Haven't seen this here so thought I would post this article regarding various penetrating oils and how well they work. Several surpises.

I have the fixings in my garage now so essentially the best is free for me.

Jim Henderson

Thanks to Matthew J. Michalik who posted this on the Yahoo group:


Machinist's Workshop Mag (tm)recently published some information on various penetrating oils that I found very interesting. Some of you might appreciate this. the magazine reports they tested penetrants for break out torque on rusted nuts.
They are below, as forwarded by an ex-student and professional machinist.

They arranged a subjective test of all the popular penetrants
with the control being the torque required to remove the nut from
a "scientifically rusted" environment.

*Penetrating oil .......... Average load*
None ........................... 516 pounds
WD-40 ..................... ... 238 pounds
PB Blaster .................... 214 pounds
Liquid Wrench ............... 127 pounds
Kano Kroil .................... 106 pounds
ATF-Acetone mix...............53 pounds

The ATF-Acetone mix was a "home brew" mix of 50 - 50 automatic
transmission fluid and acetone. Note the "home brew" was better
than any commercial product in this one particular test.

Our local machinist group mixed up a batch and we all now use
it with equally good results.

Note also that "Liquid Wrench" is almost as good as "Kroil" for
about 20% of the price.

 

Good find.

Just a note: The same data was posted in the Garage/Workshop section a while back. I think that there was some debate about these results. Discussion was about how realistic the test was.

Nevertheless, I think that most agreed that the mix was pretty good stuff.

 

That is very interesting. Looks like home brew needs to be put to the test. I will definitly try this.

 

Good news, if this is true. I started using PB Blaster on my old tractor with excellent results. But if Liquid Wrench is better I would gladly use that instead. PB Blaster stinks so bad. Get one drop of it on your pants or shirt sleeve and you will get thrown out of the house!

 

Also, there is no way to compare a 'scientifically rusted' fastener, to a 25 year old fastener that has been assaulted with road salt.

 

Interesting Jim. I will have to give the home brew a try.
Thanks, Craig

 

I'm disappointed that Pepsi was not tested. The phosphoric acid in soft drinks, combined with the agitation from the carbonation bubbles, do wonders for rusted fastenters.

The only reason I could think the winning ATF-acetone mixture might not be commercially viable, if anyone is thinking of marketing it, is the flammability and VOC content of acetone.

Jim

 

I don't see what the VOC/flammability would have to do with marketability. I can buy pure acetone at any of the local big-box stores. I think the real reason is that the formula is out there, and there's no good way to patent it when everyone can buy the ingredients off the shelf for less than it could be profitably marketed for.

To a previous poster: the point of the "scientifically rusted bolts" is to remove a variable from the testing. Either the bolt/nut is going to come off, or something is going to break. ATF/acetone appears to be the formula that makes the first outcome the most probable. Sometimes nothing will work (when the rust is in effect a cold weld--the two threaded surfaces are no longer metallurgically distinguishable).

Jason

 

Hm, seems like every time I tried Liquid Wrench, it didn't really work all that well.

 

Yes. For seriously rusted nuts and bolts, I have resorted to the smokewrench.

 

I tend to call that and use the blue wrench

 

Ok Scott and Rob, you have me stumped. Are you referring to a cheater bar?

 

I think there refering to a combination of O2 and Acetylene.

 

Sooooo, does the use of SYNTHETIC ATF make it even better????

Isn't synthetic better for everything?

Ha ha ha ha!

(Jus' stirrin' it....)

Pop

 

I note.... if you make the home brew... keep tightly sealed. The acetone will evaporate quickly, from the concoction.

"Fire wrench" is another term for the above non-traditional nut looseners, called cutting torches.