Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Came across an interesting article in one of the magazines I receive. The author was testing various fluids used as penetrating oils. He made a series of shafts and sleeves and corroded them in a salt bath solution. Using a compressometer, he applied known pressures in the attempt to separate the two parts. He tested WD-40, PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench, Kano Kroil, and a mixture of ATF and Acetone, soaking the parts for 12 hours.

It required 516 pounds pressure to break an untreated units. WD-40 238 lbs, PB Blaster 214 lbs, Liquid Wrench 127 lbs, Kano Kroil 106 lbs and the ATF/Acetone mix 53 lbs. The ATF/Acetone was mixed one part ATF to one part Acetone. I thought it a rather interesting bit of information for those of us who are always attempting to separate rusted chunks of metal.

Rob

Hey Rob - interesting piece of research. Excuse my ignorance but haven't got a clue what ATF is could you enlighten us - maybe its a this side of the pond thing?

Can I also take this opportunity to post a warning - apologies if I am teaching grandma to suck eggs. If you are going to use Acetone be aware this is a highly flammable liquid and should be treated with the same sort of caution you would give to Petrol/Gasoline - it has a flashpoint somewhere around minus 12 degrees C and is giving off flammable vapours even in freezing conditions. A spark from a light fitting or even a power socket when switching could be enough to cause an explosion. So if you are going to soak parts over 12 hours I suggest a fully enclosed container or leave it outside to soak. Lecture mode off - sorry guys and gals!

ATF, short for automatic transmission fluid. I went back to the article to look at the picture in the article for what type fluid was used. The actual picture shows a bottle of power steering fluid, but the article references automatic transmission fluid. Not sure if he used the right words in the article.

Rob

elanfan1 wrote:If you are going to use Acetone be aware this is a highly flammable liquid and should be treated with the same sort of caution you would give to Petrol/Gasoline

Also does nasty things to some paint finishes (it is used as nail varnish remover) and dissolves the polyester resin that our cars' bodyshells are made out of and some other plastics (so if you are going to soak parts overnight as elanfan1 suggests, make sure the container is a compatible material or you may wake up to a gooey mess on your workbench!).

The vapour can also cause respiritory and liver problems in high concentrations.

On balance, I think I'd rather stick to WD40 and twist a bit harder!

ATF and power steering fluid are generally one and the same.
I have heard of really good results from using coca cola or similar fizzy drinks, They contain Phosphoric acid!!
Regards
Dave

Hi Mintsprint

Acetone is not that bad for fiberglass, it will evaperate before it will do any damage to the fiberglass. Its not good for paint as you say.
It is used to clean polyester resin off of brushes and rollers when making fiberglass parts like Lotus bodies and the like. It does hurt like hell when you get it in a cut and if you bath in it, probably not that good for you but it is one of the solvents along with lacquer thinner that will take the liquid catalized polyester resin off if you get that on your skin (this hurts without any cuts, so what are you going to do). I guess some of you don't do your own fiberglass repair work, I can't live with out it. Its just another tool to me.

Gary

Must admit I keep a healthy supply of acetone around for fiberglass work. Make my own molds for all the body work on the race car. The panels from my molds are carbon kelvar composit. Do not use acetone to clean up after using epoxy. Found that cheap white vinegar from the local discount store cuts epoxy even better than acetone. And when you finish, you just smell like a pickle.

Rob

Kroil still gets my vote, but a very interesting post!! Thanks !!

Acetone is nasty stuff, but very useful. In the UK is is difficult to get hold of for 'domestic' style use (apart from as nail varnish remover). In France however they seem to have a different attitude to all sorts of noxious chemicals (and I'm not talking cheese). You can buy all sorts of nasties off the supermarket shelf, such as acids, strong alkalis, a wide range of solvents including acteone by the litre. When in France, I always stock up on these along with the wine - just don't get the bottles mixed up. UK health and safety would probably have a fit if Sainsbury's did the same.

Back on topic - Acetone is brilliant for getting gasket residues off & preparing the metal surfaces for new gaskets. I found this especially useful when trying to remove the remnants of a composite head gasket from the engine block in situ (long arms help). Saves lots of scraping.

Blending it with ATF sounds like fun! Must try it...

Just use it very sparingly as it dissolves animal fats very well, and even a short exposure to hands will produce some unwelcome side effect. Use polythene gloves if possible.

Jeremy

Acetone's also good for cleaning carbs. Funnily enough I bought a nice big bottle from a French supermarket while on a day's shopping trip out there. In the UK you can probably but a 100ml bottle if you search...

Carl