Please confirm MW article on Penetrating Oil

[63Avanti]

The material below has been making the rounds of the internet for months. Could someone look up the Machinist Workshop issue and confirm/debunk as appropriate. Also, could someone fill in the gaps on what the test was attempting to demonstrate? Does it apply to seized engine bolts and rusted frame nuts?

"The April/May 2007 edition of Machinist's Workshop did a test of penetrating oils where they measured the force required to loosen rusty test devices. Buy the issue if you want to see how they did the test. The results reported were interesting. The lower the number of pounds the better. Mighty interesting results for simple acetone and tranny fluid!

Penetrating oil . Average load .. Price per fluid ounce
None ................. 516 pounds .
WD-40 .............. 238 pounds .. $0.25
PB Blaster ......... 214 pounds .. $0.35
Liquid Wrench ... 127 pounds .. $0.21
Kano Kroil ........ 106 pounds .. $0.75
ATF-Acetone mix.. 53 pounds .. $0.10

The ATF-Acetone mix was a 50/50 mix (1 to 1 ratio)."


thanks!

[JCHannum]

Back issues are available from Village Press, the sponsors of this site. I suggest you contact them and purchase the issue in question.

[IOWOLF]

It was Power steering fluid not atf, according to the photo.

[wierdscience]

I've used ATF and diesel mixed together for years and I can say it does work better than WD.

[kendall]

The only reason I keep ATF around is for freeing stuck bolts.
I haven't tried mixing it with acetone, but it seems like it would work great, acetone would thin it out enough to flow easier.


Ken.

[lazlo]

Wow, that's really surprising. I've been a PBlaster fan for a long time, but Liquid Wrench spanks it. Kroil is good stuff, but besides being ridiculously expensive, it's also very hard to find (and apparently not much better than Liquid Wrench).

ATF+Acetone is half of the "Ed's Red" formula. But IOWolf is saying the real formula is power steering fluid + Acetone?

By the way, is it just me, or does Liquid Wrench smell like sh!t? I kinda like the smell of PBlaster

[TGTool]

I seem to recall some write-in discussion of the discrepancy between the picture and the text and the author confirmed that it was ATF he used, but the quick picture had the wrong container.

At Cabin Fever several years ago there was a guy selling Farty Arty's Nut Buster. Maybe I should have bought a can, but didn't. No idea what was in it, but maybe he was just ahead of the curve. Or maybe I can now bust my nuts without Arty's help.

[wierdscience]

Originally Posted by TGTool

I seem to recall some write-in discussion of the discrepancy between the picture and the text and the author confirmed that it was ATF he used, but the quick picture had the wrong container.

.

He might simply have been drinking the PS fluid.

[lazlo]

Thanks Jan -- ATF + acetone makes more sense to me. Penetrating oil is just thin oil with a solvent to carry it into the threads.

ATF is high detergent oil, and acetone is a powerful solvent, so that formula (which has floated around the 'Net for years) makes a lot of sense.

[JRouche]

Dunno.. But I have a gallon of Kroil here and it will last me my lifetime. That seems pretty inexpensive.. Oh, and it does work.. JRouche