Best tool protection wax - Test

[JOEPRO]

Heard of people on here using Bees Wax to protect tools. And also the small cans of Tool Protection Wax by Axminster.

Which one is best?

I took a scrap box section off cut which had rust and wire wheeled it clean. Wiped with acetone and then applied small areas of both products with separate clean rags.

This is just a basic test so don't give me grief please!

I'll set it outside my garage wall where it will get some rain but not fully exposed and report back in 24 hours then for a few days after and see which of the 2x waxes seem to protect the mild steel from flash rusting the longest.

 

[awemawson]

In the past I've bought the green bricks of the proper stuff (Crocel) from MSC and melted it in a deep fat fryer. Now I've have a proper Crocel pot, but in all honesty the deep fat fryer was percectly satifactory.

If you are lookng for outside storage for steel (rather than tools) then Shell Ensis is the stuff to shoot for

 

[MattF]

If you are lookng for outside storage for steel (rather than tools) then Shell Ensis is the stuff to shoot for

I believe the items being placed outside is just to accelerate the conditions. They're usually used for coating workshop iron in general use, so it's to protect against damp/cold workshops etc.

 

[JOEPRO]

I believe the items being placed outside is just to accelerate the conditions. They're usually used for coating workshop iron in general use, so it's to protect against damp/cold workshops etc.

Yes that's exactly it. Just want to see what protection these waxes can impart to the metal so by placing outside where they will catch only light rain results should be visible in a matter of days.

 

[brightspark]

Yes that's exactly it. Just want to see what protection these waxes can impart to the metal so by placing outside where they will catch only light rain results should be visible in a matter of days.

both probably about the same .anything that stops oxygen slows down the rust process

 

[JOEPRO]

both probably about the same .anything that stops oxygen slows down the rust process

The bee wax is 5x times cheaper than the tool wax so if they are about the same performance wise then Bee wax would be my choice. The large tin will last many years. The Tool wax is a very small can and expensive for what it is.

 

[jack-daniels]

Axminster also do a "Tool and Machine Wax"

Much better value at £13.88 for 400g instead of £3.34 for 20g

Axminster Workshop Tool and Machine Wax - 400g

Machine Wax greatly reduces friction between timber and the surface of machine tables or hand tools. This makes processing much smoother and results in an increase in the quality of the machined surface. Machine wax is silicone free, apply sparingly to...

www.axminstertools.com

 

[Turbo]

Cheaper to make your own beeswax polish, basic ingredients are pure beeswax, boiled linseed oil & white spirit. If you want it to smell nice replace the white spirit with turpentine. For added lusture add graphite powder.

To make a thinner or thicker wax adjust the quantity of white spirit.

Got this recipe from a member on here, maybe @MattF ?

The recipe for the graphite paste:

1oz beeswax

30ml gum/pure turpentine (2 tablespoons)

60ml linseed oil (4 tablespoons)

3 rounded tablespoons of graphite powder


Mixing method:

Mix the linseed oil, gum turpentine and graphite powder in a jar, then add the beeswax. Fill a saucepan roughly half full with water, (just make sure the water level is not high enough to flood over the lip of the jar when you put the jar in there), then put the jar containing the ingredients into the water and set that pan off to simmer on the cooker/stove. Mix the paste occasionally as the wax melts. It will eventually turn completely liquid, so give it a good stir once it does and then remove the jar from the saucepan of water and stand it to one side to air cool. Once you notice the top starting to skin over, give it one last thorough stir to stir up the graphite powder and then leave it to harden fully.



Leave the top on the jar when you are not stirring. Do not tighten the lid down fully until after that final stir, but keep it loosely on there as much as possible. It will prevent the turpentine evaporating.

 

[Ross365]

In accelerated tests of paints they actually use a spray of water with a tiny bit of salt in it. If it turns out that you need to accelerate your tests, you might consider immersing a test piece is salt water, maybe just for 10 or 15 minutes, then give it a damn good rinse before the rest of your test.

I've used Bee's wax on some things, but never set up a comparison test.

 

[northwest]

Lanolin is the best stuff to coat machine tools with I am led to believe. A tub of it from ebay is not an out of sight price either. (last time I bought some anyway).

lanolin for sale | eBay

Find great deals on eBay for lanolin. Shop with confidence.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[MattF]

I've generally stopped using Linseed oil in the mix nowadays. It does give it slightly better protection, but just beeswax & graphite powder seem to give a good enough mix for general use. If it was for anything external, I'd probably still use Linseed in the mix. For woodworking equipment, just straight beeswax, so that the graphite isn't contaminating the wood.

 

[northwest]

In the past I've bought the green bricks of the proper stuff (Crocel) from MSC and melted it in a deep fat fryer. Now I've have a proper Crocel pot, but in all honesty the deep fat fryer was percectly satifactory.

And one tenth of the price I would wager, Bloody hell, nearly fell out of bed when I saw the price of these!

 

[MickeyW]

When I did by toolmakers apprenticeship many years ago we used Shell Ensis fluid a lot. You could leave steel parts out in the rain for months without worry of them rusting.
These says I use Ankor wax from Morris lubricants on infrequently used machine tools in my garage to protect them from the winter damp. It's pretty thick unless warmed up but I apply it with a paint brush and it immediately thins and spreads. I use it on the lathe chuck and saddle, also on the mill, angles plates that are tucked away under the bench and so on. You do need to clean it off with WD40 and rag before use otherwise you'll get really mucky hands , but this is far preferable to everything going rusty.
An alternate idea I've seen many of the YouTube blacksmiths use is to wipe their freshly forged and still hot items with boiled linseed oil.

 

[awemawson]

I have a hand pump bottle of beeswax dissolved in genuine turpentine for woodworking tools, smells lovely !
I have a hand pump bottle of Shell Ensis let down with white spirit on the bench for new fabrications
i have a hand pump bottle of Lanolin for bits of the JCB after I steam clean it

. . . Then I use Crocel hot dip on newly ground lathe & milling machine tools


. . .is that a sufficient selection? No!
as there is the ubiquitous WD40 on the bench as well !

 

[mtt.tr]

Rag stuffed in a can filled with wd40 or 3in1

Paul sellers has become known as the creator but it's as old as time, my master I apprenticed to had one at least.

 

[Erie Fred]

Fluid film was getting very popular around here about 10 years ago.

People were spraying under their vehicles with it, some still do it.

I was in one parts store, they had it in gallons, 5 gallon buckets, and 55 gallon drums.
Said he stocked 900 drums of it.....

IMHO it has it's place but washes off the underside of a car too easily.
Steel parts in a shop for storage might be just fine, but it does attract dirt
pretty badly (stays sticky)

 

[brightspark]

supertrol is good stuff

 

[arian]

Way back (2007!), I bought some Rocol Z30 from Cromwell. It was good stuff, but about £10 then, and now £38 for a 300ml aerosol


Edit: According to the Bank of England (and they're never wrong, are they?) £10 in 2007 is about £16 now.

 

[cheb]

I'm currently using Ronseal brushable wax, it was free and therefore is excellent value for money.

 

[tom2207]

ACF50.

works a treat and smells nice.