Tried new penetrating fluids

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Nov 20, 2006
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MA, Mittelfranken.de
Over the past few years Kroil doesnt seem to be cutting it so my latest ongoing project a full bushing replacement on the rear of an old Subaru, the body is rust free but holy god the suspension parts are very badly rotted, no bolt came out without going to war with it. Perfect time to try Kroil, Gibbs and FreeAll just for fun, if it doesnt do much smoke wrench and cutoff wheel time.

I chose bolts that were close together and impossible to remove with anything but hand tools (to tight even for the angle head impact) and sprayed one with each product in multiple locations. Nothing scientific here just my own observations. The Kroil surprisingly was a miserable failure, the free all wasn't much better but stunk the high heaven, that stinky crap (it smells worse than the new liquid wrench) went in the bin.
The Gibbs did a remarkable job with no objectionable odor, I got everything loose after leaving all 3 product overnight. It stayed wet the longest and you could see the rust dripping off. Impressive.

 
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I always used WD though admittedly, I am not freeing bolts like you do Trav. I recently did have a tough one so I bought some CRC Knock R’ Loose which worked for my purposes. Good to know about Gibbs though.
 
  • Gibbs lubricant is complete gun care - no need for other solvents, oils or cleaners
I havent used kroil in awhile.. it stinks up the shop too much.

I wonder if they changed formulas for EPA etc.

They sell 12packs for $11-12/can if you need a bunch @Trav
 
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I’ve noticed Kroil is not as good as it has been. It doesn’t sizzle as much when you spray it now either LOL. CRC Knock’er Loose is a favorite of mine along with CRC Freeze Off and Seafoam Deep Creep. I haven’t tried the Gibb’s. I picked up some FreeAll at O’Reilly a few weeks ago. They are the only place that sells it here but haven’t used it yet. And I still keep the trusty PB Blaster around too because that one smells the best lol.
 
I got a case of Maxima MPPL from a powersports store when they were closing it out at half price . It works just as good as any other penetrant and the smell is pleasant.
 
I have a can of Kroil that has to be over 20 years old. I've found that if that stuff doesn't penetrate and loosen up what I want it to, that nut or bolt is gonna snap off. Then the fun begins. Thankfully that doesn't happen too much. If I find something that works for me, I don't keep looking for other products.,, If it ain't broke, I don't fix it.,,,
 
I feel you on the Subaru underbodies, Trav. My 2007 Impreza is just beginning to get a quarter-sized spot of fender cancer, but the underside, including the exhaust, looks like it’s from a different car. I’ve had the local indie do most of the bushing replacements on my older Subarus, simply because $55/hr for actual time is well worth my not having to get frustrated or cut stuff off, and somehow they’ve gotten all of the bolts out successfully so far. On a side note, replacing 15-yo rubber bushings & what seem like 12mm roll bars with Whiteline polyurethane bushes & 22mm adjustable rollbars works wonders for super-sharp handling.

Now I just have to find a worthwhile alignment shop that can actually do Subaru 4-wheel alignments- the last place that did my 05 Outback before I sold it made the rear toe so bad I got the ghostwalk effect even in the rain on flat ground!
 
If the stuck fastener is in a location where you can safely heat it, I’ve found that heating it enough so that you can melt paraffin canning wax into the threads works consistently better than any commercial,product. A few years ago a wannabe scientist did a pretty thorough test of all the penetrating oil products and concluded that a home brew mixture of acetone and ATF worked best.
 
Over the past few years Kroil doesnt seem to be cutting it so my latest ongoing project a full bushing replacement on the rear of an old Subaru, the body is rust free but holy god the suspension parts are very badly rotted, no bolt came out without going to war with it. Perfect time to try Kroil, Gibbs and FreeAll just for fun, if it doesnt do much smoke wrench and cutoff wheel time.

I chose bolts that were close together and impossible to remove with anything but hand tools (to tight even for the angle head impact) and sprayed one with each product in multiple locations. Nothing scientific here just my own observations. The Kroil surprisingly was a miserable failure, the free all wasn't much better but stunk the high heaven, that stinky crap (it smells worse than the new liquid wrench) went in the bin.
The Gibbs did a remarkable job with no objectionable odor, I got everything loose after leaving all 3 product overnight. It stayed wet the longest and you could see the rust dripping off. Impressive.

Can you use a carbon arc torch? I used one for over 50 years....works great without excess heat seeping in places you don't want it to travel....
 
