Customer Reviews

Empire Manufacturing TSS-8D The Complete TopSaver System

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I don't know...do some of the previous reviews seem a little...fake?
Ah well, whatever - I thought I'd share my $0.02.

I have to say, I was very impressed with this product. Now, I have to qualify my review: I didn't actually use it to clean up rusty tools, which is evidently it's claim to fame. I used it as a treatment and conditioner for a new shop setup on 5 brand new machines: Tablesaw, jointer, bandsaw, mortising machine, and a scroll saw, all of which had cast iron tables. Seeing as that all these machines were made in either Taiwan, or China (*sniffle*) the tables were covered in cosmolene.

So, I started off by removing the first, second, third, and eventually 24th layer of wax from the tables with Zep citrus degreaser. I continued the process of spray, wait, wipe (read: scrub!) with the degreaser until the shop towels came off clean.

Once I felt I got off all the gook, I applied TopSaver per the manufacturer's directions: spray, rub in with Scotchbrite, wipe off. After all that degreasing I was shocked to see the black crap that came bubbling out of the pores of the cast iron tables when I used TopSaver. This stuff went where the degreaser couldn't and pulled out all the remaining grease and dirt locked into the table. I did one pass with TopSaver (apply, scour, wipe), then went back for a second pass (apply, scour, wipe - not recommended by the manufacturer, but I'm a thorough cleaner) and to my surprise, my towels were SPOTLESS. Not a speck of black stuff. I felt confident I could probably eat off the table at that point.

I then went back for the finish coat - apply, buff - and the tables come out like glass. It even helped to smooth out a rather rough grinding on my cheap Taiwanese scrollsaw table. I also used it on the sliding contact points of my jointer's fence (all made out of cast iron) and the movement of the fence is noticeably smoother.

If I had one bad thing to say about the product it would be the requirement of massaging in with Scotchbrite. I know this is necessary for getting the stuff in there deep, but if you're not careful you'll leave swirl marks in the cast iron.
All in all I was very, very impressed with TopSaver and I know I'll buy it again when I run out - which, since I recoat my tables weekly to keep them smooth, will be very soon!

I have a Delta contractor's saw, and a Delta jointer, both purchased with the past year, and since my basement is very damp, both tables (especially the jointer) became rusted. I was very disappointed, as I had waxed them both. I bought the Top Save kit from Amazon, and applied it as directed. Like another reviewer, I also applied it twice. I was amazed! The jointer table shows stains where the rust was, but the rust is gone, and the table is as smooth as glass! The saw table was not that bad, but it, too, came out great. I would definitely recommend this to anyone with a rust problem on a tool surface.

Not a month after I purchased a cast iron table saw, we had a kitchen plumbing issue.. the sink is apparently directly above my table saw and had been dripping on it all night. Instant rust.. The entire table was brown. Never thinking this would work, I used the Topsaver spray.. Not without a bit of elbow grease, but it brought the table back to life. Amazing. As per its rust protectant qualities - I would get a spot or two here and there - and went back to using plain old wax for regular protection. However I always reach for the Topsaver when I have to remove rust from a tool. Wear a mask, that stuff stinks.

Several Years Ago I acquired a Craftsman 8" Jointer with a 36"
Bed. It wasn't in the greatest condition cosmetically, but mechanically it looked good. The feed bed and guide fence had small orange and brown rust spots and there was a couple of beer can rust rings on the bed surface. When I removed the plastic cover from it the rust had now covered the blade cutter head and all the unpainted surfaces now.

I went to my local auto parts store and enquired as to what should I use to remove the rust without damaging the paint or turning the steel surface rough and black. All the products available contained acid that would attack the rust and the paint at the same time.

I then went to my local tool store and discussed my project with them. As it turns out they have a similar problem, every day customers touch the display tools and get fingerprints on them. They then turn rusty over a short time period and show up on the table saw tops. The counter guy showed me the TopSaver system and said that it worked well to remove the fingerprints for them. I asked him if he thought it would work on my rusted jointer, He had heard several good stories from other customers about their success using the TopSaver system. But he would not say personally with out first hand use on strong rust how the product would work. I used the TopSaver on my jointer, I followed the directions on the box and it worked as shown. The rust turned to a brown orange muddy liquid and I was able to wipe it away with the paper towels supplied after a little scrubbing. I became concerned about scrubbing the bed surface with the cleaning pads and creating divots and uneven wear the in the bed surface from scrubbing by hand using my fingers tips. I then took the cleaning pad and placed it under my orbital sander and ran it over the bed surface. It worked beautiful; it cleaned the surface evenly over the 36" bed area. It took out the dark spots from the beer can rings without removing the paint around the edges. I used it on the cutter head and the blades and then scrubbed them with the soft gray pad. As I scrubbed the grooved surface on the head, I was amazed to see the rust melt. It didn't take long before the entire head was clean just like the bed surface. I now know what my jointer looked like when the previous owner took it out of the box 18 years ago. This is a great product!

