Rust issue in shop

[TAJ45]

Not a solution but a step in the right direction: Run a fan as suggested, 24/7.
I lived below Chas SC for years. Mill and lathe in one bay of o'size 2 car garage. Humidity as you can well imagine being 200 yds from a major tributary. A box fan on low to med greatly slowed the inevitable.
On some of your items, it looks also be a bit of body acid from your fingers adding to the main humidity problem.

 

[Coonman300]

Just a thought...years ago as 16 yr old kid my reloading setup was in an attached storage room at my parents house. No AC at all in the storage room and this is in Alabama-hot and muggy. Worked fine for years. Then one day I put several salt lick blocks in there until I had time to put them out for deer. Fast forward a month or two and every damn thing in there had a light coat of rust. By any chance could something like that be part of the problem??

 

[Cecil S.]

Dehumidifier and a small heat source?

 

[Liven The Dream]

Two cents from days past.
I worked in a Machine Shop years ago . My old friend Freddie turned every Machine He worked on to a Rust Station ?
In that case His sweat from His hands did it . This was also in the Chicago Area in Summer more so .

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Hornady one shot cleaner prevents rust.

 

[Loudcherokee]

Here is the air conditioner unit. There are two of these, in the middle of the building, each facing a different direction.

I'm thinking the skin acids may be a correct comment. I will also move a fan out there to try and move some air around.

I'll give the one shot a try since I already have it before moving on to other stuff. I'll also probably start wearing gloves when handling my dies and stuff.

LC

LC

 

[ebb]

If that's all the rust you've got you are one lucky SOB. In south Florida that wouldn't even be worth mentioning. One of the best products ive used on my shop equipment is called Top Coat. Keeps the table saw top pretty well rust free for a couple of weeks. Johnson's paste wax works too.

 

[AJC]

Daily use is different than storage. If I am done with dies or any other piece of gear that will not be used very soon I use the new wd-40 rust blocker or for long term storage shoot motorcycle chain wax on it. This is what my dad did on his lathe ways and mill.

 

[dgeesaman]

Not sure where in Tenn you are but if you weather is anything like upstate SC the most likely culprit is temperature/humidity fluctuations. In particular, cooler days when no heat is running and then a warm humid front comes in and that air hits the cold metal and condenses.

Your AC units dehumidify the air by design. The best solution is to use the heat and AC to limit the temperature swings.

To that end, I wonder if old pillow cases over each press would help slow the heating and cooling of the press itself.

I like the idea of the paste waxes because oil attracts dirt. Or any dry rust blocking product.

On a related note the ac air often does not mix well or gets dumped in one spot. Our CMM granite table at work “warped” by .0005” from a poorly placed AC outlet. Look to see how the outlets are placed and consider building a deflector plate to diffuse the outlet flow if it’s dumping on the reloading bench.

David

 

[2506]

As has been said "run a box fan 24/7". I run two box fans on medium in my basement where I was having moisture issues causing rust and damp smell and they cleared up both.

 

[Gappmast]

Be careful of the chemicals you have in the shop like paint remover I found out the hard way they can cause rust.

 

[praveen]

I had that happen to my hornady stuff as well so I used some CorrosionX on a rag and most of the rust could be just rubbed off. Rest of it was gone with a steel wool. Now I just keep them lightly oiled when not using.

 

[NorCalMikie]

Skin acid?? CLEANED my .221 Fireball and put it back in it's soft case. Pulled it out a month or so later and BIG rusty hand print on the barrel where I grabbed it to pull it out of the case. Another case of TOO CLEAN.
When the oil is dripping off the parts, you're getting close.

 

[okie]

Chalaki, rust gets all of my stuff--hate it but we dont live out west. The dehumidifiers work really well, are cheap and do not cost much to run. Crazy how much water they pull out.
good luck! chukfi,part chata from oklahumma

 

[Roeder]

Good advice to use a rust preventative or paste wax. Get yourself a device that reads humidity such as an inexpensive weather station, then use whatever means necessary to lower the humidity to 45% or less. If you can't do that, spray the rust preventative frequently and treat anything steel like dies and tools before storing.

 

[Daddymac]

Some things are just going to rust, and it doesn't have to be much moisture depending on the chemistry of the metal. A cleaner/lubricant that displaces moisture is a good start, and as others have stated dry the air.

I think your A/C units need to be on a thermostat and cycle on and off all day to maintain a constant temperature, having them on a timer and shutting down completely could cause a quick swing in temp from cold to warm that can cause condensation.

 

[Benchrest Braxton]

as soon as i receive any sort of reloading item, it gets cleaned and soaked in rem oil. after that i never use any equipment bare handed, always with nitrile gloves. on top of that i run a dehumidifier around 40% with the temp around 67-70 at all times.

i have lots of bare steel parts, like the le wilson case gauges, case holders, etc and not one spec of rust for about 2 years now.

 

[dakor]

Apply some CorrosionX spray and leave a light film on there. I use it on saltwater fishing reels and it stops the rust better than anything I have seen

 

[SeabeeKen]

Apply some CorrosionX spray and leave a light film on there. I use it on saltwater fishing reels and it stops the rust better than anything I have seen

^^^ corrosion x stops corrosion and will remove light rust. I use ot on guns and reloading equip. Good gun cleaner also. Very slick stuff too

 

[dfrosch]

Thread resurrection just in time for Easter.