Penetrating oils

[Eddy#36]

"Handy to know for the home workshop"

Penetrating Oils

Machinist's Workshop Mag recently published some information on various penetrating oils that I found very interesting. Some of you might appreciate this. The magazine reports they tested penetrates for break out torque on rusted nuts. (No, not that type of nuts)
They are below, as forwarded by an ex-student and professional machinist. They arranged a subjective test of all the popular penetrates with the control being the torque required to remove the nut from a "scientifically rusted" environment.

*Penetrating oils ........... Average torque load to loosen*

No Oil used ................... 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 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 about 20% of the price.

Steve from Godwin-Singer says that ATF-Acetone mix is best, but you can also use ATF and lacquer thinner in a 50-50 mix. *ATF=Automatic

Transmission Fluid This actually works well, power-steering fluid also works as well as trans fluid!

[EML]

Trans fluid and pwr steer fluid is often the same and then just as often is not. Fords are a good case in example 95LE is not exchangable with Ford pwr steer fluid.
ALSO beware of what goes into a Honda CAR as it can turn to shit real quick.
Most might get you home (Out of trouble) but you might pay for it in the long run and a tow might be cheaper.
Bloody good to know about the trans/acetone mix though as we use tons of WD here.

[Hoony]

good info, thanks for posting it up.

[EML]

Perhaps I should mention too that many new cars are going back to Dot3 brake fluid and for everyone to check before they toss their regular fluid in.

[Tim754]

KY lube  ...  about a bottle and half of cheap bubbly and fifteen beers if over 350 pounds...

[Paul552]

KY lube  ...  about a bottle and half of cheap Bubbly and fifteen beers if over 350 pounds...

+1

[crash n bern]

Another trick I recently found out was using Dot 4 brake fluid to restore perished rubber.  Apparently power steering fluid and ATF can be used as well, but I haven't tried that.

I've been adding to my old Meccano set for my son (Well okay...me) and the tyres were perished so I soaked them in a cup of brake fluid overnight and they came up like new.  Even the ones with the splits in them had melted back together.  The badly perished gray ones didn't fair too good.  The only problem was the tyres kept weeping fluid no matter how well I washed them. Not real good for kids to play with, not to mention damaging the painted meccano parts.  I also read that throwing rubber products in the dishwasher with those powerball type detergents works for restoring rubber so I did that as well and they came out a treat. 

I read a few people have done it with perished carb rubbers with good results.  They say to use the ATF if you are working around paint, like window rubbers in an old car.

Have used to ATF/acetone, but only on some alloy chain adjuster blocks that were frozen in a steel DG swingarm with no luck.  Had to cut the swingarm with a grinder and weld it back up.

But I remember as a kid my dad having a bottle of Penetrene which I have never seen for sale since, and the fluid was red.  I used it up lubricating the wheels on my billy cart after every run to try and get my land speed records up.  The ATF/acetone mix reminds me a lot of it so it may of been the same sort of stuff.

[Tim754]

The old red sweet smelly Penetrene is available through Blackwoods. Bought a 5 litre container from their site at the last Elmore field Days. $28.50 Cheers

[Slakewell]

My fav is Worth roost off , would have like to seen how it stacked up , but I know it is allot better than say WD 40

[EML]

Ahhh, that would be Wurth, Rostoff. You Accent stinks, but then perhaps so does your Excel.

[Ktm181]

something else that works UNREAL is Subaru upper engine cleaner...believe it or not! Only down side might be paint damage as it smells like it contains costic, i use it exclusively to clean carbs and un-seize bolts, swingarm shafts,nuts etc, it is expensive though at just less than $20 a can. Me working for Subaru helps though, few half empty cans kicking about lasts forever on my nuts!

Kt

[EML]

Same stuff a Amway oven cleaner-tho I think they took it off the market as it ate too many ovens, or snuffed too many house wives
We use the Suby stuff here and it can do amazing stuff all right Take your plug out and spray it in-leave overnight and then start her up next day-stand clear though
There has been hearsay that it has bent rods but I have never seen any proof. I guess if it turns liquid and the volume is high enough it could do. It's supposed to stay as a foam that eats all the carbon(like an oven cleaner)
Good find in an old Two Wheels was the fact that you can soak your alloys in rhubarb to clean them off-make your pie taste funky though

[Ktm181]

We use the Suby stuff here and it can do amazing stuff all right Take your plug out and spray it in-leave overnight and then start her up next day-stand clear though
There has been hearsay that it has bent rods but I have never seen any proof. I guess if it turns liquid and the volume is high enough it could do. It's supposed to stay as a foam that eats all the carbon(like an oven cleaner)

WE are using it in diesels directly down the glo plug hole, we are supposed to blow it out before refit of the plugs, i have seen some very bad knocking if not completely blow out, it DOES turn to liquid, i soak my carbs in it, you end up with a 10mm puddle in the bottom of the dish, its not too savage either on old alloy but doesnt like paint and would probably stain polished stuff. SOME GOOD INFO comes out in this foruma ay!

[firko]

I've got a 400 Maico square barrel engine that is locked solid in the bore. I've tried red Penetrene, WD40, RP7, dieso/ATF mix....all to no avail. It's been sitting on the last year or so with a mix of brake fluid and diesel that an old Polish mechanic suggested I use but it's still locked solid. I know the bottom end's free as I've removed the barrel studs and the crank turns a bit...enough to lift the whole barrel up a couple of inches. Anyway....I want to save as much as I can on this engine because I have good reason to believe it's a Wayne Moradian ported cylinder(Wayne did a lot of Wheelsmiths porting). Do I try the ATF/Acetone method?

[Eddy#36]

I've got a 400 Maico square barrel engine that is locked solid in the bore. I've tried red Penetrene, WD40, RP7, dieso/ATF mix....all to no avail. It's been sitting on the last year or so with a mix of brake fluid and diesel that an old Polish mechanic suggested I use but it's still locked solid. I know the bottom end's free as I've removed the barrel studs and the crank turns a bit...enough to lift the whole barrel up a couple of inches. Anyway....I want to save as much as I can on this engine because I have good reason to believe it's a Wayne Moradian ported cylinder(Wayne did a lot of Wheelsmiths porting). Do I try the ATF/Acetone method?

Why not, give it the VMX test