Shopsmith Forums

I've been searching here for an answer, I just can't find it, so apologies for asking a simple question. I have a SS 500, and the aluminum table top has a lot of oxidation. I bought it a month ago, and I'm working thru cleanup and adjusting. What's the best way to clean the oxidation off and protect the surface of the saw top? Thanks in advance.

Mine had some (not lots) oxidation and I block sanded it with fine (so as not to make it wavy) wet-or-dry sandpaper then waxed it with paste wax. Any furniture paste wax is fine (avoid auto waxes because a lot of them contain silicone).

I agree with HopefulSSer, only I went a little more aggressive, starting with 60 grit. I had drawn red magic marker guide lines on my table, and then covered with polyurethane varnish to keep lines from wearing off. Bad idea. The flat sanding block is the key. The wider (11") the better. Sand front to back. Resist the urge to "go after" the low spots. Sand the high spots until the low spots are reached. Then use finer grits until all scratches from previous grits disappear. I did the same thing to a second table I purchased recently which had oxidation and some scratches.

I worked on a ‘54 Greenie restoration a few years back, and I really wanted to do a good job on the table, as I was going for a “showroom new” restoration (or at least a reasonable facsimile!)

Being 65+ years old at the time, the table was pretty grimy and oxidized, but not deeply corroded, stained, or scratched. So, I started with a 100-grit sanding pad (for a little extra efficiency, put it under an electric orbital sander), followed by some lighter steel wool. I wanted to maintain the original finish machining marks in the table surface, so I followed the path of those as much as possible. To get it to really shine at the end, I used Blue Magic Metal Polish (available on Amazon). Sorry I don’t have a before pic, but here’s the result:
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