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From the MPV forum. I cannot verify the sourced reference material yet though.

Penetrating Oils Compared

Machinist's Workshop magazine actually tested penetrants for break out torque on rusted nuts. Significant results!

*They arranged a subjective test of all the popular penetrants with the control being the torque required to remove the nut from a "scientifically rusted" environment.*

*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 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.*

WD-40 is useless stuff. PlusGas is the weapon of choice in my garage.

Must try ATF and Acetone (nail-polish remover).

I haven't touched WD-40 in years. Last time I touched it was at the marina i hung around.. We used it as quickstart for the 2 strokes. It was cheaper than ether and more effective. Using ether on the2 strokers they considered a cardinal sin.

GadgetBoy wrote:WD-40 is useless stuff. PlusGas is the weapon of choice in my garage.

Must try ATF and Acetone (nail-polish remover).

Now you have an excuse next time you're buying a litre of nail polish remover at Boots!

Interesting...

Only thing I ever use WD40 for these days is sorting the odd squeaky door in the house, which has stupidly designed doorhandles which you can't dismantle to get oil into the spring of.

Plusgas is my weapon of choice for shifting things that are stuck.

Will need to try that ATF/Acetone mix...iiinteresting, most interesting...

hmm ... very interesting.

I been using WD40 ... on fishing lures. Murray Cod love it!!


For pene-oil I use Diesel/kerosene mix, as did my Father, Grandfather, and Great-Grandfather.

must try this acetone thing ...

I use diesel fuel as a penetrating oil to help loosen bolts on the Big truck if i run out of the canned stuff.... It's an easy choice with 300 gallons hanging off the sides of 'er . I was talking to one of the company mechanics about this topic and he said ATF works really well but is too thick and hadn't heard of the Acetone as a mixer idea yet.

He mentioned ATF works well for un-sticking rings in engines that have sat for long periods of time?

A word of warning about acetone.

Acetone has a very low flash point and is extremely flamable. Take care when using.

GadgetBoy wrote:A word of warning about acetone.

Acetone has a very low flash point and is extremely flamable. Take car when using.

Burning up stuff are ya

The voice of experience from many years ago when I was a Chemical Engineering student and a fellow student nearly destroyed a lab with acetone.

The only funny-moment involving Acetone i can recall was when our science teacher was having us (waft<Think this is how it is spelled) strong smelling substances to learn the art of using wafting. One poor girl that wasn't paying attention got the test tube first... Put it right up to her nose and took a BIG sniff... It almost knocked her right out It was Acetone.

Never had any problems with acetone, though the low flashpoint is definitely worthy of note if you were to consider heating something that was still refusing to shift...

...Did however have a minorly amusing moment with WD40 a few years back. Found that on this occasion it worked...whether by design or not!...as a perfect substitute for easy-start!

Fiddling around the back of an old Skoda 120 which had stood for a while and had a bit of a lazy fuel pump - once the fuel was into the engine it was fine - but it would take absolutely forever to prime by hand. Still - quick blast of easy-start would run the engine long enough to pull the fuel through, so solved the problem.

It was only after the engine had started and was running under its own steam that I spotted the easy-start still sitting on the ground next to me and looked down to see the WD40 in my hand...and realised I'd just sprayed a good amount of it into the carb!...Oops!

...The engine in question is still running well to this day (albeit with the offending fuel pump diaphram replaced), so it doesn't seem to have done any lasting damage!

Still made me feel a right idiot at the time though!