Technical Help
Why Coastal Wire uses waterborne rust preventative oils ?
Even though waterborne rust preventive oil is more expensive than conventional mineral oil, it is used exclusively at Coastal Wire Company to coat our black annealed baling wire and bale ties because it gives a better coating.
Waterborne rust preventive oils are prepared by mixing the oil with water to form a milky-white emulsion into which the coils are fully dipped. (The importance of properly oiling baling wire is covered in the Technical Help #8.)
Unlike mineral oils, waterborne oils do not contain hazardous ingredients such as sodium nitrate, amines, or flammable volatile vapors. Continuous breathing in a mineral oil evironment can cause health problems and contact with certain mineral oils can cause skin irritation. Waterborne oils do not vaporize and can be washed off the skin easily with ordinary soap and water.
Waterborne oils produce a drier type of coating making the wire cleaner to handle.
If the wire is stored where the humidity is high, the waterborne oil residue can absorb this moisture without any detriment--it just dilutes the anti-rusting properties slightly.
Mineral oils, however, are wet to the touch and do not mix with water. This means that drops of water can remain in place on the wire under high humid conditions and eventually cause spots of rust to form.
