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Rust-preventative treatment for cast iron handwheels

Hi there,

I was just wondering if someone out there could help me out? I'm trying to find either a way of treating cast iron handwheels so they don't rust or a suitable alternative to my 250 dia handwheel.

Brian Smith
designer - Cambridge, UK
November 12, 2009

I would suggest Flash hard Chrome Plating for the Hand Wheel,either Bright or Matte Finish.

Mahendra Gargatti
electroplaters - Belgaum, Karnataka, India
December 3, 2009

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The way to stop rusting is to prevent the cast iron being exposed to air, especially moist air. This is easier said than done! One way is to plate it with a suitable metal such as nickel or chromium , or better still nickel followed by chromium. Even better is to put a layer of copper down first. However, this may not be possible with your handwheel.

An alternative would be to paint it with, say, Hammerite or any other good paint designed for rough and difficult surfaces. You can also consider treating the cast iron with oil and letting the oil be absorbed into the cast iron; this certainly worked with some old Le Creuset cooking pots I used to have, although I used cooking oil and not lubricating oil!

Finally, you may want to consider using a phosphoric acid based system to create a phosphate layer on the cast iron. I recall using something like this on my cars when I was younger - I think it was called "CureRust" or something similar. It was a (pink) gel that contained phosphoric acid and I think a bit of sulfuric or possibly sulfamic acid ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] . You painted it on and it turned a nice blackish colour that could then be washed down and paint or resin could be applied to it.

Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK
December 9, 2009