Practices to Prevent Your Welding Table from Rusting

You want your welding table to perform well and look great, but rust often comes into play. Rust can contaminate everything it touches, including workpieces, tools and your hands. So, how do you prevent your welding table from rusting?

 

To prevent your welding table from rusting, you must keep it away from any form of water. Without water, rust will not occur. You can do this by avoiding direct contact with water, keeping moisture in the air to a low level and forming a protective, waterproof coating on the table.

 

After reading this article, you will learn how to prevent and remove rust and how to apply a protective coating, as well as other useful information to keep your table rust-free.

 

Practices to prevent rust on welding tables

Rust is a combination of iron and oxygen in the presence of water. As well as the dreaded appearance and staining problems, if rust is left on a table it will create pits and dig deeper over time.

 

Prevention is the best way to avoid rust problems, considering that if your table rusts once, it will rust again more easily.

D28 Welding Table

 

You should keep all forms of water away from the table. For example, cleaning tools and equipment on the table, placing water or coffee, etc. Water exposure also includes sweat after long hours of welding or working in a hot environment.

 

You should wipe the water dry and blow air to evaporate the residue.

 

Although liquid water is relatively easy to keep off the table, there will always be moisture in the air.

 

If you live in a place with high humidity, it can be difficult to keep the table from rusting. You should reduce the humidity in your workshop and prevent condensation. Condensation (Wikipedia) is the formation of droplets of moisture in the air on cold metal.

Controlling the moisture content of your workshop not only protects your equipment from rusting, but also protects your health by.

Avoid additional sources of moisture in the workshop, cleaning tools, wet clothes, propane heaters, roof leaks, etc.

Use adequate ventilation to dilute the moisture in the air.

Keep the temperature in your workshop high enough.

Make sure you have soundproofing.

Use a dehumidifier to reduce humidity.

D16 Welding Table

Another source of rusting is hydrochloric acid (muriatic acid) vapour. Hydrochloric acid contains chlorine, which can greatly accelerate the rusting process.

 

If you use or store hydrochloric acid indoors, the vapours will rust not only your tables but all steel surfaces, even if you have a large workshop.

 

We call this flash rust, and it is common in most acids. You should use and store strong acids outside to protect your health and prevent your equipment from rusting.

 

Another substance that accelerates rusting is salt. If you clean or repair equipment that has been contaminated with any form of salt on the table, any flakes or dust will cause it to rust more quickly.

 

Pits and crevices on welded tables should be filled in as they will absorb moisture. You can use a carbide burr to remove damaged areas and weld. Then use a flap to remove excess metal so that it is flush with the surface.

 

You should also keep your table clean. Dust, shavings, workpieces and tools can accelerate rusting in trapped areas.

 

If your welding table is permanently outside, it will be difficult to prevent rusting. You will need to cover it to prevent rain and morning condensation, but you will also need to clean and maintain it more frequently.

 

The source is from here.