Step 1...
Take the big bits off and get a look at the bed and ways..
With the saddle and slide, headstock and tailstock and various gear covers etc off I can get a first proper look at the ways and their general surface rust condition....
Its got a load of little dings and marks on the ways, but a straight edge they look pretty flat and the rust looks like surface rust, I didnt want to take anything mechanical or abrasive to the ways so off for a bottle of rust remover...
Once that arrived I ran into the first issue of not having a way of actually dipping the bed. Whilst thinking about it I set at the rest of the bed removing the name plate and then with a mix of brass wire brush, brass wire drill head, and stainless steel brush clean the muck, old paint, surface rust etc.
Good job it was a nice day - took much longer than I expected! The bottle of bike chain cleaner made really good grease/gunk remover (and the pate pot makes a great scourer dipping pot for it)
I have a few old pallet planks in the garage and so once the lathe bed was mostly first pass cleaned I set about a rust remover bath box...half an hour or so later and voila!!
Test fit...
Bit of plastic lining...
and then time for the suprise... this stuff is....GREEN!
Lathe bed in, along with some of the gears for good measure - 500ml of solution, 4.5L of water covers the ways nicely (with a couple of thin sticks to life the ways off the bottom of the box a little). Instantly bubbles start to appear slowly... Time to leave it for 24 hours and see what it does.
Back with more later.
Sid.