Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/04/30/is-water-better-at-freeing-up.html
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Acetone plus gear oil/automatic transmission fluid is 4x better than wd40/liquid wrench…
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Sorry I just had to.
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I’m saying no, because it’s idiotic. I refuse to watch the video.
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The statistician in me was actually quite happy with the experimentation here (sure, he should have randomized the assignment of treatments), but really it wasn’t bad for a bit of garage science.
The problem is always in the interpretation though.
Then he goes an says that he doesn’t recommend water when its effectiveness was indistinguishable from at least 4 of the brands he tested. And I’m not sure the extra torque required to loosen a nut with water is all that meaningful compared to the Gibbs brand.
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So on these simple steel bolts, basically very little difference between all of those tested: between 111 and 136 ft/lbs. I’d love to see the same test on an aluminum seat post stuck in a steel bike frame.
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The more revealing figure would be the percentage change in torque relative to the control, which ranges from just below zero to around 25% for the Gibbs oil, with water at around 10%.
So my conclusions would be:
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The best penetrating oils do more than twice as well as water
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Nothing that you can spray on a rusty bolt actually makes that much of a difference. I mean, sure, it might save you some effort, but I suspect it is relatively rare IRL that any of these lubes alone will turn a bolt you can’t undo into one that you can.
(Would have been interesting to compare the torque for unrusted bolts; I would guess that most of the extra torque due to rust is still present whatever you try)
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When a nut doesn’t want to release, fire is my tool of choice.
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Best bug repellant is diesel & vegetable oil, equal parts, rub it in, no bug bites.
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Best bug repellant is diesel & vegetable oil, equal parts, rub it in, light, no bug bites.
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Your #2 has been my suspicion for a long time. About all those oils do is somewhat reduce the squeal you get once it finally lets go. Maybe wet the rust powder a bit so it doesn’t go flying as easily.
Very true! Old timers call it “weasel piss”, which is kind of funny.
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The sparkle wrench!
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Same, not gunna spring for the click bait.
I just went out and bought me some Gibbs. I’m going to free up all the rusty nuts and bolts in my community.
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Must confess I clicked and skimmed it. Only reason I did is I have a hose bib near my garden that leaks and I want to replace it. I think that fixture has been out in the weather for 60 years. So I am interested in a penetrating oil that I can apply over time and have it really get in there and make it easier for me to get that element off the line. Reason I don’t just go in guns a-blazin is it is right on the house’s input line iirc.
3-1 with a drop of nail polish remover sounds like a nice ersatz weasel piss recipe. Apply a few times over a week and VIOLA! we may even have some transmission fluid from back in the VW days…
thx BB!
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IIRC he tested this in an earlier video, and it didn’t do so well.
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I opened it, scrubbed until I saw the chart near the end, and watched the rest at x1.75
Stainless steel and aluminum can get way too friendly. I had a steel bolt that bonded itself to an aluminum casting and wouldn’t respond to Liquid Wrench or WD-40. I finally got it loose with PB Blaster, but it took a number of applications over a period of months, so I can’t say for certain that PB Blaster is actually better.
To prevent seizing of threaded fasteners of dissimilar metals, the choice in the marine world is Tef-Gel, but I don’t know if that would work on a seat post or just make it too slippery.
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