Thanks,I did know it was cast iron, i'm not sure why I called it steal. Silly me. But there is a coating on it, I can scratch it off with a knife, it's clear, almost a plastic coating, very strange to me, I never knew it was there till I scratched it one day. The Dewalt 788 is about 3-4 years old now. I would have to sand it all off I guess to treat it for rust. Thanks for the advice about the Boeshield. I will look into it