Penetrating oil comparisons

[Teikas Dad]

I saw this on another website....what do you think?

For all of you that are mechanically inclined..... Penetrating Oils Compared A study done by Machinist's Workshop magazine in their April 2007 issue looked at different penetrating oils to see which one did the best job of removing a rusted bolt by measuring the pounds of torque required to loosen the bolt once treated. If the study was scientifically accurate, it turns out a home brew works best! Here's the summary of the test results:

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 Automatic Transmission fluid (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. A local machinist group mixed up a batch and all now use it with equally good results. Note also that "Liquid Wrench" is about as good as "Kroil" for about 20% of the price.

 

[taiden]

Did you get that from Grassroots Motorsports?

I heard about it from that site and I've been using it ever since. PB blaster, wd40, liquid wrench don't have **** on 50/50 atf/acetone mix.

If you spray a heavily rusted part with it... you will see smoke/vapor rise from the part. It's pretty scary, but it works really really well.

 

[Teikas Dad]

I got if off a fishing forum under a section on boat/trailer maintenance.

 

[vbnash]

If you mix the 50/50 acetone and atf in the atf container will it last? I was thinking that the acetone might evaporate.

 

[y20dth]

If you mix the 50/50 acetone and atf in the atf container will it last? I was thinking that the acetone might evaporate.

I think you're suppose to mix it in a spraycan, an close the top.

I've read this a while back and am planning on trying it, bought a bottle of aceton a couple of days ago.

 

[taiden]

I put it in a plastic spray bottle. It's been in there for about a year. The spray bottle is fine but the little straw inside it is starting to look like this:

I was having trouble getting the wheels off my uncles civic. I spent an hour hammering on after spraying the hub center with wd40, pb blaster, and liquid wrench and letting it sit for a day because I didn't have anymore 'mix' left. After an hour of hammering I went and looked for the ingredients, found them, mixed it, sprayed on all the wheels... let it sit for 10 minutes and all four popped right off with a quick punch on the tire with my hand. Pretty crazy stuff.

 

[nate379]

I have a spray can I got from Harbor Freight, would work great for that mix. It's a white can, about 12-16oz and you pour a liquid in and charge it with 90-100psi of air and spray it.

I have one I use for spraying solvent.

 

[y20dth]

I use to use empty windex-spray bottles, but they would stop working after a while. The pumping mechanisme inside cannot withstand oils and stuff. I've tried pressol-bottles but they aren't very good either. Appearantly the WD-40 bottles are suppose to be really good, bought one a couple of months ago. I'm curious how these wil hold up.

 

[pedro1990]

i think heat is the great equalizer when it comes to penetrating oil. im not talking much, but enough when theres just alittle smoke and the oil soaks in the threads. works 90% of the time.

 

[alex211]

Loosey Goosey is the best oil I have ever used, it's a million times better than PB blaster.

 

[BanjoSavesTheDay]

Very interesting. I've always assumed that PB blaster was as good of stuff as you could buy. The 50/50 mix seems worth a try.

Appearantly the WD-40 bottles are suppose to be really good, bought one a couple of months ago. I'm curious how these wil hold up.

What kind of WD40 bottles are you talking about?

 

[Teken]

No mention of Lloyds Moovit lube? Stuff is high and low temp stable and is not combustible . . .

What is Acetone used for commonly?

 

[lbgradwell]

The real mix used was apparently 50-50 Power Steering Fluid - Acetone, even though ATF was intended...

Please confirm MW article on Penetrating Oil

 

[vssjim]

I agree with the torch method followed by Kroil or your choice, I have never seen anything just make stuff fly off after spraying on anything

 

[Teken]

I believe the key point allot of people haven't mentioned in this thread is that all of these penetrating solutions state that once you have applied said chemical that you strike the object that requires release . . .

This will allow the solution to enter pores / cavity of the bolt / thread what ever so it can be removed.

I also agree sometimes it comes down to plain old heat and the BFH!

 

[ksfarmboy]

What is Acetone used for commonly?

I used to work in a lab, and we used acetone to sterilize some stuff, and clean other things. Works really good for taking sharpie marks off plastic bottles!

 

[alberto]

The one issue with the home brew would be that brake fluid would remove paint too, so if used on a car or near painted surfaces, it could be a (big) problem.

