"Slickening" your planer tables

[azmtnman]

   What do you guys use to slicken your planer tables (cast iron)? 
    I had to get rid of some rust after it sit under a PVC tarp on a trailer all winter. I was worried but it cleaned up fairly well. It feels like glass.
   I have heard talcum powder or old-school car polish. I'm wondering about silicone lube? I don't know if it would hold up to the abrasion of wood sliding across it. 
   What's your preference?

[Old Greenhorn]

Johnson paste wax.

[TroyC]

I've had good luck with furniture paste wax or car polish. Car polish mostly lately, think I ran out of furniture polish. Rub it on with some real fine steel wool, let dry, wipe off.

[beenthere]

Keep the silicone far, far away or it will haunt you when putting a finish on the wood. 

[Larry]

Johnson Paste Wax. 

I also use talcum powder sometimes, usually on the shaper.  When I have a setup on the shaper and the boards get sticky I know its time to put on more Johnson's.  Trouble is to wax the table I have to get the feeder out of the way.  Instead of doing that I just sprinkle a little talcum powder and all is good but it only lasts a short time.  Same thing on the planer.

I also have a product called Slipit.  Its made especially for the purpose, but I don't like it....others do.

And yes, just saw bt put a negative on silicone.  I agreed, don't even allow it in your shop!

[chet]

Always used carnauba wax on tool surfaces. Figured it had to be good for woodworking tools as it is tree based; derived from the leaves of the Carnauba Palm.  

[SwampDonkey]

Bostik's Glidecote all the way. 8)  Made in USA.

Also, Boeshield T9 for machine chucks and hand plane adjusters, so any machine/tool part you adjust manually. Made in USA.

[Don P]

I remember the morning management came stomping up the lanes in the furniture plant hunting for the culprit. I think at that point there were 75 lines going full out and the problem was somewhere in our shop. A few semi loads had gone out for some college, they had farmed out final finish to another shop. They were going to spray poly on it, then final ship. Fisheye had shown there, we had stuff at every stage and in transit, and they were hunting down the silicone. Someone had discovered that a quick spray on the router bases made them glide a whole lot easier for roundovers and the can had passed around several work stations, whoops!

I'm in the yella can crowd.

[firefighter ontheside]

Johnson paste wax here.  Put it on my planers, jointer, shaper, table saw.  Put it on the fences too.  Just a couple of weeks ago I was having terrible trouble with my old 15" planer.  It wouldn't feed well.  Some wax fixed it right up.

[Crusarius]

HDPE or UHMW

More work and cost but I bet you will never look back  Unfortunately you lose some depth and your gauges are all screws up.... hmm maybe not a good idea? maybe it is.

[rastis]

Butcher's bowling alley was

[DMcCoy]

Johnson's paste wax here.
Also...
Dejunking the feed rollers inside the planer but also if you use a feed table or rollers they contribute to the overall drag.
Minwax polycrylic on plywood with johnsons paste wax on top is frozen pond with dust slick.

[doc henderson]

for heavy issues of rust or glue/epoxy start with fine grit on an RO sander.  wipe with acetone, then coat.  

[21incher]

Johnson paste wax on mine also. Been using it 50 years and the older cans are the best before they removed the harsh chemicals. I cut a 5.5 inch fine grey scotchbrite disc that sticks to the Velcro pad on my RO sander to polish them up first and then 2 coats of wax every year.

[Dan_Shade]

I use Johnsons paste wax too.

Can you still get talcum powder, I recall reading about a health related lawsuit that a major producer lost. 

[Downstream]

Also use Johnson paste wax on both wood and metal surfaces.  Smooth as silk when done.  I also use scoth pads to clean surface rust. With ros.  Never leave a fresh milled piece of wood laying on the saw or planer table overnight or a few days.  I did it on my brand new laguna 1412 bandsaw years ago before I had applied wax.  After a little cursing and alot of work you can barely see my oops.

[doc henderson]

my delta table saw is in the center of the shop, and it gets the occasional sweaty aluminum can sat on it!  

[SwampDonkey]

Why I use Glidecote.

-Protects all tools and equipment from rust.
-Up to 30% slicker than paste wax.
-Easier and quicker to apply than paste wax.
-Lasts three times (3x) longer than paste wax.
-Contains no silicone or petroleum oil. Will not stain
wood or interfere with glues or finishes.
-Perfect for table saw beds, drill presses, lathes, planers, band saws, miters, panel saws, and all hand tools.

[azmtnman]

THANKS FOR THE WARNING ABOUT SILICONE!!! I would have not known about it until it was too late and then maybe had trouble figuring out what was going on.
 FF is like a Jedi having a couple hundred Yodas! :D :D :D :D 

   

[frazman]

I use a product from Royce called Spray 'N' Slide. This works very well on cast iron as I used it on my drill press and table saw. It's also made in Canada 

[Brad_bb]

Johnson's paste wax.  Boy with all of us using it, wish I had stock!  Note that Johnson's does not work in freezing weather.  It can have the opposite effect if you try to spread it in freezing conditions.  I heated shop is really best for steel/iron tools.  Heating keeps the shop from passing through the dew point and causing condensation on tools which then causes rust.  Humid summers don't do them any favors either.  Also, don't ever leave wood on an iron table saw top or planer bed etc, as the moisture and tannens from the wood can interact with the iron and cause rust.

