Shopsmith Forums

Shopsmith forum members,

I am working on a SS Mark 2 restoration. The guy who had it before me made some interesting modifications. He installed a large aluminum pulley wheel on the top. A SS forum member has shared with me that that was meant to change the speed for wood turning. Getting them cleaned up has been a real chore, however I'm nearly done. I'm including a pic of both pulleys for reference. It seems like it'd be ideal if there was some sort of clear coat product I could use to seal them (to make it easier to keep them clean). I know a lot of you have done your own machine restorations. Does anybody have a suggestion for a product that would work well on these aluminum wheels?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or feedback provided!

To the OP, if y

Mjrinor wrote:Shopsmith forum members,

I am working on a SS Mark 2 restoration. The guy who had it before me made some interesting modifications. He installed a large aluminum pulley wheel on the top. A SS forum member has shared with me that that was meant to change the speed for wood turning. Getting them cleaned up has been a real chore, however I'm nearly done. I'm including a pic of both pulleys for reference. It seems like it'd be ideal if there was some sort of clear coat product I could use to seal them (to make it easier to keep them clean). I know a lot of you have done your own machine restorations. Does anybody have a suggestion for a product that would work well on these aluminum wheels?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or feedback provided!

I would try pentrol by Flood products sold at Homedepot and Lowe’s. It is a paint additive that dries clear. I use it on all metal that is exposed to moisture. Painted my AC condenser housing and it lasted a very long time being exposed to Florida humidity and rain.

Truthfully I never tried it on aluminum, but it’s resistance to wear and how it protects other metals should make it exactly what you are looking for.

Dear Ed,

Thank you very much for posting a reply to this inquiry. That sounds like an ideal solution, especially since there is a lot of rain during the winter (my shop is not weatherized at this time), so protection from humidity is valued. I did look this product up, and as you noted, it is a paint additive. The question I have for you is- do you dilute this product with anything, or do you paint it on directly? If you do dilute it, would you please share the substance you use and the ratio of each?

Again, thank you for sharing this information!

Mjrinor wrote:Dear Ed,

Thank you very much for posting a reply to this inquiry. That sounds like an ideal solution, especially since there is a lot of rain during the winter (my shop is not weatherized at this time), so protection from humidity is valued. I did look this product up, and as you noted, it is a paint additive. The question I have for you is- do you dilute this product with anything, or do you paint it on directly? If you do dilute it, would you please share the substance you use and the ratio of each?

Again, thank you for sharing this information!

Pentrol is very thin no reason to dilute it further. Dries slow but in a few hours it forms a protective coating that resists wear and prevents rust. you read the can they list this purpose on the can.
Years ago I ran into a old timer woodworker ( read craftsman) that told me about this product. He used it on his cast iron table saws and in fact used it on almost everything in his shop. He was good enough to have done commissioned work for 30 years and still had about 5 years of work on the book. He knew!

Dear Ed,

Thank you for the information about this product, and for confirming that I won't need to dilute it in any way. I tried asking the people at ACE hardware and couldn't find any answers, so this is quite helpful, thanks for passing it on. Sounds like your source is a true professional, and given that he has 5 years of work on the books- I would expect he has loads of expensive tools to protect and has surely found his tried and true process to protect those tools. This was exactly what I was looking for, thanks again Ed!