best penetrating oils

[Rifleman1776]

This story came to me from one of the guy's in the EAA club Interesting !!


Subject: Fwd: Penetrating Oils
"Machinist's Workshop" recently published information on various penetrating oils. The magazine reports they tested these products for "break out "torque" on rusted nuts and bolts. A subjective test was made of popular penetrating oils, with the unit of merit being the torque required to remove the nut from a "scientifically rusted" bolt.
Average torque load to loosen nut:

No Oil used ........................516 foot pounds
WD-40 ..................... ........238 foot pounds
PB Blaster .........................214 foot pounds
Liquid Wrench ......................127 foot pounds
Kano Kroil .........................106 foot pounds
ATF/Acetone mix..................... 53 foot pounds

The ATF/Acetone mix is a "home brew" mix of 50/50 automatic transmission fluid and acetone. Note this "home brew" released bolts 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 20% of the price.
ATF/Acetone mix is best, but you can also use ATF and lacquer thinner in a 50/50 mix. ATF = Any type of Automatic Transmission Fluid

 

[stronics]

I do quite a bit of work on old tractors and have been using ATF and kerosene 50\50. Works better than any other I've tried. I can see the acetone formula working good too.
David

 

[Flint311]

That's pretty interesting....made a note of it for future reference. Thanks for sharing

 

[jdkerstetter]

Oil of Wintergreen (Methyl salicylate) is hard to beat for rusty hardware and I believe it is used as an ingredient in some of the commercially blended penetrates. It is readily available for a variety of uses and a pint will last you a lifetime.

But, hands down, absolutely nothing beats a "the big red wrench" for breaking stuck parts free! :wink:

Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Zonie]

Getting it is the big problem with Oil of Wintergreen.

For reasons known only to the Maker, those plants have very small drain plugs and they are well hidden among the foliage. :grin:

 

[F.G. Ford]

I teach machine shop at the University of Guelph, and agree, there is nothing better than ATF and acetone 50/50 mix.
It is the very best that I have used, and I have been around a long time.
For $7.00, you have many years of penetrating oil.
Everything else does not compare.
The torque value chart that "Rifleman 1776" supplied says it all.
Fred

 

I had never heard of the ATF acetone mix before... thanks. For me, I normally would use heat (propane torch) and a wrench with a huge mechanical advantage, but I know that's not always possible due to flammable materials or lack of space.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Very interesting. It is the first actual test I have seen where kroil was beaten! :hmm:

 

[Captjoel]

Getting it is the big problem with Oil of Wintergreen.

For reasons known only to the Maker, those plants have very small drain plugs and they are well hidden among the foliage. :grin:

Heck Zonie, I could never figure out how they got oil out of corn? Or vegetable oil out of vegetables for that matter! :hmm: I will certainly have to mix me up a batch of ATF\acetone for future use. Many years ago a late friend gave me a gallon of kroil oil. It is almost gone now. Thank you Rifleman for posting this.

 

[necchi]

Guy's, don't put off trying that ATF/Acetone mix.

The first time you do will be a Jaw Dropper,
Amazing!

 

[hawkeye2]

Rifleman1776 thanks for your post, it's very informative. When I was a boy everyone who needed a quantity of penetrating oil made theirs using kerosene and 10 weight non-detergent motor oil and every household had a can of Liquid Wrench on hand. Liquid Wrench got pushed to the back of the shelf by the "miracle" penetrants that came out in the 60's, specially those that came in aerosol cans but I still keep a can on hand. I also have a 50/50 mix of ATF/kero that I sometimes use as a penetrating oil and a bore cleaner (equal parts of ATF/kero/acetone is the formula for "Ed's Red", great for removing lead). Next week I'm going to drop the front suspension on my 30 year old, 308,000 mile F150 and replace the bushings. I'll mix up some ATF/acetone and give it a try as I have the components on hand. I'm quite reluctant to use the "gas adjustable" specially while I'm working at home alone even though I keep plenty of extinguishers on hand.

 

[FishDFly]

The specific gravities are different for ATF and acetone. How do you get one to dilute/mix into the other?

I just made the forumla as suggested, stirred/shook it up and the acetone floats on top of the ATF after sitting for a few minutes.

If you pour it on something to let it penetrate you get pure acetone first then pure ATF after the acetone is out of the container?

What am I missing or is this the way it's designed to work? In the real world the acetone will evporate and the ATF will not.

Thanks

r

 

[Rifleman1776]

Richard, can't help. I haven't tried yet. I just passed on the test results from a friend who belongs to the EAA.
But, it is a good question. :hmm: I'll ask him.

 

[FishDFly]

Thanks.

The acetone is still floating on top of the ATF, the acetone now has a red color to it after 2 hours sitting in a closed bottle with lid on it after a lot of shaking. The red color in the acetone is slowly going to the bottom.

There is still a marked separation line between the 2 different hydrocarbons and becoming more identied.

I just do not know how an aromatic hydrocarbon will go into solution with ATF.

Working in a chemical plant makes a person wonder about things which are reported.

My initial thought was the concoction might be used for removing rust from barrels, but with the acetone floating to the top I don't think the concotion will penetrate the rust so it can be removed.

Any way let us know.

r

 

Oh heck Richard, I just love it when you talk all techie like that. I hope I don't get a tingle up my leg.

 

[FishDFly]

Your legs are your own problem, not mine.

I made the mixture as recommended to see how it works because I thought I had some uses for it on my ranch working on eqipment and getting rust of barrels thar I find.

I asked the OP hoping to learn something not to hear from you.

I am not sorry if my education and work experience offends you.

Have a nice day.

r

 

Sorry, I'll shut up and head to the principals office.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Sorry, I'll shut up and head to the principals office.

Even when I try to be nice I start controversy. The editor of our local newspaper has nicknamed me "Cataylst".
Oh, well. :v

 

[FishDFly]

"Cataylst", yep I understand and like it.

I was given a shirt by my second wife with, "Does Not Play Well With Others" and from Disney World I was given a hat with "Grouch".

Now back to the discussion and some insight into the mixture, I would like to know if it works and why.

Thanks

r

 

[necchi]

All I know is my son came up with the same list that Riflemen posted,
He clipped it from an old Popular Mechanics magazine at his Great Uncles farm place.

We decided to try it, as I had heard talk of the mix before.

I had a half bottle of ATF (ford stuff) sitting around, I filled it with Acetone,
The colored jug did not allow me to view any stratification. I poured the colored liquid into a hand held oil squirt can and we used the stuff to pull a trailer hitch off of an old Buick.

We struggled trying one bolt with Liquid Wrench and another with JB's WD-80,, the afore mentioned mix squirted on the last two bolts lossened them immediately, and even allowed the nut's of said bolts to be threaded back on with finger pressure like they where new.

I don't really care if it stratifies or not or the why or how it chemically works or weather the two componets become one with each other.

Squirt the manure on a rusty bolt an try it,, :idunno:

Alot of thing will remove the rust from a barrel bore. Trouble is the damage from the rust remains and it's the degree of damage that determines if a barrel is salvagable or not.
Best way I've found to remove rust from a bore is Electrolysis, the method can be found on line with hundreds of links, got an auto battery charger and a copper wire?