[teakwood]

Johnson paste wax on mine also. Been using it 50 years and the older cans are the best before they removed the harsh chemicals. I cut a 5.5 inch fine grey scotchbrite disc that sticks to the Velcro pad on my RO sander to polish them up first and then 2 coats of wax every year.

Twice a year??? Wow
I need to apply wax every half hour of planing or after 30 boards of teak

[doc henderson]

the trouble is my dad had and used the same can for 30 years.  I think I inherited it.  a dab ul do ya.  @Brad_bb 

[Don P]

Johnson paste wax on mine also. Been using it 50 years and the older cans are the best before they removed the harsh chemicals. I cut a 5.5 inch fine grey scotchbrite disc that sticks to the Velcro pad on my RO sander to polish them up first and then 2 coats of wax every year.

Twice a year??? Wow
I need to apply wax every half hour of planing or after 30 boards of teak

We're about the same  ;)

[YellowHammer]

Johnson paste wax, I go through a couple cans a year.  The more frequently I put it on, the deeper it goes, almost like seasoning a cast iron frying pan.  

[Brad_bb]

the trouble is my dad had and used the same can for 30 years.  I think I inherited it.  a dab ul do ya.  @Brad_bb

I'm on at least my 3rd can in 8 years.  I wax the cross bars of the mill so cants will slide easily.

[Don P]

In the cabinet shop the molder had 5 flexible 6" suction drops, basically a throughfeed planer. During setups and maintenance I'd often pull them and leave them dangling as I pulled hoods and heads. I had the can of paste wax sitting on the infeed table and yup, a yellow can will just fit inside the pipe. I heard it slurp the can up and then into the main line. Not sure why but I was jogging along under the main pipe as it bounced along overhead, out through the door and Bang! as it went through the fan, then I heard metal whirling in the cyclone. I climbed up the dust truck and peered down inside the box. There was a smushed wax can and a fan blade, oops! We figured we had the slickest cyclone in town  :D.

[RichTired]

OK, I have a DeWalt table top planer and I understand the Johnson's paste wax for slicking up the bed, and etc. 

But what do y'all (you guys) use to clean pine resin off the stainless steel infeed & outfeed tables and the planer knives.

[SwampDonkey]

Perhaps some Industrial Strength Resin Remover?

This product is USA made.

[RichTired]

Thanks, but the link appears to be incorrect. Site cannot be found.

[doc henderson]

OK, I have a DeWalt table top planer and I understand the Johnson's paste wax for slicking up the bed, and etc.

But what do y'all (you guys) use to clean pine resin off the stainless steel infeed & outfeed tables and the planer knives.

WD 40, acetone, alcohol, mineral spirits...  any solvent for sticky  stuff.

[RichTired]

Thanks Doc.

[Larry]

Johnson Paste Wax had been impossible to find locally.  HD, Lowes, and Walmart used to sell it but no more.  Online the price is out of sight compared to 2 years ago.

Anybody have a good substitute?  I bought a can of Minwax paste wax at Lowes last week but have not used it yet.

[beenthere]

Amazon is one place to get the Johnson Paste Wax.  

[azmtnman]

Johnson Paste Wax had been impossible to find locally.  HD, Lowes, and Walmart used to sell it but no more.  Online the price is out of sight compared to 2 years ago.

Anybody have a good substitute?  I bought a can of Minwax paste wax at Lowes last week but have not used it yet.

Minwax is what I ended up using. I got an old can at an estate sale that they threw in with the other stuff I bought. I don't have experience with anything else but it made for a nice, slick surface. 

[metalspinner]

@RichTired 
I use a spray can of oven cleaner to clean blades and router bits. 

[kantuckid]

After I've run a bunch of pine through my planer, (and between blade changes) I'll open the top and clean the blades with a razor blade holder-same as used for gasket cleanups. 
One of my "tightwad solvents" which I use for shop cleanups, not in a paint I'll be spraying or thinning, is leftover lacquer thinner and various paint solvents I pour into an old gallon can. The various pigments and such settle out over storage time and what I pour off the top serves well for certain cleanup jobs like cutters on wood machines and machine parts cleanups that don't call for new solvent. 

[kantuckid]

Johnson Paste Wax had been impossible to find locally.  HD, Lowes, and Walmart used to sell it but no more.  Online the price is out of sight compared to 2 years ago.

Anybody have a good substitute?  I bought a can of Minwax paste wax at Lowes last week but have not used it yet.

Minwax is what I ended up using. I got an old can at an estate sale that they threw in with the other stuff I bought. I don't have experience with anything else but it made for a nice, slick surface.

Ace hardware has it per google search at local stores here. I'm out of the brown tinted Minwax but Amazon has it at more than Johnsons. I've wondered if it's easy to tint with my shop stain items? I've got various dry stains and liquids too.