Coolant Staining

[OT-CNC]

Hi

I just finished tapping a job the other day and did not wipe my vise and mill down after working with Cool Tool (series 2001). Now my vise, parallels and Mill bed have dark surface stains where chips and oil accumulated.

Any suggestions on how to neutralize/ clean the affected areas without using abrasives?

I assume its the sulfer in the oil that is the culprit???

What should I look for in a new product that will not stain my machinery? I'm planning on adding flood coolant to my mill so I would like to invest in a water soluble coolant that is both environmentally friendly and has rust inhibitors, anti staining and low rancisity/odor properties. Something ideal for a home shop.

Planning on milling mainly aluminum, some steel and brass.

What do you guys use prefer/ reccomend?

Thanks
-OT

[fpworks]

Don't worry about it...it is part of this trade.

Get any semi synthetic, water soluble coolant. Any descent brand will have anti-bacterial and anti-corrosive properties. Note that the richer you run the coolant, the more effective these inhibitors are. Likewise, they lose their effectiveness as the emulsion ages.

Quite frankly, coolant is easier to deal with in a commercial environment. We clean coolant tanks once every two years. Machines run everyday, and we move a fair amount of chips, so the coolant is regularly "consumed" and regularly replenished. My machines run every day, so it is easy to get by with 2.5-3% concentrate with zero rust and zero stank. You'll probably have to run 8-10% in a home environment and flush/refill the tank every few months.

AND, get a coolant WITHOUT any dye.

BTW, I use Qualichem 246C, but there are many others that are quite good.

[mactec54]

OT-CNC

I use GeenCut, it costs more, is perfect for home use, being Synthetic & Biodegradable

http://www.greencut.com/

[OT-CNC]

Hey thanks for the reply.
I will have a look at the suggested products.
How do I know if a product contains dye? They all seem to have a color to them in concentration. Also, are there any advantages of fully synthetic vers. semi-synthetic?
Should I stay away from products containing sulfur or chlorine?

[mactec54]

OT-CNC
Most synthetic do not have the sulfur or chlorine (You need to check the spec),semi-synthetic is not much better than regular soluble cutting fluids, it still has all the nasty stuff in it, & goes bad/rancid just the same

A true Synthetic does not go bad/rancid because it is not made from oil as it's base