PB Blaster is Snake Oil

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Rollerman

Re: PB Blaster is Snake Oil

Post by Rollerman »

When iron or steel rusts it expands volumetrically. One inch of steel plate will eventually convert to ten inches of rust and increase in weight at the same time.
So, when a threaded fastener rusts it will lock together rather well.
WD-40 is mostly solvent, measure out some and see how much evaporates. I think WD-40 is more for show then for go and deserves a place next to slip joint pliers, one size fits all wrenches and other universal destruction tools.
A lubricant that will enter the rusted fastener will help but if the fastener has really seized then the best answer is probably enough heat to expand the part, where this is possable, works well on a nut, poorly on a bolt in a large part.
Does anyone remember Cabots Tasgon? Made by Cabot Paint & Stain,
Wonderful stuff, I believe it contained creasolic (SP?) acid.
generic1

Re: PB Blaster is Snake Oil

Post by generic1 »

If a bolt is rusted pretty solid I usually touch the head with
the electrode and ground my welder to the framework of the equipment.

After turning the welder on momentarily (carefully) and turning it
back off quick enough that the bolt has only glowed, I toss the
welding handle and grab a cup of water and douse the bolt.

It usually turns freely then.

I do remember many years ago when lugnuts were frozen on car rims,
we use to mix a little brake fluid in with either kerosene or diesle
fuel and use it for freeing up threads. It helped them spin off with
sometimes just normal pressure (using a lug wrench of course).

Not cure alls and not all that useful for precisely machined fastners
(I dont think) but sometimes better than an axe [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif"%20alt="[/img]

Gene
Etasie
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Re: PB Blaster is Snake Oil

Post by Etasie »

Seems like it's eternal thread...I apologize for bumping...

I believe that PB Blaster is the best available PENETRANT.I first found it about 3 years ago and it is all that I use now.

It uses capillary action to "follow" threads on a stuck object such as spark plugs,pipes,nuts/bolts,hub caps etc.It breaks the surface tension of a rust bond-that's how it is able to seep past stuck rings in a cylinder,it also works excellent if you have a stuck journal bearing because it will "pull" itself upward to the top of the bearing if you can only spray into the side of it and it creeps throughout the whole seizure with the capillary action to break the rust bond.

I don't think it is expensive at all because of the results you get,you dont have to mix anything together,you just point and spray and it has a pinpoint stream,not a mist.Some places may have liquid wrench cheaper than PB but when I last bought LW it was around $3 for 9 or 10 oz. and PB cost's me $4 (+ -) for about 15 oz. and it come's in a spray can while LW comes in a small tin dropper can.I like LW for small jobs where I can't have a mess or need only a drop or 2.

All in all it's good stuff and at a fair price for the results it delivers,it IS expensive compared to spray lubricants,but they are 2 different things,for 2 different jobs.

Try a can on your "Really tough projects" and post your results.And as with any PENETRANT give it a reasonable time to do its job. It took it a LONG time to get seized...schramm...

It doesn't compare to WD-40- because that's a lubricant.WD-40 is great for lubricating mechanisms and lite moving parts,but it is not really in the class of penetrants...
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Bill Shields
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Re: PB Blaster is Snake Oil

Post by Bill Shields »

automatic transmission fluid and acetone works very well
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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Steggy
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Re: PB Blaster is Snake Oil

Post by Steggy »

Etasie wrote: Thu Nov 22, 2018 8:11 am Seems like it's eternal thread...I apologize for bumping...

I believe that PB Blaster is the best available PENETRANT.I first found it about 3 years ago and it is all that I use now.

It uses capillary action to "follow" threads on a stuck object such as spark plugs,pipes,nuts/bolts,hub caps etc.It breaks the surface tension of a rust bond-that's how it is able to seep past stuck rings in a cylinder,it also works excellent if you have a stuck journal bearing because it will "pull" itself upward to the top of the bearing if you can only spray into the side of it and it creeps throughout the whole seizure with the capillary action to break the rust bond.

