Shopsmith Forums

I haven't been on for quite some time. I hope all is well with everyone. I have had other drivers as of late and hopefully will be getting back to my shop within a few months.

I had read an article in one of the woodworking magazines that camellia oil is the best coating to prevent rust on tools. The author indicated that he compared several lubricants and found the camellia oil to provide the best protection. I have 2 questions.

First, does anyone in this community agree or disagree and why? (I know everyone has an opinion but I'm looking for experience in this area.)

Second, I went to a few sites to find and price it. Price varied from about $9 to $27 for 8 oz. and the color varied from clear, amber, light green, to dark green. I'm not sure if color is really the container or the oil. Does anyone have experience in this area and can comment on price/value and color?

Any help would be appreciated as usual.

all I know is that it smells good and supposed to prevent wrinkles.
Bing came up with "pure oils" for 16.97 per pint. Smaller quantities available.
Here's that link. OIL

If it doesn't work, consider moving out here to AZ.

Fine Woodworking Aug 2012 has an article on Rust Protection. Much to my chagrin, Camellia Oil and Johnson's Paste Wax did not perform as well as other products compared.

Camellia oil was actually labelled a marginal performer.
Johnson's paste wax rated good as a lubricant, "...don't offer much protection against rust."

FWW tried the products on A2 tool steel and cast iron. CRC 3-36, WD-40, and LPS 3 looked to be the best performers on both metals.

CRC 3-36 was rated Best Overall. They also included other methods for rust prevention: dehumidifier, VCI (volatile corrosion inhibitors), desiccants, and some Drylok paint for sealing walls. They suggested sealing floors too.

For those of you who use desiccants, when they turn pink, you can still them in a low temp over and restore the desiccant to blue color. A friend of mine sent me a box of small desiccant packages- about 10,000 (very small packages) and I simply keep a few in each drawer of my tool box.

I've been using camellia oil on my expensive knives. Well, no more. Anyone have experience with CRC 3-36?

I have used used lamp oil with paraffin in it and it works well. I have also used the following product:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page ... te=ROCKLER
it has worked very well also to keep my table saw rust free.