Mixed Solvents turn Cloudy

[Dave78]

Hi All

I mixed a few left over solvents i had in the garage Kerosene, mineral turps, toluene, xylene and naphtha with 1 pint of left over motor oil.
I was going to use the mixture to soak some rust bolts and a pair of rusty very old vice grips the thing is the mixture has turned cloudy does anyone know why? or if this will be a problem and i should get rid of it.

Regards
Dave

 

[atikovi]

Unless you're a scientist or know what you're doing, mixing together a bunch of chemicals is never a good idea. It might turn into something toxic.

 

[KrisZ]

I would test it by putting my finger in it, probably my pinky.

 

[Tom NJ]

Most likely the solvent mix knocked an oil additive out of solution, probably the VI Improver. Shouldn't be an issue for your purpose, just rinse the parts with some pure solvent after soaking.

 

[Lubener]

Hi All

I mixed a few left over solvents i had in the garage Kerosene, mineral turps, toluene, xylene and naphtha with 1 pint of left over motor oil.
I was going to use the mixture to soak some rust bolts and a pair of rusty very old vice grips the thing is the mixture has turned cloudy does anyone know why? or if this will be a problem and i should get rid of it.

Regards
Dave

I would use them.

 

[Fla]

IMO the solvents would probably be a lot more useful if you hadn't mixed them all together. For example, Xylene and possibly toluene will attack many paints and plastics so you will have to be careful about what you use that mix on. Turpentine mixed with some soft wax and without the other solvents or motor oil is very useful for treating the wooden handles of shovels, rakes, hammers and the like. Kerosene mixed with ATF is a great solvent for cleaning metal parts or for penetrating rust. Used motor oil can be used to undercoat cars, lawn mowers and treat the metal parts of yard tools such as rakes and shovels to prevent rusting. Naptha and Toluene are both very useful for thinning some paints and for cleaning paint brushes.

I wouldn't worry about the cloudiness. There's nothing in there that wasn't in one of the ingrediants to start with. Try it on some old parts or tools and see how it works and if it causes any problems. If there is a lot of toluene or Xylene in your mix, they will very definitely dry your skin out if you get the mix on you. The effects can be pretty severe if you have it on you for a length of time but adding some ATF to the mix usually helps reduce the excessive drying effects.

 

[oldcodger]

Was one of the liquids mineral spirits? I have bought some which was cloudy right out of the bottle.

 

[Dave78]

Hi All
Thank you for all the replies, Quick update all 7 bolts came free and the vice grips are working perfect used the mix to clean up some old chisels that had some old sticky stuff on them and it came right off after about 30 mins of soaking seemed to creep up towards the handle as i had the chisels upright in the container.
Fla: i did add about the last 8 oz of ATF i had left in a bottle to the mix as you advised
This mix seems to work about as well as any of the cans of penatrating fluid i have lying arround i didnt expect that.
Im going to keep some of this mix i a bottle just for rusty stuff and things that need cleaning.
Tom NJ: Thank you learned something new today
Thank you all again for your replies.

Regards
Dave

 

[Dave78]

Was one of the liquids mineral spirits? I have bought some which was cloudy right out of the bottle.

Yes it was but mine was clear like water, It was my QD enamel thinners that was a little hazy which is made of 25% xylene, 45% toluene, 35% Naphtha https://www.powafix.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/APRIL2022_MSD_Enamel-Thinners.pdf.
It was only once i added the oil that it all went cloudy and milky i think Tom NJ is correct it was something in the oil.

 

[paulo57509]

I once put a big drop of STP into Berryman B-12. The STP tuned into a hard, rubbery ball.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

I once put a big drop of STP into Berryman B-12. The STP tuned into a hard, rubbery ball.

aaaaaaand now I'm tempted to try this...