<VV> Cynical Question on Acetone/ATF Mix

[Frank DuVal]

I'm with Matt's reply on this. I was skeptical and tried it myself. It 
is the only way to see if it works for you. I am in the rusty east and 
always need to soak fasteners. It works for me. Twice as good? Probably 
not. But, it does work.

Cheap?

Well, Lowes currently sells a quart of Acetone for $7.50. ATF used to be 
cheap, you just need the cheapest. Now online Advance gets a quart for 
$5.50. That is about $6.50 a quart. Kroil is $9.00 for 8 oz in bulk, or 
$50.00 for a gallon. But, Advance sells 16 oz aerosol of PB blaster for 
$5.50. Currently the 50/50 mix is cheaper for me because we used a 
gallon of ATF at work for pressure testing, and they were throwing it 
away (recycling) as it was too dirty to use in a transmission then. This 
was a better recycling method!

The trouble as mentioned is finding a container that will withstand the 
effects of acetone.

The first metal pump oil can from Harborfreight failed only on the 
plastic tube to the nozzle. I will try a different hose style at some 
point. I am currently using a plastic pump that IS working, so far. I do 
think the acetone should eat the plastic reservoir soon. Acetone has a 
nasty habit of shattering some plastic, polycarbonate is one, and this 
looks to be such. Time will tell, so far just cloudy. So I do not store 
the bottle where a leak could cause damage. I bought them in the local 
store and cannot find them online now to give examples.

Frank DuVal


On 12/31/2012 4:27 PM, Roboman91324 at aol.com wrote:
> I have heard of the 50/50 acetone/ATF (A/ATF) mix  before.  If this cheapo
> mix is twice as good as the best commercial stuff  and nearly five times as
> good as the worst commercial stuff, why hasn't  someone marketed the A/ATF
> stuff and swept the market?  In effect;  is the cheap stuff really that good?
>   
> Does anyone have a link to a real controlled test or is this  merely an
> urban myth?  I am just posing the question; I don't know.  I  think it would be
> difficult to make the claim the A/ATF liquid is twice as good  as the best
> commercial product (etc.) without a real statistically significant
> sampling.  This would require hundreds of identical nut and bolt  combinations with
> very controlled corrosion characteristics and expensive test  equipment.
>   
> Granted, even if the A/ATF stuff merely falls in the middle of  the
> commercial stuff, it is a viable alternative.  Bur I have seen no proof  that it
> even lies in the middle.  However, whatever its effectiveness, if  it isn't as
> good as the best of the commercial stuff you may give up on a stuck  nut
> prematurely.
>   
> Doc