Penetrating oils

[Danno1]

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Found this on a motorcycle site:


The April/May edition of Machinist's Workshop did a test of penetrating oils where they measured the force required to loosen rusty test devices. Buy the issue if you want to see how they did the test. The results reported were interesting. The lower the number of pounds the better.

Penetrating oil .. Average load .. Price per fluid ounce
None ................. 516 pounds ..
WD-40 .............. 238 pounds .. $0.25
PB Blaster ......... 214 pounds .. $0.35
Liquid Wrench ... 127 pounds .. $0.21
Kano Kroil ......... 106 pounds .. $0.75
ATF-Acetone mix.. 53 pounds .. $0.10

The ATF-Acetone mix was a 50/50 mix (1 to 1 ratio).


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[Soundguy]

I usually make my own p-oil by mixing ATF or MMO with 1 of the following.. kerosene, diesel, or mineral spirits.

Depending on the time of the year, the usualy mix is MS and ATF.. as cheap jiffy store atf is still 84 cents a bottle, and MS goes down to a buck a gallon at the hardware store now and then.

1/2 gallon ms and a quart of atf makes some pretty good unstickum that goes in a spray bottle. ( smells better than diesel or kero.. too )

Soundguy

[Kendall69]

Cold Shock is (according to its maker) a fast acting penetrating oil that super-cools bolts to -30ï½°F causing a ç”°old-cracking action of the rust and corrosion. This ç”°old-cracking process allows the penetrating oils to seep between threads to loosen rust, (hopefully) allowing the nut or bolt freedom from its rusty prison. J. Walter claims to have had success on bolts up to 3″ in diameter.

Walter USA

Anyway, Cold Shock is available for around $13 in 400ml aerosol cans. It sounds pretty slick, though I'm not sure what happens if you get some on your hands. One of the few things we imagine sucks worse than frozen bolts would be ç”°old-cracked fingers.

Candle wax works great at loosening stuck bolts. For some reason it penetrates great and lubricates the friction surfaces well. You have to get the surfaces really hot, like Oxy Acetylene torch hot, and that creates the hazard of the waxç—´ vapor lighting on fire.

[BlacknTan]

I get a kick out of these backyard scientific tests...

How did they get the test pieces identically siezed with rust?
Why would acetone, which evaporates extremely rapidly, enhance the penetrating qualities of the ATF?
Why would a backyard concoction outperform a product with some chemical science behind it?

It reminds me of a few years back when all the Clay target shooters hit on a better idea and started lubricating the hinge pins of their expensive O/U's with Mobil dino motor oil instead of Mil'Spec synthetic lubricants expressly designed for the purpose..

IMO, one just cannot outdo a purpose designed product with witches brew........

[joerocker]

IMO, one just cannot outdo a purpose designed product with witches brew........

Unless it's ALL witches brew!

Who knows WHAT to believe anymore...

[mrutkaus]

Thanks for the info, that's an impressive magazine, really "into" metals!

Mike

[Soundguy]

I get a kick out of these backyard scientific tests...........

We are posting what has worked for us over the years. Personally.. PB blaster works good for me.. however.. at the price per can it gets prohibitive when yuo are working on antique tractors where 110% of the fasteners were already rusted stuck years before I was born. Thus.. i can go broke buying the scientifically formulated stuff, or i can find something that costs 3$ to make a little over 2 gallons of it, and have it work at least 90% as good. With your way.. I'd have less money to spend on dragging the rusty iron home.. etc.

Why would acetone, which evaporates extremely rapidly, enhance the penetrating qualities of the ATF?

While i havn't used the acetone mix, i have used other quick flashing materials like naptha... They work as solvents to thin the ATF.. once it is thinner it can wick into tighter spots faster.. when the solvent flashes off you are left with a decent lube residue.

Why would a backyard concoction outperform a product with some chemical science behind it?

Why not. You honestly think that every meaningfull scientific breakthru that has happend on this planet has only taken place on purpose, in a lab under controlled environments, with 4 million dollars of test equipment on the shelf, and a team of engineers and other people with enough lettered degrees by their name to need a chinese alphabet? That's real wishfull thinking.

one just cannot outdo a purpose designed product with witches brew........

Since you are so big on science to back up things.. where is your emperical evidence disproving any of the concotions posted here. We will of course want corroborating test results conducted by independent labs to verify your hypothesis.. etc.

Guess I shouldn't hold my breath on that right? (wink)

I can't speak for others.. but in the forums i haunt.. I'd wager that ATF has helped break free more stuck pistons/rings from liners than probably any other single chemical.

In some cases, a slightly thinned atf concoction actually works better than the superthin penetrating oil for situations where you want it to pool and wick around many places, like rings on a piston, vs leaking out intot he pan the first straight thru opening it finds... etc.

Soundguy

[Kendall69]

One vote for ATF, I asked a guy who had 650k on an old GM 6.5 diesel, and he said he dumped a quart if ATF in the tank every now and then.

For what it's worth.

[SpringHollow]

Back yard concoctions can work better. I recently saw the results of some professional testing on additives for increasing diesel lubricity. Making the diesel be 2% biodiesel worked better than the expensive additives. But the additives help with other things. I also do not know if there would be gelling issues with 2% bidiesel in the winter.

Ken

[EddieWalker]

My favorite penetrating oil is the 3in1 brand that they sell at Lowes. I've tried the others, except Krol, and found the 3in1 to be the most consistant. I've never herd of using ATF before. ATF does stand for Automatic Transmission Fluid? Right?

I've also found that the biggest name brandsa and the best known are not always the best. They do a good job of mass marketing and name recognition, but as long as it's selling, they don't worry about the quality of their product.

Eddie