What's the impact of oil contamination on aluminium turnings from a machine shop?
Short answer: Oil-soaked turnings are discounted for two reasons — the oil adds non-metal weight you're being paid for as if it were aluminium, and it creates smoke and processing complications when the smelter burns it off during remelt. Draining and, ideally, spinning or centrifuging turnings before selling can noticeably improve the price you're offered.
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List Free →Why oil is treated differently to paint or dirt
Cutting fluid is not just cosmetic contamination — a heavily oil-soaked pile of turnings can hold a real percentage of its weight in fluid, and some of that oil content creates additional handling and environmental compliance costs for the buyer when it is burned off in the furnace.
How much it typically costs you
The deduction scales with how wet the turnings are. A quick drain removes the loose oil sitting in the pile; centrifuging or spinning gets meaningfully more out. Bone-dry turnings from a shop that already reclaims cutting fluid for reuse will price noticeably better than turnings straight from the bin.
Simple steps that help
Let turnings drain over a mesh or grate for a day before bagging them, and avoid mixing freshly cut wet turnings into an already-drained batch. If your shop generates enough volume, a basic centrifuge for turnings can pay for itself through better scrap pricing alone.
How ScrapTrade Makes This Easier
If your shop already drains or centrifuges turnings, saying so explicitly in a ScrapTrade listing — with a photo showing dry, loose material — helps you get priced as clean, low-oil turnings rather than being lumped in with wet, as-cut scrap by default.
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