Removing Shipping Oil

John Hasler said:
I agree that oily rags are a fire hazard but they are not a spontaneous combustion hazard unless the oil involved is linseed oil (or possiblly tung oil). Petroleum does not spontaneously combust.
Click to expand...

Welding sparks can start combustion in practically any unattended material. The floor stays uncluttered. Contaminated rags go in the small enclosed bin. Metal shavings (usually, oil soaked) from the drill press get put in with the metal bits for reclamation. Packing foam goes in the covered trash can. Paper waste goes in the next room for starting fires in the wood stove. Sawdust gets swept up and dumped outside right after the saw is put away.

All welding/hot activities are stopped at least 1/2 hour before closing up.

I'm lucky that the light switches are at opposite ends of the building. I get a nice walk-thru with the eyes, ears and nose checking everything while shutting down for the night.

I am most certainly not OCD. But I will not lose my barn/shop to my own negligence/stupidity.
 
That stuff must have some wax in it to. It is a mess to remove but when it works it does protect. If you don't have a metal storage container for the rags use a outdoor clothes line so they will dry out.

We think we used some really heavy oil when we mothballed our apprentice training shop equipment. We brushed it on all the metal surfaces the last day we were employed. That was a sad day
 
I use low odor mineral spirit paint thinner. For parts you can take off or the ones that come loose, I pour a little (couple ounces) in a cake pan and use a 1 or 2 inch chip brush. It cleans them very well and doesn't use up a lot of rags or paper towels. As I clean each part, I set it aside on a shop rag to dry.
 
Franko said:
... I pour a little (couple ounces) in a cake pan and use a 1 or 2 inch chip brush. ...
Click to expand...

Consider your suggestion taken totally to heart!

That'll save a ton of rags and constantly tipping the can.

Thanks
 
It works very slick, Mike. You don't even have to wipe the parts off.

Another trick with a baking pan for when you want a solvent soaked rag is to fold it into quarters, lay it in the pan and pour a little solvent on it. Squeeze it out over the pan. No dripping.
 
personally i like to use-
mineral spirits, kerosene, lacquer thinner, MEK, diesel fuel, WD40,PB Blaster, light mineral oil and 1,1,1 Trichloroethane (good luck in finding the latter)
lint free rags will save time too!
good luck!
 
Mike, is that a mixture or just one at a time? :grin:
 
Thanks for the tips!

Part I done last evening:
  • Restocked the beer
  • Opened the front and back barn doors
  • Poured .15" mineral spirits into a clean-ish oil drain pan
  • 1 rag in the pan
  • Washed all of the loose pieces: wrenches, T-nuts, tool holders, the 4-jaw chuck, threading gears, etc., ad nausium.
  • Used 2 rags to wipe off the remnants.
  • Pix of the process
  • All pieces freshly oiled with 10W-40 (I could've sworn I had some non-detergent on the shelf! Gotta pick up some light machine oil on the ride home tonight)
  • All oiled parts in clean, closed containers.
  • Leftover contaminated mineral spirits dumped into the waste oil container
  • Rags in their closed bin
  • Buttoned up the shop around 8:00.
  • Realized at 9:00... I left my iPad sitting next to the lathe.

Just a personal note on cleaners & thinners; Anything that has commas in its name is banned from my shop. Brake cleaner used to contain some chemicals that when exposed to an electric arc would break down into some really nasty neurotoxins.
I made it a policy to only use a few items for cleaning metal: kerosene, mineral spirits or acetone; depending on what the next step will be:
  • Kerosene for things going back in the tool box.
  • Mineral spirits for items getting re-coated (oil, paint, etc.).
  • Acetone to get rid of anything left on the surface prior to welding.
It keeps things simple.
 
Last edited:
I used WD-40 on new machines to remove the cosmoline, then re-oil the bare surfaces with appropriate way oil. The WD will not harm the painted surfaces, and as mentioned reduces the fire hazard associated with more volatile solvents.
A bunch of old news papers to wipe the bulk off, then detailed cleaning with rags and WD.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top