Rusty Nuts and Bolts? Make Your Own Super Rust Penetrant!
Since its invention in 1953, WD-40 has been the go-to solution for many household and garage problems. Over the years, other companies have come up with their answer to WD-40's penetrating properties such as Liquid Wrench and Kano Kroil. Others have tried their own home-brewed concoctions in the never-ending battle against rusted nuts and bolts. Our favorite is a 50/50 mix of acetone and Dexron/Mercon Automatic Transmission Fluid.

Simply mix one part acetone and one part ATF in a re-fillable spray bottle and go to town. The idea is to thin the ATF with the acetone so it will penetrate and seep into and between surfaces. The acetone will evaporate, leaving the oil to do its job. Because the acetone evaporates so quickly, it's a good idea to mix this in small batches.

Skeptical? We were too. Then we did some poking around on Google and found that in the April 2007 issue of Machinist Workshop Magazine, they performed subjective independent testing of penetrating oils using a single steel bar with 1/2" x 20 nuts torqued to 50 ft/lbs and treated with a 10% salt water solution that was allowed to rust.

Listed are the chemicals tested and the respective required removal torque:

None

516 pounds

WD-40

238 pounds

PB Blaster

214 pounds

Liquid Wrench

127 pounds

Kano Kroil

106 pounds

50/50 Acetone / ATF

53 pounds

 

Thats pretty good to know.

 

And I always keep acetone on hand cause it's so handy. Think I'll try it with MEK too, it evaporates even faster, and is hot enough that it will tend to soften any paint buildup that may be there

 

we use atf /paint thinner 50/50
we spray it on all the stored parts great rust inhibitor and pest control

 

That's fascinating. I've always followed the old practice of using ATF to clean the cylinder bores before re-oiling and installing pistons. Will definitely have to try this out.

 

we use it to hone the cylinders my last motor we used it to store it over might as an anti corrosive all our stored motors / parts are sprayed with the stuff we love it s we also noticed with regular spraying a nice coating builds up this is help full for us with our environment
screww wd 40 **** evaporates we dont use it at all or any other for that mater