I'm a fanatic when it comes to woodworking and my tools, I have invested a lot of time and money on my tools & I like to keep them in first-rate condition. In my area of Louisiana we have severe humidity and I'm continuously fighting off rust. I found this product at a local trade show and it does an amazing job on all my machinery tops and tools, no more rust and it keeps everything looking clean and new. I make high quality furniture and this product has no ill effect on my expensive wood. I would recommend this product to anyone who's in the woodworking trade or hobby. Priced good!

I was in the process of rebuilding my Grandfather's 50 year old Delta table saw and came across this product. While the table top was more or less smooth (pitting in a couple of places) it was a solid brown color after 20+ years of no use. I followed the directions (spray, scrub, wipe, buff), with little success. As I would scrub with the scouring pad, the wet surface would turn rusty brown, but it had little impact overall. I tried this many times, with no noticeable difference.

I finally broke out a finishing sander with fine grit sandpaper and was able to get down to the metal surface. I then tried TopSaver again, with the same results as before. I continued with the sander, then used TopSaver at the end to polish it. This appears to be effective, but car polish would do the same, and will last longer.

From the pictures on the box, as a rust remover, I suspect this is intended for more recent flash rush. For restoring old equipment, this is not the product to use. Only elbow grease will take care of that...

I used topsaver several months ago to clean up one of the hand planes from my grand fathers woodshop. I followed the directions on the box: I sprayed the plane with topsaver and then scrubbed it with the gray scrub pad. I then wiped away rust! I was amazed to see bright shiney metal where the brown rust spots had been. I repeated this three more times on all sides of the plane unitl all the rust was gone and the paper towel wiped clean. I then sprayed it with final coat and let it dry for protection !

I have to admit I was very leary at first, but the photos on the box looked just like the rust on grandpas old plane.
After using topsaver it now looks almost like new.
It's been 4 months and it still looks like great !

Fantastic Product!

I just bought an old JET drill press at a garage sale a few weeks ago, it runs great but appeared to be in very bad condition cosmetically. The support post and the oversized worktable was greasy, oil stained and absolutely covered in rust. I first saw TopSaver in a Woodworker's Journal ad and it claimed to be an "all in one" product. I went to my local tool store and I bought the last box on the shelf. I went home and to my amazement and utter shock it cleaned that old drill press with little effort and left it looking brand new! Finally a product that does what it claims! The real nice thing about this product in that it comes complete with everything a person needs to tackle a job like mine. I would recommend this product to anyone who has old looking equipment and wants it to look new again.

First let me say that I am more than pleased with the product, it did the job as described, could not be simpler to use (apply, rub, apply, buff) the only knock I have on it is that I used it on my less than one year old Jet tablesaw with extension and the "rust juice" that came off the table surface accidentally got onto the formica top and stained it. So.. just becareful where the contaminated residue goes. I have always been impressed with the cleaning power of the 3M scotchbrite pad, and this product mates with it and cleans the rust wonderfully.

San Antonio has high humidity and *anything* left over night on your table saw will result in slight surface rust stains in the morning. I had tried steel wool, and could not get them off, I used this stuff and it took it off AND polished the metal. I tried it alone with just the scotchbrite pad, thinking it might be the reason, no dice.

The one thing that has been not made clear in previous reviews would be the remaining finish left behind. THAT IS FIVE STARS! If your table saw is not level, your project will SLIDE OFF ! I mean to say... slicker than OWL business. AWESOME, even if you don't get the rust off... it is worth it to have that finish.

The only real drawback is that once you start rubbing you get so much more shine out of the metal that you want to re-do the whole table top because it looks so good.

This product does everything it says it will! I live near the gulf coast & moisture is a big problem. I had severe rust in one area of my table saw & light rust in other areas & on my jointer. I followed the directions, sprayed the table tops, rubbed with the scotch brite pads, wiped down with paper towels & the rust was amazingly gone. I've tried some other acclaimed products & they couldn't get close to Topsaver. The table tops look like new & are now ready to be taken care of to prevent the rust from happening again. Empire says to use Table Top which protects the surfaces better than topsaver even though it does provide some surface protection. The Table Top will last longer & not require as frequent re-treatment as Topsaver. I'm trying it out now so that I don't have to treat the surfaces as often as Topsaver would require. Topsaver is a first class product!!