Penetrating Oils

[stevemon]

FYI Penetrating Oils

Machinist's Workshop Magazine 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.

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

[Scott87]

That is quite interesting.  I swear by kroil but that is what I use at work in powerhouses.  Also good to confirm that pb blaster is crap (always considered it as such)

I will have to try the fifty / fifty mixture sometime. 

So the mixture creeps just as good as kroil on rusted studs and nuts?

Posted From Tapatalk

[Steve Wood]

I always have used Kroil with good results but the spray cans have a terrible nozzle just like the blaster in my experience...n eed to mix up some ATF

Type F or DextronIII

[motorhead]

I believe that ATF and brake fluid is another 50/50 mix that has been proven to be effective.

[SuperSix]

Good info, I have been using PB Blaster for years. 

[tb3]

I've also always been a big fan of kroil.  Its always seemed to work the best.
 
strange but true....
kroil is the only thing in the world I know of that I'm apperantly some kind of allergic to.
If I don't have good ventilation where I'm using it, it makes my stomach sick. 
I've never thrown up, but I've felt like I was going to a few times

[TWIN86GNS]

I recently mixed up a 50-50 mix of ATF and Acetone but hadn't used it until last weekend.  My neighbour was trying to remove the winter tires and rims from his wife's car and I saw him with a sledge hammer beating on the rims.  The rims had rusted to the hubs and weren't coming off so I sprayed some of the home brew penetrant on all of the studs and the centre hub and a few minutes later the rims came off without too much grief.  We were both impressed. 

[Top Speed]

Thanks for the info!