 

[boiler7904]

I used to work in a lab, and we used acetone to sterilize some stuff, and clean other things. Works really good for taking sharpie marks off plastic bottles!

Acetone also works well for removing paint overspray from an epoxy floor.

 

[Brandon_Lutz]

No mention of JB-80. I'd like to see what it would be rated at. We have used that stuff forever down here.

 

[ratdoggy]

I agree with the torch method followed by Kroil or your choice, I have never seen anything just make stuff fly off after spraying on anything

X3 works for me

 

[Davefr]

The one issue with the home brew would be that brake fluid would remove paint too, so if used on a car or near painted surfaces, it could be a (big) problem.

Yes, brake fluid removes paint and so does acetone. A lot of penetrating oil is used in conjunction with a torch and acetone is extremely flammable.

This might be a good homebrew but you need to be very carefull.

 

[Hi_Psi]

i dont know about you guys, but i have used brute magic and schaeffers(not sure if i spelled it right) and it has made wd-40 look like a toy.

 

[taiden]

I've never heard of anyone applying heat to the part after the penetrating oil was put on.

The trick for me has always been to heat the part and then DOUSE it with the penetrating oil.

This is a double edge sword because the heat wicks in the oil, and the oil quickly cools the part causing the rust bonds to be physically broken.

In this example my homebrew has never caught on fire.

Also, I would never use brake fluid, because that stuff destroys paint. Acetone does too but in my experience not at the same level of destruction.

 

[Davefr]

I've never heard of anyone applying heat to the part after the penetrating oil was put on.

Yes, but sometimes the first round of soaking and heat doesn't do the job so you have to repeat the process.

 

[benjamming]

If the study was scientifically accurate,

I haven't seen anything to convince me that it was. Of course, that doesn't mean it wasn't, just that I haven't seen the evidence.

 

[scooby074]

I haven't seen anything to convince me that it was. Of course, that doesn't mean it wasn't, just that I haven't seen the evidence.

im still waiting for a scientific test to confirm the results.

But Kroil and Zep45 work good for me.

I cant believe that no magazine out there ever did a comparison test. Or the military, whats the navy use? Or the offshore?

Im sure the military must have a standard that products must meet and be tested as such.

 

[hayfarmer]

Man you couldn't pay me enough to use acetone. I had to transport a poor guy that was using acetone to clean his basement floor when the furnace came on. Third degree burns over a large percentage of his body. No way, I will use pb and heat. Please be careful with acetone.

 

[Tantara]

What is Acetone used for commonly?

Fingernail polish remover

Brad

 

[Teken]

Fingernail polish remover

Brad

OMG . . . So all this time I had 4 bottles laying around from the girls I could have used??

Many thanks for clarification . . .

 

[nate379]

Sure, but how about when your too lazy to take out the torch and think maybe just some PB Blaster on that will do it?? Then realize it's torch time?
No problem with PB Blaster doing that, but the homebrew stuff??

I've never heard of anyone applying heat to the part after the penetrating oil was put on.

The trick for me has always been to heat the part and then DOUSE it with the penetrating oil.

 

[ears]

The original test was with power steering fluid not brake fluid. Pretty much the same as ATF. I have been using this for a while, along with whatever else I have laying around. I think it works better than anything else I have tried and is dirt cheap. Not scientific I know, but it does work very well.

As far as flammability that is a non-issue in my opinion. Most stuff in a spray can is flammable. A few squirts of straight gasoline on a bolt then hit it with a torch, it wil give you a tiny little extra flare up, then nothing. I just cant imagine acetone watered down with ATF doing much more than what the flame from that torch is already doing.

 

[Teken]

As a follow up is the Acetone from the nail polish 100%, or is it a mixture of something? I don't have a bottle near me to check, and I know the girls are pretty much buying the cheap stuff from the dollar store and don't want to get too excited if it doesn't work only because the concentration of less than what is expected.

 

[Bolster]

As a follow up is the Acetone from the nail polish 100%, or is it a mixture of something? I don't have a bottle near me to check, and I know the girls are pretty much buying the cheap stuff from the dollar store and don't want to get too excited if it doesn't work only because the concentration of less than what is expected.

