I just cleaned my new PM-25 about a week ago and used WD-40 at the recommendation of those here. I sprayed it on, left it over night, and easily wiped it off the next morning. Easiest cleanup job I've ever done. WD-40 softened the rust preventative that only a paper towel was needed to cleanup.
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Cleaning a new PM mill upon arrival
- Thread starter kb58
- Start date
I am not for sure what it is that they coat the machines with for the long trip across the salt water. It reminds me a lot of LPS-3 or LPS-4 rust inhibitor which is thick and remains tacky when "dry". I know it does not take a lot of solvent to clean a machine, but at its price using WD-40 seems to be a waste of money! I cleaned my PM 940M with naphtha. A lot cheaper at ~ $20/gallon or ~$7 a quart at Home Depot. It worked well and like all of the cleaners you just need lots of paper towels. Toluene also works as does Acetone. However, acetone evaporates so fast it is not very effective and you breath a lot of fumes. If you look up WD-40 I think you will find it is largely composed of kerosene, mineral oil and naphtha, Wiki says that in the EU the safety data sheets list something similar as containing mostly heavy naphtha. (Many years ago, I found that if I mixed Toluene with Acetone (50:50) I could dissolve Butvar and Formvar (the polymers that are used in car safety glass) that neither Acetone nor Toluene by themselves were effective at dissolving! The lesson is that combinations some times work better.) I suspect that even a light weight motor oil would tend to take it off without evaporating very much.
Anyway, with all of these you just want to avoid breathing much of it and of getting it on the painted parts of the machine. They are all used in paint solvents. Also, I recommend that you avoid much direct skin contact with any of these. Prolonged or repeated exposure can result in developing an allergic reaction which can be quite bad.
Side story: I once had a tree limb fall on my car fender in the winter time. It knocked the paint off of an about 4 inch diameter area. I did not have time nor facitilty to repair and repaint it in the Rochester winter so I just sanded it a bit and then sprayed LPS-3 on the area so that it would not rust too soon. I was going to repair it in the summer, but then I wound up being two years and winters later. When I cleaned it off with Naphtha the metal was still shiny! I became a believer. I even used it to undercoat (rust proof) a car and put it in the rocker panels and doors! It seems to be better than the rust proof treatments from the car dealers!
Hint: If you want to keep your hand tools from rusting during storage wipe them down with a little LPS-2. It is much lighter weight oil than the LPS-3 rust inhibitor.
Anyway, with all of these you just want to avoid breathing much of it and of getting it on the painted parts of the machine. They are all used in paint solvents. Also, I recommend that you avoid much direct skin contact with any of these. Prolonged or repeated exposure can result in developing an allergic reaction which can be quite bad.
Side story: I once had a tree limb fall on my car fender in the winter time. It knocked the paint off of an about 4 inch diameter area. I did not have time nor facitilty to repair and repaint it in the Rochester winter so I just sanded it a bit and then sprayed LPS-3 on the area so that it would not rust too soon. I was going to repair it in the summer, but then I wound up being two years and winters later. When I cleaned it off with Naphtha the metal was still shiny! I became a believer. I even used it to undercoat (rust proof) a car and put it in the rocker panels and doors! It seems to be better than the rust proof treatments from the car dealers!
Hint: If you want to keep your hand tools from rusting during storage wipe them down with a little LPS-2. It is much lighter weight oil than the LPS-3 rust inhibitor.
Somewhat related. I'm finding more & more uses for these plastic razor blades / holders around the shop. They are great for getting under things like stickers & labels or post-paint cleanup. They have a nice thin semi-rigid edge but aren't so hard as to scratch underlying paint like metal scrapers. Plus they are dirt cheap.
They would work great for the flat surfaces like mill table, but not well for rougher painted castings. I found the more of the preservative wax I can remove mechanically beforehand, the easier it is for the dilution chemical to remove the rest. Years after using my mill I was still finding the gunk in the T-slot nooks & crannies & it makes a nice sticky substance for hanging onto grit. I finally made some dedicated wood 'scrapers' & got all the mung out.
They would work great for the flat surfaces like mill table, but not well for rougher painted castings. I found the more of the preservative wax I can remove mechanically beforehand, the easier it is for the dilution chemical to remove the rest. Years after using my mill I was still finding the gunk in the T-slot nooks & crannies & it makes a nice sticky substance for hanging onto grit. I finally made some dedicated wood 'scrapers' & got all the mung out.