I don't think it is expensive at all because of the results you get,you dont have to mix anything together,you just point and spray and it has a pinpoint stream,not a mist.Some places may have liquid wrench cheaper than PB but when I last bought LW it was around $3 for 9 or 10 oz. and PB cost's me $4 (+ -) for about 15 oz. and it come's in a spray can while LW comes in a small tin dropper can.I like LW for small jobs where I can't have a mess or need only a drop or 2.

All in all it's good stuff and at a fair price for the results it delivers,it IS expensive compared to spray lubricants,but they are 2 different things,for 2 different jobs.

Try a can on your "Really tough projects" and post your results.And as with any PENETRANT give it a reasonable time to do its job. It took it a LONG time to get seized...schramm...

It doesn't compare to WD-40- because that's a lubricant.WD-40 is great for lubricating mechanisms and lite moving parts,but it is not really in the class of penetrants...
The above sounds like advertising. I've never found any of these so-called rust-busting products to be effective.
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SteveHGraham
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Re: PB Blaster is Snake Oil

Post by SteveHGraham »

Seafoam Deep Creep seems to do well in comparisons.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
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Harold_V
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Re: PB Blaster is Snake Oil

Post by Harold_V »

Plain and simple---none of those products have the ability to reduce rust to native iron. All they do is provide lubrication, to lower friction.

I'm not suggesting that they don't help free stuck items.

You want to eliminate the rust? Try phosphoric acid. A good source is a soft drink like Coke.

H
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LIALLEGHENY
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Re: PB Blaster is Snake Oil

Post by LIALLEGHENY »

My preferred choice for penetrating oil is Kroil....anything that comes in a spray can with a nozzle is a plus....but whether it works or not depends on how long the parts have been rusted together. I usually add a little heat first.

As for WD-40, I keep a can on my Kitchen sink when i am doing maintenance work on the roof of my house....nothing breaks down roofing tar better than WD-40, and then a little soap and water and away you go.

I agree with Harold on the phosphoric acid to eliminate the rust. I also recently bought a 5 gallon pail of Evapo-rust....throw the parts in a basket, drop them in the bucket and walk away. Stuff does a pretty good job at eliminating rust.

Unfortunately with any of these products, the majority of the time when i need to break free a rusted bolt I am upside under my car or truck where it is not easily accessible, and it ultimately becomes a major project.

Nyle
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neanderman
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Re: PB Blaster is Snake Oil

Post by neanderman »

Methanol in gasoline is a real no-no if any part of the fuel system is made from aluminum. It will remove the natural aluminum oxide that forms and protects the aluminum from further oxidation. Once the protective layer is removed, the surface becomes susceptible to further oxidation from the dissolved oxygen in the gasoline.
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Steggy
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Re: PB Blaster is Snake Oil

Post by Steggy »

Harold_V wrote: Thu Nov 22, 2018 4:13 pmPlain and simple---none of those products have the ability to reduce rust to native iron. All they do is provide lubrication, to lower friction.
Where I do find WD-40 useful is as a tapping lubricant for aluminum. :D
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NP317
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Re: PB Blaster is Snake Oil

Post by NP317 »

I've used Kroil successfully. We would purchase a 5 gallon can of Kroil before beginning each steam locomotive (full sized) restoration.
This stuff facilitated removal of many bolts that had been in place for more than 50 years.

I still use Kroil in my shop, and find it better that most other compounds, even acetone + transmission fluid. It is the only stuff
I have found that would loosen a steel stud from an aluminum engine block or head. (That could just be my lack of experience...)
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SteveM
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Re: PB Blaster is Snake Oil

Post by SteveM »

Bill Shields wrote: Thu Nov 22, 2018 11:07 am automatic transmission fluid and acetone works very well
I keep a squirt bottle of 50/50 acetone/ATF on my workbench.

I had a pile of cast iron carburetors with jets and screws all stuck in them, so I laid them all out on a tray and gave them all a squirt every few days for a couple of weeks. Everything came out except one piece that needed to be drilled out.

I also have some Kroil and have found that it works well, too.

I'm not even sure I have a can of WD40. Just about anything it claims to do, I have something else that does it better.

Steve
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