast iron water protecting product. It does not rub out well and has little water or water vapor resistance.

Wood Magazine tested cast iron protecturants a few years ago and the only one that provided more than overnight protection was Boeshield T9. All the others, including furniture paste waxes like Johnson and Minwax, had little or no affect in preventing rust.

 

[Mike Camp]

I've got the thread bookmarked. Mineral Spirits and Paraffin.

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=40637

 

[Tarhead]

Paraffin is a petroleum product so naphtha or mineral spirits would be the solvent. Alcohol would probably not dissolve it.

That said, I'm not sure that thinned paraffin would make much of a cast iron water protecting product. It does not rub out well and has little water or water vapor resistance.

Wood Magazine tested cast iron protecturants a few years ago and the only one that provided more than overnight protection was Boeshield T9. All the others, including furniture paste waxes like Johnson and Minwax, had little or no affect in preventing rust.

Howard you (and anyone else) are welcome to visit my shop and inspect my Cast Iron surfaces. I have used Bruce's recipie of half block of Paraffin grated and dissolved in MS and sprayed on my Cast Iron surfaces ~ monthly for the past 5 years. I allow it to dry overnight and buff with a cotton Tee-shirt the next morning. This in an shop which is unconditioned 5 days/week year round with plenty of times when the Cast Iron is below the Dew Point. I have had one spot of rust occur. This was the result of an overhead door being opened after a storm. It dripped one drop of water on my OSS table which was not caught.

Now if you drip water routinely on your Cast Iron the only protection I know which will absotively work is a sheet of plastic. The Paraffin works for me for occaisional light condensation and the price is right too.

 

[SteveColes]

I guess Bruce isn't going to respond:slap::gar-Bi, so thank you Mark. You say 1/2 block, but about how much MS?

Howard, this may be one of those few times you off, or least Wood Magazine is :gar-Bi I don't mean that I had the solvent wrong, clearly you are correct there. I suspect that there is no "correct" answer to the best protector. Rather it is a a question of what works best for one's self.

For instance, I used to use Boshield & related items, but none of them really worked the way I thought they should. They seemed to be ok with some water, but a single drop of sweat not wiped up immediately, left a rust spot by morning. And this in a shop that has both heat and air conditioning and is kept at about 70 deg all year around.

After asking around, I started using Staples "Crystal Clear" paste wax (From Woodcraft), which worked very well for me. I stuck with that. Bruce had mentioned his home made spray at a TWA meeting, but I was happy with my paste wax.

Then at a NCWW picnic, he gave me and some others blocks of paraffin and said to just rub the paraffin directly from block to metal and rub in and rub out. I tried it and it worked great except it was a lot more work than I wanted.

So it is time for me put a coating on something on my equipment, and I thought I'd try the spray method, since I already knew the paraffin worked for me.

So bottom line, the Paste wax and the paraffin both do the job for me. Of course, to be fair, my environment is not a challenge, just my sweat:rotflm:. So the only question is which is easier and faster to apply?

Oh, btw, other paste waxes I tried didn't do a very good job, just this stuff from woodcraft.:icon_scra

 

[Tarhead]

Steve,
I use a 16oz spray bottle filled about 2/3rds full of MS. Keep it warm or it will solidify.

 

[tryingtokeepmyfingers]

I am going to make me a bottle

 

[Tarhead]

I am going to make me a bottle

It's in the Canning/Freezing/Aluminum Foil/Ziplock section of the grocery store. I got mine at Wally World and also got my spray bottle in the Cleaning/Mops section. The other recycled spray bottles I tried didn't put down a heavy enough coat and clogged easily.