danclemts

iTrader: (1)

I recently read this in another forum ("Machinist's Workshop") and thought I would post their findings here. The magazine reports they tested these products for "break out torque" on rusted nuts and bolts. A subjective 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 ft lbs
WD-40 ...............238 ft lbs
PB Blaster ...........214 ft lbs
Liquid Wrench ......127 ft lbs
Kano Kroil ...........106 ft lbs
ATF/Acetone mix....53 ft lbs

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 of the commercial products in this one particular test. Our local machinist group mixed up a batch, and we all now use it with equally great results. Note also that Liquid Wrench is almost as good as Kroil for only 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.

lonestar7

iTrader: (1)

I've worked on enough of them to know: no two rusted bolts are created equal. Just wondering how they created uniformly rusted test bolts? That is, if you sprayed all the bolts with BP Blaster, how close would each one be to the 214 ft-lb average they give? I often use a combination of light oil and acetone on corroded screws and threaded barrels on the photographic equipment I repair for a living, and I have no doubts it will work. I'm just not convinced it's 4 times better than PB Blaster. The acetone is an excellent wetting agent and it "wicks" the oil along with it into the threads. Acetone is very flammable and can damage some plastic and synthetic rubber parts, so you need to be careful with it. I'll have to remember this and give it a try the next time I do some under car work where the worst rusty bolts seem to live.

danclemts

iTrader: (1)

yea, You are correct on the testing setup, hopefully they found a way to make the rusted bolts uniform. Still interesting info, always nice when something cheap works well