What, you don't want Aloe, Heather, Horsetail Extract, and Vitamin E enriched Acetone?

Well in a very MANLY fashion, let me warn you that there are also non-acetone based nail polishes out there, sold as "odorless." So you are looking for the home-girl type that burns the hair from your nostrils while it is stripping your nails. "Dual action."

Wikipedia: "Acetone is often the primary component in cleaning agents such as nail polish remover. Ethyl acetate, another organic solvent, is sometimes used as well. Acetone is a component of superglue remover and it easily removes residues from glass and porcelain. It can be used as an artistic agent; when rubbed on the back of a laser print or photocopy placed face-down on another surface and burnished firmly, the toner of the image transfers to the destination surface. Some automotive enthusiasts add acetone at around 1 part in 500 to their fuel, following claims of improvement in fuel economy and engine life.[9] Systematic testing has determined that acetone has no measurable effect on fuel economy or may in fact reduce engine life by adversely affecting fuel system parts.[10][11] The effect of acetone on fuel economy was addressed on the popular American TV show MythBusters in 2006, in which they observed a decrease on fuel economy.[12]

Acetone has been studied extensively and is generally recognized to have low acute and chronic toxicity if ingested and/or breathed. Breathing high concentrations (around 9200 ppm) in the air caused irritation of the throat in humans in as little as 5 minutes. Breathing concentrations of 1000 ppm caused irritation of the eye and throat in less than 1 hour; however, breathing 500 ppm of acetone in the air caused no symptoms of irritation in humans even after 2 hours of exposure. Acetone is not currently regarded as a carcinogen, a mutagenic chemical or a concern for chronic neurotoxicity effects."

 

[Teken]

Wow you're right . . . Fracking bottle says: Acetone, Aqua, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Ethoxydigiglycol, PPG-12-PEG-50 Lanolin, Parfum, Panthenol, and about 5 more things I can't be bothered to type out.

Will this work too?

 

[porphyre]

All this talk about nail polish remover. BAH! Lemme chime in on Acetone and manliness.

Acetone is used a lot in the bowling industry. Bowling is manly, right?? It's used to clean... well, just about everything that ain't rubber and some things that are. Guys also used to soak bowling balls in it. We also soaked in Mek and Toluene. This was in the 70's when we used polyester balls. The idea was to soften the ball so it'd grip the lane better and hook more.

They banned soaker balls, though. Why? Because Acetone, Toluene, and MEK are HIGHLY FLAMMABLE! Oh yeah soakin' balls got banned because it was toooooo dangerous.

So remember kids. Acetone is MANLY.

 

[scooby074]

Wow you're right . . . Fracking bottle says: Acetone, Aqua, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Ethoxydigiglycol, PPG-12-PEG-50 Lanolin, Parfum, Panthenol, and about 5 more things I can't be bothered to type out.

Will this work too?

id probably get the pure stuff. last time i bought it at the dreaded cdn tire

 

[Teken]

id probably get the pure stuff. last time i bought it at the dreaded cdn tire

Ahhhhhhh, I just thought if I had the stuff lying around in the future if the needed arises and the tried and true Moovit, along with impact and heat didn't work I would use this potion to persuade that bolt.

I asked the girls to bring me out the bottles they are all pink and generally have all the same chemicals in it, but none of them list the concentration of each.

Maybe the dollar store will have some plain clear stuff . . .

 

[Bolster]

Lemme chime in on Acetone and manliness. ... Guys also used to soak bowling balls in it. ... Acetone is MANLY.

WOW! Soaking your BALLS in ACETONE. That truly IS manly!

OK, you manly guys, go soak your balls in Acetone and let me know if you can get your nuts off afterwards.

Standing by for a report...

 

[taiden]

I can take a video of me trying to light the mixture on fire if it makes you guys feel better.

 

[scooby074]

Ahhhhhhh, I just thought if I had the stuff lying around in the future if the needed arises and the tried and true Moovit, along with impact and heat didn't work I would use this potion to persuade that bolt.

I asked the girls to bring me out the bottles they are all pink and generally have all the same chemicals in it, but none of them list the concentration of each.

Maybe the dollar store will have some plain clear stuff . . .

moovit is a decent product, as is its cousin loobit. ive used both.but i think some of the others likekroil and zep might be better. at least in my experience