Acetone is explosive as a vapor from 2.5% to 12.5%. Meaning, essentially, that Acetone is highly volatile. Mineral Spirits from 0.7% to 7%. Not quite so volatile but a much lower explosive limit.
They are solvents. Solvents, eventually, evaporate 100%.
Leaving only the admixtures behind. And, in some cases, taking the smaller fractions of those admixtures with them. Mono-molecular admixtures will not be affected anywhere near as much as multi-fraction mixtures. Meaning that one could get pretty quickly to that sticky sludge via these means.
I use naptha at 95/5% mix with Oleic acid for de-oxidizing. I put it on a 1
-ounce glass eye-dropper bottle with a neoprene bulb, filling about half th e bottle. I have a compressed-air aerosol bottle that I use (rarely) with f lammable mixes, but 100% outside. If my goal was to deliver ATF to some tin y place, I would use capillary tubes. Not a spray with volatiles, not anyth ing with volatiles.
The goal isn't to deliver ATF to some tiny place. The goal is to prove how clever you are by making some home brew concoction instead of just buying something that works exactly as it is advertised to do.
A quart of ATF is about $6, a quart of Acetone is about $13 and a quart of Mineral Spirits is about $6. So you can spend $25 to prove how clever you are, then deal with storing your concoction and the hazards involved in using it, or you can just order a frigging can of Kroil from Kano Labs for $13 and be done with it.
Nobody is going to mix two quarts (1.9 liters) of acetone+ATF+etc and put it on the shelf for when needed. One might mix perhaps 50 ml of for use when needed for much less, or scround the ingredients in small quantities for free. My car has a manual transmission. Therefore I don't have any ATF in my automotive chemistry set. So, I borrowed some from the neighborhood mechanic.
The original cite, allegedly from a machinery magazine, included the cost per fluid ounce in 2007: Penetrating oil .... Average load .. Price per fluid ounce None ................. 516 pounds WD-40 ................ 238 pounds .. $0.25 PB Blaster ........... 214 pounds .. $0.35 Liquid Wrench .........127 pounds .. $0.21 Kano Kroil ........... 106 pounds .. $0.75 ATF-Acetone mix........ 53 pounds .. $0.10
Same as above from a different source:
However, there's a problem. If you google for the original author, Lloyd Bender, you'll find various conflicting claims as to the original formulation. He allegedly originally used power steering fluid plus trichloroethane or trichlorethylene, which are currently banned. There was a followup to that article in the February/March 2010 issue of Machinist's Workshop. A reader complained that acetone and ATF do not mix. They actually form an emulsion that quickly separates.
The editor then pointed out that the photo with the original article showed a bottle of power steering fluid, not ATF. So the reader tried PSF and got the same results.
The editor then contacted the author (Lloyd Bender) of the original article (April/May 2007 Machinist's Workshop), who admitted that the original solvent was not acetone, but trichloroethelyne! He said that he substituted acetone in the article because he didn't want want to be recommending the use of TCE.
In a followup posting, this appeared: Here's a response from the guy who did the tests. "Allow me to appologize one more time. The test material was intended to be automatic transmission fluid. In the auto parts department, I grabbed a bottle of power steering fluid by mistake. If you read the article, the power steering fluid shown was used. The table you quoted has not been corrected.
One salient point not covered in your question -- these are loads required to free the test piece after 8 hours of immersion in penetrating oil. This is probably not representative of a quick squirt just before a wrench is applied."
At this time, nobody seems to have found a copy of the original article or know the real ingredients.
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Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
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When I was working I used Kroil by the case. Well, probably averaged 3 or 4 cans a week. Works well for many things. I have even used it on some 150 watt mercury vapor lights. They almost unscrew theirselves.
I use something called Ed's Red, a mix of ATF, Acetone, stotards solvent, and kerosene. It is a cleaner for guns that works well. One of these days I am going to have to give it a try for rusted bolts to compair it with the Kroil.
Yep, that's about it. After excavating some of the history, it appears to me that the original source, ingredients, test results, and anecdotal testimonials have all changed over the last 10 years and cannot be relied upon to be accurate.
BTW: The acetone + ATF mix is the basis of Ed's Red bore cleaner for your home artillery:
Everything works if you also use a large hammer.
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Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
** It is not possible to "lubricate" a sealed pot, you need to make a small hole in it first. Sealing a pot does not prevent it becoming noisy.
The vast majority of pots have an opening that allows fluid to enter and a short squirt of WD-40 does the job in seconds. Of course you DO have to rotate the pot a few times as well.
all hole in it first. Sealing a pot does not prevent it becoming noisy.
There are two basic ways to do this, and one semi-exotic way, the last bein g universally successful, but with lots of caveats. All but the first requi re removing the pot from the device.
a) A pressure pump - this will drive the lubricant down the shaft. A thread ed tube connects to the pot with an internal sealing O-ring. It is then pre ssurized with the lubricant inside. In 80% of pots - including the likes of Revox - this works fine. I keep just such a device.
b) Removing the pot(s), warming it (warm, not hot) and dropping it in cold lubricant. The cooling action creates a vacuum and draws the lubricant into the pot. Works in about 75% of those pots that do not respond to the first method. Getting to 95%.
c) Using a small vacuum pump, create a moderate low pressure around the pot , while it is immersed in the lubricant. This will draw air out of the insi de of the pot, which when the vacuum is release, will force lubricant into the void. For some hobbyists, especially those who do castings, this will b e easy. For others, not so much. And caution is required as too much of a v acuum will entirely fill the inside of the pot. At which point, the process is repeated with the pot 'dry'. This will remove most of what is inside th e pot.
Few things are "not possible", with care and attention.
Damping grease: I have some for lubricating microscope gears. Kinda expensive, but a small tube lasts a long time. No way to re-lube a pot without disassembly: The problem with re-lubricating pots on a hi-fi or whatever with several pots on the front panel, I would probably need to re-lube all the pots to make them all feel the same.
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Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
WD-40 is a rust preventative tool only, anything else that it seems to do is done better by products designed for the job. WD-40 usually gums up after a year or so, so I can't imagine it will do your pot any good in the long run.
Much like folks used to use carbon tetrachloride (or gasoline) for cleaning stuff or lead to make paint white, solder for water pipes...we have moved on.
John :-#(#
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Never seen WD40 gum up, but it dries with a film. One of the popular cleaners is Nathpha, or like Coleman Fuel. It dries slow enough to use mechanical switch action to clean. For lube I like CRC 2-26.
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