Controlled test of rust penetrants

[KWKloeber]

https://groups.io/g/catalina30/message/100949

-k

[Bobg]

Thanks Ken, very interesting . I retired from a large utility company and have been bragging the virtues of Kroil over all others, just had a wake-up call, must have thought it was the best because of the expense,

[KWKloeber]

Bob

Kroil trailed liquid wrench below also. I'd guess the variance if everything were 100% controlled isn't enough to base the choice on anything but cost?  It's not like one or the other cuts the torque by 50-60%.  We're talking shades of gray. Heat, even mild heat seems best.   They need to test heat, in conjunction with each. I've long claimed that alternating several cycles of heat and freezing is key - works good on busting the bond on cutass bearings.

I saw another YT praising candle wax. He acetylene torches a bolt red hot (so he can melt candle wax onto the threads) and breaks it free. Duh. Sometimes ppl are so gullible.

https://youtu.be/YeTNXbDbHcM

https://youtu.be/2G-dX50JuXE
Sometimes AVE is funny as hell the way he tears down tools to review them. Crude but funny.

[mainesail]

That test came out quite a while ago now. After it came out I tried the ATF / Acetone mix. It works ok, and is pretty cheap per oz, but not as good as they make it sound. I have gone back to Kroil, Thrust and PB. I also have many others but those three are my go-to's..

In the real world I still find PB Blaster to be one of the all around best, especially for the price. I also find that non "scientifically rusted" nuts, studs bolts etc. come free much better with PB, Kroil or Thrust than the ATF / Acetone mix.... One issue with the ATF acetone mixture is you need to add the cost of "oil cans" to the mix as the mix has eats the the seals on every one of them I have. If I could find and old school oiler with felt seals for the pump I be jazzed but I can't find them any more...

A number of years ago, after reading about the ATF/Acetone, I tried it out while I was doing the brake rotors on my wife's Honda Pilot. The set screws that hold the rotors on are notorious for rusting in place, as are the caliper bolts. After two hours of soaking the right side in ATF / Acetone I had only stripped the Phillips heads of the set screws, even with an impact screw driver. One of them finally broke (Doh'!). I blasted the remaining one with PB and waited about 5 minutes. The one unbroken screw came right out with a quick blast of the impact driver despite having almost no grip left to it. I sprayed the snapped one with PB, put my Knipex pliers on it, and was able to get it out.

On the left side I simply sprayed with PB, waited five minutes, and both set screws backed right out with no damage to the heads..... These of course were not "scientifically rusted" on and had been naturally rusted, by real Maine winters & road salt...

Thrust is also an excellent product but hard to find. Liquid Wrench makes numerous products and I find one of them to do marginally okay but not the others. The one Liquid Wrench product I actually like leaves an awful pungent odor, that lingers, akin to spilled diesel so I have stopped using it. Can't remember which one it is though.

Another old timers trick is Coca Cola.. I still have my ATF / Acetone mix but find I use it very rarely because PB Blaster, Kroil or Thrust rarely let me down...

[KWKloeber]

There's nothing like real-world experiences. I've always used PB also.

Rod, btw these aren't the "old" 50/50 mix tests. The one was April and the second was June this year that found kroil to be near the bottom of the bunch. The comparison he shows re: various products' ability to creep down the thread was also very interesting.

-k