Rust removal on linear bearings and ballscrews?

[PekkaNF]

Some electronics industry have been shipped to china and our scrapyards are filled with component placement machines. I got some parts that I could use on one experiment.

Balltracks seem to be unaffected, but other surfaces has some rust. I'm drying them out on the garage.

What is a good way to stabilize them and then remove offending rust and grime. I'm 100% sure I have to make some plastic dummies to keep the balls inside the nuts/runners and then remove those out of rails.

Plan (needs review and updates):

1) stabilize

2) make dummies, fill bearings with grease, move ballnuts/runners on dummies.

3) Clean the ballrails ballscrews

4) Purge  ballnuts/runners with some sort of grease

What do you think?

Pekka

[Pete W.]

Hi there, Pekka,

First of all, it's important to remember that 1 inch of steel makes 13 inches of rust so don't panic!  It looks worse than it is!

There have been a couple of threads on here describing removal by chemical methods and by electrolysis, I haven't tried those myself but no doubt the folks who have will contribute here.

If you're forced to remove rust by hand, assuming that the rust attack is spotty or patchy, I think it's important to confine your work to the actual area of the rust and leave the rust-free parts alone.  My own preference is to use a scraper followed by a glass fibre brush.  Several suppliers in the UK here stock a glass fibre brush whose bristles can be retracted into the handle, rather like the lead extension/retraction mechanism of a propelling pencil.  It can be quite labour intensive and time consuming but good results can be achieved.

[awemawson]

As many will know from my previous postings, I greatly favour Citric Acid.Very effective and safe to the hands as well as safe to dispose of - after all it's only lemon juice. I used about a cup full of crystals to a two gallon bucket but the actual dilution is not very critical.

Andrew

[PekkaNF]

I normally would attack rust with citric acid or phtosphorous acid, but these are precision parts and I don't want to mess with ball tracks.

Glass fibre brush sounds interesting. Never seen one. Would like to have one.

Pekka

[awemawson]

Citric acid will only remove the rust and leave sound steel untouched. Fibreglass brush will erode both.

Andrew

[Bluechip]

I normally would attack rust with citric acid or phtosphorous acid, but these are precision parts and I don't want to mess with ball tracks.

Glass fibre brush sounds interesting. Never seen one. Would like to have one.

Pekka

Common enough in certain circles, Pekka. Try an electronics supplier.
 
This is what I have:
 
http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/search/results.jsp?N=411&Ntk=gensearch&Ntt=fibreglass+brush&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&suggestions=false&ref=globalsearch&_requestid=50892
 
Except mine is yellow, not red. [ The top one, not the Shesto item  .... ]
 
As Andrew said, they can be a bit aggressive ... but they do have their uses, the little brass brushes are quite good ...
 
 
Dave

[chipenter]

I use a fibreglass brush for cleaning clock parts , but I always get a load of the glass splinters in my fingers and you can't see the b*****s to get them out .

[Pete W.]

I use a fibreglass brush for cleaning clock parts , but I always get a load of the glass splinters in my fingers and you can't see the b*****s to get them out .

Yes, sorry, I did mean to mention that!