Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey OLFers
I wanted to tell people about this cool lube I found - Never mind what some of you are thinking!
I have a storage closet in my miniscule shop, its a great place to stash things away in - but its also the first place I find rust on things also,,, I havent figured out why that is - but I wanted to get a product to protect my tools from exposure all around.
Id heard about Boeshield(T-9) and I went looking for it at the local hardware store, which sadly, is badly stocked in many respects.
I couldnt find Boeshield but I saw something that caught my eye on the lubricant shelf "Fluid Film" and looked on the package to see if it had silicone in it...
Silicone/Teflon Free!

Thats good - I looked a bit more at the canister, solvent free, non toxic - food grade..????

Hmmm wow, what is this, butter? I wondered.. LOL
   as I read on I discover the product is primarily sheeps wool wax, mixed with rust inhibiting ingredients.. so it says ..
It met my criteria, so I brought it home.. The first task I wanted to take care of was a sliding door that was a real bear to get open - Id tried everything on it previously incl lithium grease, but in a few days it would be tougher to open, and in a few weeks a real dog to open again, right back to square one!!!
I applied the Fluid Film to the runner and slot after cleaning the slot, instantly it was opening like a breeze... but I noticed the smell...hmmmm
it smelled like.... well,... sheep... which although isnt my favorite smell, isnt that bad either,,,I guess
I hoped it would go away however..
Luckily it does stop smelling like a pasture after half a day or so...
Its been a couple weeks and the door still slides as easily as when I first applied it,,,
It says on the can:

"Its non drying, non evaporating, moisture displacing and water repellant, its much friendlier on the environment and on peoples health than petroleum products"
no doubt...
It says that it
"migrates to inaccesible areas by capillary action, and impregnates pores of exposed metal keeping moisture and oxygen out"
It also says that it
"eliminates destructive corrosive effects of harsh chemicals such as salt, acid, calcium chloride, fertilizer, herbicide and pesticide, stops steel from rusting, other metals from oxidizing, chrome and brass from pitting, - non conductor, will not harm painted surfaces, plastic or synthetic rubbers..."

Im not sure of the claims of the product but I do know its a great lubricant, less toxic than other lubricants, and is long lasting! Its more environmentally friendly because of its lack of petroleum solvents and chemicals..
I like it - if you see it give it a try.. you might like it!
Ive applied it to my planes, chisels and tools with hc steel in them... keeping my fingers crossed - but already Im extremely pleased with it!
Cheers
Charlie

What do you think of it as a surface treatment for the cast tables on bandsaws, drill press, tablesaws etc. ? Any chance of wood contamination? Even though it's silicon/teflon free, oil and grease can still be a bear to deal with once it gets into the wood.

The reason I ask is that living in the tropics, trying to keep the metal on my tools from corroding is a complete PITA.

_________________
Allen R. McFarlen
Barron River Guitars & Ukuleles
Facebook
Cairns, Australia

I wonder if it will keep my skin from ageing too...

amcfarlen,
I have taken to spraying it onto a rag and then rubbing down the items I want to protect, unless I have to get into crevices etc.
It seems as though it doesnt stain as long as there arent gobs of it to dob onto wood, meaning if you wiped a light film of it onto something, I dont see how it would stain...
Perhaps I could spray a rag full of it and mail it too you? Then you could try it out...let me know if that interests you..
I did some passes over mahogany after treating my planes and it didnt stain the wood... so.. I dunno
I already paste waxed all my cast tables in the shop however... so I couldnt do them.
Cheers
Charlie

Is this it? http://www.eurekafluidfilm.com/

I notice they list table saws as a good place to use it.

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I cut out the middleman and just went with a whole sheep instead. When needed, I just pick him up and rub him liberally upon the item to be treated. When I'm done, I let him go and he runs outside to cut my lawn. This is a cool arrangement as he's got the wool fat and rag in one easy to use format.


Ok, ok...just pulling your leg,,the lazy bugger doesnt mow my grass at all..    


No really, I have used something similar to what Charlie has mentioned for a few years now and it works pretty good. The stuff I use is Aussie made and is called Lanotech worth a visit to the site to read the info. As for keeping rust off your machinery, and this should help you as well Allen, the most effective first measure is to place a cover sheet over your equipment when not in use. This will dramatically slow oxidation because it reduces air flow and the constant bombardment of moisture due to temperature changes.

Cheers

Kim

[QUOTE=BobK] Is this it? http://www.eurekafluidfilm.com/
[/QUOTE]
yeah thats it...
Cheers
Charlie

For the Canadians out there.

Just did some searching and found that in Canada...
Lea Valley Tools carries it.
Fluid Film - 11-3/4 oz spray can for 14.50

They list it as a lanolin-based spray.

_________________
Rick Hubka
Chemainus BC Canada