top-cote vs wax

Forum for people who are new to woodworking. Feel free to ask questions or contribute.

Moderator: admin

User avatar
Ed in Tampa
Platinum Member
Posts: 5834
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2006 12:45 am
Location: North Tampa Bay area Florida

Post by Ed in Tampa »

drewa wrote:If you check out the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet), which by the why you can request from any company their MSDS on the product in question. But I am should other than you catching yourself on fire from the butane and propane, you pretty safe with the Topcote product.

Be good,

Drew Achtermann

Drew
Thanks for the info, I hope you know I was being a little silly when I made that comment. :D
Ed
charlese
Platinum Member
Posts: 7501
Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:46 pm
Location: Lancaster, CA

Post by charlese »

drewa wrote:If you read the ingredients of Top Cote it is nothing more than:...
So, they are two versions of the same thing. Wax. One is in an aerosol and the other a paste. In my judgment they could be used interchangeably.

That should shed some light onto the confusion. Now it is a question of how you choose to apply you wax, with elbow grease or spraying...

Be good,

Drew Achtermann
At my age, I appreciate any grease I can get into my elbows and other joints! Also, I understand exercise is good for the joints. O.K. this keeps me in the paste wax corner!:D
Octogenarian's have an earned right to be a curmudgeon.
Chuck in Lancaster, CA
User avatar
drewa
Gold Member
Posts: 96
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:24 pm
Location: Ohio

Post by drewa »

Here is the MSDS for Topcote, ([ATTACH]571[/ATTACH]) for any of you who are interested. It looks like an open flame is a bad idea.

Be good,

Drew Achtermann
Attachments
v205801.pdf
(75.38 KiB) Downloaded 1985 times
"When one has finished building one's house, one suddenly realizes that in the process one has learned something that one really needed to know in the worst way - before one began."

[INDENT][/INDENT]Friedrich Nietzsche
User avatar
reible
Platinum Member
Posts: 11283
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:08 pm
Location: Aurora, IL

Post by reible »

Ed

"On things that don't have a wear factor and I don't want to rust I usually coat them in Penetrol by Flood products. It is a paint additive that is fantastic just painted on bare metal. I is almost plastic like and nothing I have painted with the product has rusted. I know many old timers used the product to coat their cast iron table saw tables with it. My neighbor uses it on his raw steel lathe way tubes."

I went to the local Ace Hardware and with the help of the friendly ace guy I found a can of the Penetrol. At $12 a quart I hope it goes a long way! Anyway I'd like to give it a try... any hints or cautions?

Ed
{Knight of the Shopsmith} [Hero's don't wear capes, they wear dog tags]
User avatar
Ed in Tampa
Platinum Member
Posts: 5834
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2006 12:45 am
Location: North Tampa Bay area Florida

Post by Ed in Tampa »

reible wrote:Ed

"On things that don't have a wear factor and I don't want to rust I usually coat them in Penetrol by Flood products. It is a paint additive that is fantastic just painted on bare metal. I is almost plastic like and nothing I have painted with the product has rusted. I know many old timers used the product to coat their cast iron table saw tables with it. My neighbor uses it on his raw steel lathe way tubes."

I went to the local Ace Hardware and with the help of the friendly ace guy I found a can of the Penetrol. At $12 a quart I hope it goes a long way! Anyway I'd like to give it a try... any hints or cautions?

Ed

I got mine at Home Depot (cheaper that $12 but it had to be 8 or 9 years ago) and I have painted every hand tool, axe, hammer, pliers, wenches, etc that I could find to paint and I don't think I made a dent in my can. Plus I have coated the bottom rails of my shopsmith and my Sears Radial Arm saw. I even had some test patches on the outside unit of my air conditioner. It lasted over 5 years with no effect from sun or rain. I had to replace the unit when the compressor seized ( no fault of the penetrol) so I can't say how long it would have lasted.

Try painting it on and you will see how it dries. It puts a coating on that almost isn't a coating it is hard to explain.

Let me know how it turns out for you. The old timer that told me about the stuff in the first place, swears it is the perfect coating for cast iron saw tables but so far I resisted appling it to my joint/bandsaw tables. If you read the can they mention it is used for protecting metal from rust and corrosion.
Ed
User avatar
cincinnati
Platinum Member
Posts: 1172
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2007 6:40 pm
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

Post by cincinnati »

Back in the early 1990's I had the opportunity to meet the president of ShopSmith at a demo in a local shopping mall. A small group of us got on this very subject with him. He said to use paste wax. That the spray on stuff did not hold up well. One of us in the group asked "Then why do you include the spay on stuff in the tune up kit?" He said they had to fill the box with something LOL!!! Went on to say paste wax was the best but they did not have a good source to buy it wholesale because of the low volume they would be able to purchase.
Like I said this was many years ago so Shopsmith opinion may have changed.
57chevy
Bronze Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2007 8:36 pm
Location: Huntsville, Alabama

Post by 57chevy »

Hello Guys.

I'm new to the forum, just purchased a 1978 MK5 and brought it home.

The old gal looks pretty good except for some surface rust on the unpainted surfaces, and some aluminum dust on the fences.

Sounds like I need to buy some paste wax, but before I do, what does everybody recommend to remove the surface rust ? I don't want to get too aggressive.

Don
charlese
Platinum Member
Posts: 7501
Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:46 pm
Location: Lancaster, CA

Post by charlese »

Hi there Don - Welcome to the Forum!
When it comes to rust - there has been quite a few discussions and recommendations on this forum. Just lately, some of them seem pretty good. Here's how you find many comments about rust; Go to the "Search" word on the red line, located at the top of any page & CLICK! Type in the word rust. That;s all there is to it!
Octogenarian's have an earned right to be a curmudgeon.
Chuck in Lancaster, CA
57chevy
Bronze Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2007 8:36 pm
Location: Huntsville, Alabama

Post by 57chevy »

Thanks Chuck,

Typical newbie question. I hadn't moved into the more advanced sections when I posted my question. I've always wanted a ShopSmith since the commercials I watched in the 70s. Now that I have one, I want to keep it as nice as possible.

Don
charlese
Platinum Member
Posts: 7501
Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:46 pm
Location: Lancaster, CA

Post by charlese »

57chevy wrote:Thanks Chuck,

Typical newbie question. I hadn't moved into the more advanced sections when I posted my question. I've always wanted a ShopSmith since the commercials I watched in the 70s. Now that I have one, I want to keep it as nice as possible.

Don
You betcha! Happy New Year!
Octogenarian's have an earned right to be a curmudgeon.
Chuck in Lancaster, CA
Post Reply