Did you know?

[onetrack]

Have they developed a version of WD-40 for electric mowers yet? 😄 

[Jerry_Atrick]

yah.. its for the wheels

[old man emu]

For freeing rusted threads a 50/50 mixture of acetone and transmission fluid is a cheap alternative. Apparently the acetone reacts with the iron oxide, making it brittle so it breaks when a twisting force is applied. The transmissiion fluid is simply a very thin lubricant. WD-40 is mostly petroleum distillates. I suppose the costliest item is the can it comes in.

[red750]

I understand the WD stands for Water Displacement.

[onetrack]

I use a 50-50 mix of diesel and ATF for breaking up corrosion in rusted cylinder bores - it seems to work pretty well, especially if left for a few days. ATF contains strong detergents that dissolve varnish and gummy deposits that will glaze up automatic transmission clutch plates, and gum up valves and spools in transmissions, causing erratic operation - and diesel is well known as an excellent penetrant and lubricant.

[facthunter]

Rust changes ACETONE.  Genthin (GENERAL Thinner's in) ATF is Ok  Best soaked with a sealed lid on it for GRUNGE . This best with things like Ball races. Rust is Fe2O3 or Fe304 and if there's moisture about it will be Hydrated. Lighter  coloured. Phosphoric acid converts rust and doesn't remove the Base Metal. . Galvanic protection is the best Coating usually zinc based. Some rust is removed by High frequency Vibrations, Caustic bath with DC current  or Molasses

[onetrack]

Citric acid is my regular go-to product for rust removal. I make up baths of 3%-5% citric acid and dump the rusty item in it and leave it for a few days, then pull it out and pressure-wash it.

If it's needed, I put the item back in again for a few more days, then pressure-wash it again. Then I spray with a 10% solution of Ranex (phosphoric acid) in a spray bottle to prevent flash rusting.

Citric acid is safe, doesn't affect base metal or copper, zinc or aluminium, and it cleans iron/steel items up beautifully. But the bath must be covered and kept cool, sunlight rapidly degrades the acid.

[old man emu]

1. The WD stands for "water displacer" That comes from the fact that what we know as WD-40 was the fortieth mixture that the inventor tried when looking for whatever it was he was looking for. (I don't think what WD-40 does is what he was looking for. The discovery was accidental.)

 

2. We are talking about suitable products for different jobs. WD-40 or diesel/ATF are penetrating solutions. They are meant to lubricate the threads, but not attack the iron oxide. Citric acid solutions react with the iron oxide to dissolve it from surfaces. Phosphoric acid acts in a similar way to Citric acid, but it is more expensive.

 

 

[facthunter]

A lot of rusty Nuts have to Be split to get them off. Drill a hole first, then use a chisel of suitable width.  Nev

[onetrack]

I use a nut splitter, they're a really handy device. The angled ones are the best.

 

[Marty_d]

10 minutes ago, onetrack said:

I use a nut splitter, they're a really handy device. The angled ones are the best.

 

Sounds like something Chopper Read would have used.