Wax used on rusted parts!!!!!

[woodlandfarms]

yall should get your wax from beekeepers. Now some could use the extra business with CCD going around.

What is CCD? I think we lost our hive this winter - . I hope not. Maybe they have moved onto another tree but I keep reading the bee's are on the decline for some unexplained reason...

 

[jimainiac]

I think CCD stands for colony collapse disorder.
That's a neat trick with the hot wax, but I too do not quite understand why that is better than heating and applying penetrating oil, such as WD40. More slippery?

 

[DieselPower]

I really don't know the physic's of why it works but it does. Here's a little test you can do to show how well the wax works. Get a rusty piece of metal, any rusty piece of metal will work. Heat it with a small propane torch (not glowing red hot, just hot enough to melt wax). Spray some of your favorite penetrating oil on it and see how far it wick's across the rusty metal. Ok, reheat it again and now apply wax. The wax wick's farther doesn't it. Seems to do the same thing on nuts and bolts. It wick's farther into the threads than penetrating oil does. Have you ever noticed when you spray a rusty nut and bolt with penetrating oil the oil only ever seems to go in 1 or 2 threads. The wax completly soaks through to the last thread. I'm sure it has something to do with surface tenssion (I guess ) but all I know is it works.

 

[mrutkaus]

Sounds like an interesting technique. I cannot wait to find a reason to try it.

I am not disputing here - so no offense. OK? I am just thinking through the method trying to understand its advantage. The melting wax would wick up the threads like solder in a sweated joint, right? But why would that work better than the old standby penetrating oil? Any ideas?

Maybe because it is a way to get something thick in there, ie when it hardens you'd have more lubricating stuff in the threads than what is left when penetrating oil evaporates, and the "more stuff" makes it easier...

Mike

 

[Soundguy]

Some penetrating oils are very light and evaporate quickly. the wax on the other hand eventually cools and sets.. and is there like 'grease' in the threads
I've use dthis trick many times. Onece was on an old dearbor 10-1 plow that was more rust than iron.

Soundguy

Sounds like an interesting technique. I cannot wait to find a reason to try it.

I am not disputing here - so no offense. OK? I am just thinking through the method trying to understand its advantage. The melting wax would wick up the threads like solder in a sweated joint, right? But why would that work better than the old standby penetrating oil? Any ideas?

 

[Soundguy]

Wd-40 is a pretty poor unstickum lubricant.. plus it has a half life of about 5 minutes before it evaporates. I have better luck with a mix of kerosene and atf fluid mix, in a squirt bottle.

soundguy

I think CCD stands for colony collapse disorder.
That's a neat trick with the hot wax, but I too do not quite understand why that is better than heating and applying penetrating oil, such as WD40. More slippery?

 

[slowrev]

Yeah Soundguy, imho WD40 is highly overrated....
Ben

 

[ulbhunter]

My question is how hot must the metal be for the wax to work into rusted threads?

I have something of a unique problem. I inherited (in a pile of junk) a old oxygen cylinder that was stamped as tested in 1949,1951, and 1956. This tank has a protection cap that is rusted shut. I was able to work my fingers into the holes on the cap and turn the valve a little. The tank is still pressurized.

On rusted items I would normally use penetrating oil to break free the threads or use my torch to break free the threads using heat. Oil and oxygen is an explosion waiting to happen and I am not going to get a torch anywhere near the tank until I have removed the valve completely and I am positive that no pressure is present.

My plan of attack is in order of preference (1) use a friend and his set of extremely large pipe wrenches and chain wrench. (2) Use either a porta-band saw or an air powered small die grinder with a small cut off wheel to slice the protective cap (being careful not to get the cap to hot) to a point where I am able to remove the cap. or (3) place a shape charge on the tank and bury the tank 8'-10' underground and then from a safe distance and behind protection detonate the shape charge and force pierce the tank
(yes, I am trained and authorized to use explosivies).

Is is posssible to heat the cap/threads enough with a simple electric heat gun that the wax would wick ?

 

[jimainiac]

What's the ratio of the kerosene and ATF mix? That sounds interesting. Trouble is, I wouldn't want to use it in a lot of places because of the smell and or mess factor. Part of what I like about WD40 is it smells good and isn't too messy.
I'm looking forward to trying the hot wax trick the next time something's really balky.

 

[bota7800]

Some penetrating oils are very light and evaporate quickly. the wax on the other hand eventually cools and sets.. and is there like 'grease' in the threads

Soundguy

That sounds like a reasonable explanation.

As to how hot to heat the metal - I found a range of melting temps from 126F to 149F.
Paraffin is a mix of different carbon chains so it varies. Beeswax is 166F. Just get the metal somewhat above that temp without getting it too hot.

CCD - colony collapse is right, I think. It's a big problem. A local beekeeper wrote about it quite awhile ago in an ag column he writes but lately I have seen him on local news and I know he testified before Congress. A lot of ag may be affected.