Recently while working on my Honda, I discovered some very small bits of rust forming on the hidden surfaces behind the bumper.
While I had everything apart, I decided to hit those (and other) areas with Fluid Fim. It's great at creeping into hard to reach places, and is totally non-toxic (great for situations with little air circulation or places where food/children could come in contact with it).
My GF said it smelled "like a barn" when she assisted me with re-attaching the bumper.
I'd rather have that than inhaling toxic chemicals o_O
🤷‍♂️
 
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Recently while working on my Honda, I discovered some very small bits of rust forming on the hidden surfaces behind the bumper.
While I had everything apart, I decided to hit those (and other) areas with Fluid Fim. It's great at creeping into hard to reach places, and is totally non-toxic (great for situations with little air circulation or places where food/children could come in contact with it).
My GF said it smelled "like a barn" when she assisted me with re-attaching the bumper.
I'd rather have that than inhaling toxic chemicals o_O
🤷‍♂️
since its basically sheep wool juice .. barn would be the correct smell. I use it on my hedge trimmers mostly.
A few shots of wd-40 to clean let it sit for a few then A couple generous squirts of fluidfilm.

I know people here on BITOG don't like Project Farm, but I think this video on the subject is pretty good:


I dont mind PF for a rustproofing , or penetrating oil review... for totally nonsense motor oil tests.. no has no place here.
 
Anybody ever try 50/50 acetone and brake fluid as a penetrant? I saw someone on Youtube claim it worked better than anything else they tried.
at removing paint? ;)

I just ordered a 2 pack of that gibbs. If I dont like it we can use it as WD-40 on the shop parts.
(wire edm uses water flush spray)

Main thing I liked was the low odor. Dont like smelling pb blaster for 3 days or kroil for a week.
 
If the stuck fastener is in a location where you can safely heat it, I’ve found that heating it enough so that you can melt paraffin canning wax into the threads works consistently better than any commercial,product. A few years ago a wannabe scientist did a pretty thorough test of all the penetrating oil products and concluded that a home brew mixture of acetone and ATF worked best.
Neither works very well, I have tried all this stuff over the last 50 years working in the salt belt if it was the US or Germany, salt all over in the winter (now in germany they use more split in the city).
Candle wax, Acetone/ATF, Liquid wrench, Torq CB, Blaster, Wurth, Caramba, WD40, Kroil, FreeAll, Whiz, Freeze off, Mouse Milk, Deep Creep, you name it they are all pretty useless if they are heavily rusted.
I use an real smoke wrench not a propane or mapp (those are both equally worthless except for setting undercoat on fire), cutoff wheels, Sawzall.
I usually blow them away with the torch but seeing as I had these product I figured why not give them a try and see if one really does as it claims.

I originally bought the FreeAll and Gibbs to see if one would loosen my through the wall soldered on garden shut off when Kroil failed, it lasted only a day.
I removed the knob tospray all the products to get to the stem and sprayed the Free all, it stayed free 3 days then froze up again. The gibbs is on month three and it is a free as it was originally. I am not getting any of the products for trial or for free I bough them of Amazon except for the Kroil which I bought direct from Kano. I must admit I bought Gibbs after seeing it on Project Farm, but he wasn't wrong, others offer better protection and lubricity on a one arm bandit but that is of no interest to me, I am only interested in its penetrating ability.
 
Been a Kroil fan for decades. Surprised it didn’t do well. Will have to give the Gibbs a try…just ordered it.
Me too for over a decade but it seems something has changed, what I have no idea but it doesnt seems effective as it was years ago.
Just like the Original liquid wrench was much better than the new one and didn't smell anywhere near as bad, the new stuff will made a skunk run for cover, absolutely horrible.
 
Anybody ever try 50/50 acetone and brake fluid as a penetrant? I saw someone on Youtube claim it worked better than anything else they tried.
I do. I use acetone and AFT 50/50. Easy to mix and it works. I don't buy any commercial penetrating oils, and i've used Kroil.

I think Kano Labs has been bought out, and i don't know if any of the formulas have been cheapened out or made more epa friendly. Is Kreen even what it used to be?
 
I feel you on the Subaru underbodies, Trav. My 2007 Impreza is just beginning to get a quarter-sized spot of fender cancer, but the underside, including the exhaust, looks like it’s from a different car. I’ve had the local indie do most of the bushing replacements on my older Subarus, simply because $55/hr for actual time is well worth my not having to get frustrated or cut stuff off, and somehow they’ve gotten all of the bolts out successfully so far. On a side note, replacing 15-yo rubber bushings & what seem like 12mm roll bars with Whiteline polyurethane bushes & 22mm adjustable rollbars works wonders for super-sharp handling.

Now I just have to find a worthwhile alignment shop that can actually do Subaru 4-wheel alignments- the last place that did my 05 Outback before I sold it made the rear toe so bad I got the ghostwalk effect even in the rain on flat ground!

I usually dont use poly with a few exceptions like VW upper strut donuts, etc. The ride can be harsh but a bigger issue in the salt belt is they split 2 piece types get salt and sand in the steel tube and wear the bushing out in a couple of years, I use OE. One big issue with Subaru ghost walking is the lack of rear camber adjustment, the only way years ago was to do it VW beam axle style with taped shims but Moog imports these from Taiwan AFAIK made by the same company who makes Pro Forge, they really work well and allow for camber adjustment. Much better than the wimpy OE part.

 
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