Penetrating oil...

A good email I just got, I'll have to whip up a batch and try it out...

"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 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.

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Yes this is an old secret everyone should know!!!! I've known this for years and im only 27 lol

It works ! I use it all the time

All this time and I thought my PB Blaster was good stuff....:bang head:

srk468 said:

...
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

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thanks for the tip...and the supporting data to convince the skeptic in me. i'll start stocking my workbench with the concoction. unk:

Question: should i use synthetic ATF or conventional? :rofl_200:

My only issue is that Acetone/ATF does not come in an aerosol can.

So long PB Blaster...

mvrk10256 said:

My only issue is that Acetone/ATF does not come in an aerosol can.

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Make up mixture in squirt bottle problem solved.. stray on in let stream. If u want buy an oiling can that you can adjust spray on and fill with air for pressure... but a squirt bottle is sufficient for the job

donnelly317 said:

Make up mixture in squirt bottle problem solved.. stray on in let stream. If u want buy an oiling can that you can adjust spray on and fill with air for pressure... but a squirt bottle is sufficient for the job

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You don't think acetone would eat through all the plastic?

Someone posted this a few months ago. Think it may have been fire medic.

I gave it a shot. Mixed some up and put it in an oil can. It worked good on freeing up some spoke nipples on a set of 30 year old dirt bike wheels. I should have done half the wheel with the ATF/Acetone and half with PB blaster but I didn't.

mvrk10256 said:

You don't think acetone would eat through all the plastic?

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Metal oil can or Polypropylene (PP) / high-density polyethylene (HDPE) spray bottle would work well.

Tex85 said:

Metal oil can or Polypropylene (PP) / high-density polyethylene (HDPE) spray bottle would work well.

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That's exactly how I was gonna go about it too glad to see other guys have tried it so I know I'm not wasting my time LOL

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Tex85 said:

Metal oil can or Polypropylene (PP) / high-density polyethylene (HDPE) spray bottle would work well.

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Beat me to it! Lol gotta remember your diluting acetone. We buy bottles from grainer and use MEK in they don't melt away and MEK is some harsh ****

[email protected] said:

Someone posted this a few months ago. Think it may have been fire medic.

I gave it a shot. Mixed some up and put it in an oil can. It worked good on freeing up some spoke nipples on a set of 30 year old dirt bike wheels. I should have done half the wheel with the ATF/Acetone and half with PB blaster but I didn't.

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Nah, it was me, but it don't hurt to bump up a good thing........

http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=26612

Ya gotta give Joe his props, I do!unk:

I use ATF for all-sorts of things, a great solvent! It cleans your hands really-well, just don't let me catch you 'huffing' the rags you use!

I've mentioned this before:
You see some pretty-interesting things riding on fire-rescue. We got a call to the local school district grounds to the alternative school, where the management-issue kids go, kind-of the 'last-ditch-attempt' before they are booted from the district.

There was an unconscious adolescent, his friend said they had been inhaling fumes from a can of ATF-soaked rags in a brown-paper bag. The kid had enough sense to call 911 after his friend stopped breathing, and we got there quickly. We ended-up intubating him and taking him to the E.R. for treatment, if this friend hadn't called when he did, his huffin' buddy would have expired. The kid had absolutely no respiratory effort of his own, which is pretty-unusual for a kid, they usually are capable of some autonomic nervous system function when it comes to respirations and cardiac output. This kid had one foot in the grave, and his other foothold had released, he was about to enter the netherworld head-first. Sadly, when the poison of choice is an aromatic hydrocarbon, it kills brain cells every time you use it, and they don't regenerate. uke:

So, if you choose to use ATF, please use it in a well-ventilated place, the same room as your space-heater is not the place, and if you start to think, "the world is a really-cool place, and all the rainbow-colored unicorns are dancing in syncopation to the radio," it's time to get into the open air. :confused2:

Also, rags like that can spontaneously-combust, and should be stored in an appropriate self-closing fire-rated container. Wouldn't it be a shame to lose your garage or home because you were careless in the disposal of your rags?:angry flame:

Thanks for the info. I am about to dig into some old '88 Vmax carbs which have been sitting for 6 years, and I am sure I can find some use for this.

Langley182 said:

Thanks for the info. I am about to dig into some old '88 Vmax carbs which have been sitting for 6 years, and I am sure I can find some use for this.

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Get a container large-enough to submerge the carbs in it, but just-big-enough, and buy the generic ATF, w/the other solvent, sufficient to cover the carbs, and let them soak for a week. Remove the float bowls.

Very good info!!!! If you use a lot of rags at once u could start a fire outside and just burn them. Lol everyone like to play with fire even us firefighters hense why were firefighters :worthy:

Yep, ther are more volunteers than paid firefighters in the good ole' USA!!

Fire-medic said:

Get a container large-enough to submerge the carbs in it, but just-big-enough, and buy the generic ATF, w/the other solvent, sufficient to cover the carbs, and let them soak for a week. Remove the float bowls.

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Shouldn't you remove the diaphrams and other rubber/plastic items also?? :confused2: