rust on thk rails

[oxford]

I got some actuators with some rust on their thk rails.

Would a light sanding with a fine sand paper be just as bad as having the rust?

Should I just replace the rails? If I need to, would I have to replace the blocks too?

Thanks

[ger21]

If it's light rust, #0000 steel wool will take it off pretty easily. You don't want to sand them.

[oxford]

I don't know the technical phases of rust, but it looks light.

The largest patches are about 4mm in diameter. They have a little roughness to them. You can still see the domain pattern of the metal underneath the rust.

thanks

[RICHARD ZASTROW]

I know this may be different, try wiping with Automatic Transmission Fluid. Been known to work.

Dick Z

[METALTEK]

I always just put some clean motor oil on the rusted surface let it set in, I repeat with an old brush. I do these a few times overnight and scrub with a fresh rag soaked with oil. this is how I clean my mills and lathe when the rust sets in from the humidity. Works for me.
Jaime

[scudzuki]

You could remove it electrolytically as described here.
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/andyspatch/rust.htm

Joe

[davereagan]

A maroon Scoth brite pad is a lot more kind than sand paper, but it does have a light abrasive in it. I use it with any normal spray cleaner whenever I want to sell something that has rust. :<)

[SatanKlawz]

I would remove the entire rail, clean all the oil and grease off of it, remove the corrosion with a red scotchbrite pad, and then apply gun blue. It will help prevent corrosion in the future and will not alter the dimensions of the part.

[oxford]

If I take the blocks off the rails, will the ball bearings fall out?

[oxford]

Rails really didn't look too much different after working them for five minutes.

There were two small areas I saw some improvements, but by and large the rails are still speckled with tiny dark rust clusters.

The electrolysis and gun bluing sound cool. I wish I had more time for all this:P

[SatanKlawz]

Originally Posted by oxford Rails really didn't look too much different after working them for five minutes. There were two small areas I saw some improvements, but by and large the rails are still speckled with tiny dark rust clusters. The electrolysis and gun bluing sound cool. I wish I had more time for all this:P

The gun blue is super easy to apply, you just wipe it on and rub it in until you get a good coverage and then wash it off thoroughly and oil it up.

[LeeWay]

If the rust is confined to the flats of the rail, I would just oil and forget it or hit it with the scotchbrite first. These aren't bearing surfaces. The balls ride on the side tracks. If you have rust there, then better means might be needed, but oiling and running the machine would likely work best.