Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I plan to remove the wheel axle and sand/seal the rust off it it.

• Am I better off sanding the rust, and then sealing it it, leaving it just bare steel sealed
• Or painting the axle ...

That's the only rusty part on this slightly used machine, so I assume it's the most suspect part to rust...

I'd go with sand seal. The final finish will look better and I will feel better not having rust trapped underneath the paint

Actually I meant derust, and then paint..

In thinking of that, and I have to look to see how much play there is, the *topcoat* may be too thick to slide back in. Sometimes that 1/16" overall thickness can make things just a tad too tight.

chefwong wrote:

I'm not 100% sure what you mean by "sealing it" but getting I agree that getting the rust off is a goal worth achieving. 

Paint and primer is one way of "sealing it" if the wheel will still slide on and off with the extra coatings. I'm not sure how any future grease will react to the paint put onto the axle.   My axles get some surface rust from time to time when the grease has disappeared but otherwise they just sit there coated in grease. 

What other ways of "sealing it" were you considering at this time?  
Does the Honda HS724WA snowblower's axle shaft have a lot of rust on it now? Post some photos when you get a chance.

Correct, the shaft is the only thing that has surface rust. I see some areas with clean steel but it does have surface rust. Kinda like the top of a tablesaw table that was not waxed and left alone...
The bucket, augers, etc is all clean.
Some galvanic reaction on the chute control, Auger Transmission but other than that, she's pretty clean.

I need to break the wheels off to see how much play I have if I was to sand, prime and then paint...
When I say seal, I use a product called weatherPruf, made by the same makes of Kroil. It's kinda like a spraying clearcoat that dries clear/hard. It can be removed with mineral spirits.
I like this more than Fluidfild which does not dry to a dry touch. I've used Weatherpruf on my condensor housings, etc and sofar it's kept rust atbay

Weatherpruf sounds like an interesting product. From the web site:

"Weatherpruf 

Clear Rust Preventative - 1 Year Protection

Tough, clear weatherproof coating. A single coat provides 1 year of rust and corrosion protection in outdoor applications. Transparent coating will not harm metals, and may be applied over paint. Easily removed with mineral spirits, or may be painted over without additional preparations needed."

Do you find that you get more than the "1 year" of protection or do you re-apply annually? I might try it on my tablesaw that get left out in the garage over the winter.

I just normally reapply 1X a year. However, on a TS, will it be used during that time.
Since it's outdoor grade stuff, I just spay on heavy, brushback and let it dry. I don't go thin and brush smooth.
There are areas where it's *uneven* but it's a heavy coating it. Still transparent - kinda like if you were to spray heavy paint and not nice thin even coats.

For the tablesaw, I would just spritz and then brush it out for a light coat/layer. Unless if you don't intend to touch it, I'd go heavy coating. Mineral spirits will bring it back to bare metal.

 I went heavy so you can at least see what I mean by *uneven heavy* coating...
I fill the liquid in my spray can, spritz and just do a quick backbrush.
A light spritz with backbrush will generate a light even coat.

I went heavy....with a quick backbrush to level it off.
Hard to capture due to it being clear but hopefully u get the gist.

I grease the length of axle that rides within the hub.  Beyond the hub to the chassis is painted with tremclad.  Grease annually. 

chefwong: Could you post a resized smaller picture that does not blow out the formatting of the thread?