when i try to brush off some rust with steel wool i just use it as it is, works fine.
when i apply some machine oil to the wool it gets stuck everywhere and gets messy.
what does the oil do here?

Can't you understand the motivation of your own actions?

>>2924099
no

>>2924088 (OP)
>why do people apply oil to their steel wool
no one does this.

>>2924088 (OP)
lubricate the abrasive, the wool is steel hard so lubrication decreases effort?

>>2924251
When dealing with abrasives, lowering effort typically also means lowering effectiveness. It's easier to slide across the material because it's doing less work.

>>2924088 (OP)
Oil is used to keep the steel wool from marring the surface. Not really necessary on rough bare metal like in your pic, but if say you're using steel wool to remove some surface tarnish from polished metal you use oil to lower the chance of scratching up the finish.

>>2924474
Ty, that explains it.

Why you would ever use oil is beyond me other than creating a huge slop mess for no reason. Oil is used in machining for cooling the bit and flushing.

I don't understand why people on this board want two opposing things at once. You want it to scuff, but you don't want to repolish. Well, pick one because you can't have both.

>>2924483
>huge slop mess
AI teaching grammar to children was a mistake

>>2924474
This.

Really depends on the application. About the only time I would consider using steel wool would be when dealing with extremely light rust on a delicate surface. In that scenario you could use oil to help preserve the finish and help to only remove the rust.

I know scotchbrite pads and oil or wd-40 type lubricants works well to take light surface rust off of machine surfaces.

>>2924088 (OP)
It makes the wool nice and oily. Like a friendly fish.

>>2924483
>Why you would ever use oil is beyond me other than creating a huge slop mess for no reason. Oil is used in machining for cooling the bit and flushing.

EXACTLERY! Stop putting icky oil in U car's engine, it just gunna get dirty, just spray graphite in there duah!

>>2924491
literally nothing wrong with that in the context of being posted on 4chan since slop is an adjective here, you of course knew this already.

>>2925110
I don't think you understand why oil is in an engine, let me help, it's to provide a film for bearing surfaces to ride against instead of ever touching metal to metal. Kind of like the exact opposite of what you'd want to use steel wool for when you think about it isn't it?

>>2924088 (OP)
The oil is a fluxing material to float/suspend the rust that the steel wool removes. Oil is used because it also helps to protect the steel that you have just removed the rust from.

>>2925119
>Kind of like the exact opposite of what you'd want to use steel wool for when you think about it isn't it?
nta but think about it, rust is not metal

>>2924088 (OP)
if your talking about an indoor environment getting oil into the micro scratches will slow down further rusting, if it's outside rain will just wash it off so it's pointless

Oil will carry away what's being abraded, instead of it gumming up the abrasive and wearing it faster. Other materials will do better with water, or another lubricant. Have none of you niggers ever heard of wet sanding?

>>2927101
>abrasive
>steel wool

>>2927106
What was said is true for all abrasives. Steel wool is used as one.

>>2927115
steel wool is not an abrasive
steel wool is a million tiny 60° edges. Its closer to how a File works than sandpaper.
Were you one of the apprentices trolled to oil their File?

>>2927136
Post a video of you rubbing steel wool over your anus and we will see.

>>2927852
>anon still in his anal stage

>>2927879
Which is superior to ESL king stage.

>>2927882
>being multi lingual is worse than being a literal faggot obsessed with the anus

>>2927883
I am multilingual, meanwhile you couldn't even learn English, pipe down and open a dictionary definition of abrasive, then fuck off, subhuman.

>>2927884
>the dictionary says
by definition steel wool is a cutting tool (like i said) because it doesnt contain bonded or loose abrasive particles, instead the sharp edges are integral part of the tool (the wool) itself
>muh subhuman
how do polcels even find this place

>>2927885
I can polish wood with my bare hands, meanwhile your brain is so soft it can't even figure out definition of abrasive.

>>2927887
>I polish wood with my bare hands
i bet you do ya fagget

>>2927888
I occasionally glaze your mother's womb too. That's also how you were born.

>2927889
>the absolute state of /diy/
>not even digits

>>2927889
>I occasionally glaze your mother's womb too. That's also how you were born.
You sure you want to claim him as your son?

>>2927898
As a proud antinatalist, yes.

>>2924088 (OP)
it's to catch the off-cast rust so that it doesn't immediately go into your lungs you fucking yokel

>>2924088 (OP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMkjsP7PmPE
Put some oil.

Jokes on you steel wool comes oiled from the factory. Else it would turn to dust in no time.

>>2924088 (OP)
It takes oil to clean oil and it helps keep the wool from getting gummed up by the ancient hardened grease. Oil is the best thing for cleaning up grease, try it next time your hands are greasy from engine work or the like, any oil will do, I use the cheapest cooking oil I can get, pour some in your cupped hand, rub it in real good and then rinse and wash with soap, hands are clean.