Penetrating Oil Episode 2

This test demonstrates that not all penetrating oils are equal. The bolt test shows which ones penetrate and which ones don’t. Which penetrating Fluid is best? In this showdown, Brake Fluid, Seafoam Deep Creep, Fluid Film, BG In-Force, WD-40 Rust Specialist, CRC Knock’er Loose.

Could break fluid possibly work better than penetrating fluid when loosening rusty bolts? Today we’re going to find out, once and for all, whether this will work the best because I’ve had many people ask me to test against these other brands of penetrating fluids. We tried the acetone ATF mix against many penetrating fluids in a previous test. What we found was quite interesting. And that is that acetone ATF came in second place just behind Liquid Wrench, which took the top spot. So, let’s get the testing underway and find out just how good brake fluid is when removing rusty bolts. As in a previous video, I’ll use a half-inch wheel lug studs and nuts. I’ve only torqued them to 80-foot pounds this time because my torque adapter only goes up to 147-foot pounds.

Short Story

BestGood second
Sea Foam Deep CreepCRC Knock’er loose

Long Story

I have a larger torque adapter if we need it, but I don’t like changing test devices in the middle of a test. I like it when you guys provide comments and constructive feedback; it helps me improve the science. So based on the recommendations you provided, I’ll apply each penetrating Fluid with a dripper instead of using the spray can and adding a washer. So least keep the suggestions coming because it does help me. Do intelligent fluids work? I drilled and tapped a one-inch piece of plastic glass. And then, I oxidized the bolts.

Additionally, I added a hot blue perimeter at the top; metal and metal cause twice the rust as metal on plastic. However, this will provide some evidence of whether penetrating fluids do any good. So, I’ve got a total of 28 bolts to work with. The first four include our control group. So, I will go ahead and loosen those and see how much torque it takes. Do penetrate fluids and creep the rusted parts. The nut was threaded onto the bolt three-quarters of the way by hand. Then the nut in the bolt was oxidized. So, we’ll apply the penetrating Fluid that wins a competition into the top of this nut. So, we can see if it can creep through the rust and out the bottom. So first up, we’ve been testing DOT3 brake fluid.

BG In-Force
BG In-Force

So, CRC Knock’er Loose loosens frozen metal parts, dissolves rust and erosion, lubricates, and prevents rust: Seafoam, Deep Creep powers through rust and varnish. So, Fluid Film penetrates to free up heavily seized parts. BG In-Force has an ion-activated formula that permeates metal better than standard procedure penetrating oils. In a previous video, we tested WD-40 Rust Specialist. This time, we’re trying the Rust Specialist, designed explicitly as a rust-release penetrant spray.

CRC Knock'er Loose
CRC Knock’er Loose

So, the bright Fluid seems to have remained on the washer. It did not spread beyond the washer. It also did not evaporate. Okay, this is CRC Knock’er Loose. Interestingly, the penetrating Fluid seems like it’s mostly dried up. There’s a little bit towards the base of the nut, as it looks like it started to move away from the washer just a little bit. Seafoam Deep Creep looks pretty similar to the CRC Knock’er Loose. However, it doesn’t seem to have spread away from the washer as much. It still seems like more content remains on the threads and the nut. Okay. This is Fluid Film; it’s much different from the rest. It looks like it’s slimed to this entire set of nuts and bolts. So BG In-Force has flowed down the nut and into the washer. It also hasn’t evaporated as quickly as some other products.

SeaFoam Deep Creep
SeaFoam Deep Creep

Okay. One of the comments people made last time is that applying a penetrating fluid three times over three hours is unrealistic. They wanted me to test using a penetrating fluid, giving it some time to work and trying to loosen the bolts. So, we’ll come back in an hour and run a test on each one of these to see how much torque it takes for these to come loose. While allowing the penetrating fluids to work on the rusty nuts and bolts, we will apply these products to this setup.

As you can see, BreakFluidd penetrated and went down to the bottom of the bowl. CRC Knock’er Loose did a great job as well. It thoroughly penetrated and went down to the bottom of the bolt. Seafoam did a great job. There’s a lot of Seafoam that has thoroughly penetrated. It’s sitting in a puddle of Seafoam. You can see it about the drip-off. This stuff seems to work well. This is a Fluid Film. It does not appear to have done much as far as penetrating. Most of the Fluid Film seems to remain up top.

WD-40 Specialist
WD-40 Specialist

As you can see, BG In-Force did not fully penetrate and make it all the way—the bottom of the bolt. There are a lot of penetrating fluids still at the top of the threads that have not worked their way to the bottom. So, it does look like BG In-Force did go down to the lines some, but not quite as well as some of the other products we’ve tested. WD-40 Rust Specialist did an excellent job. It has gone all the way down to the bottom of the bolt. Okay. It’s been an hour, so I’m going to become testing. What wove each of these nuts to see how much penetration occurred?

Fluid Film
Fluid Film
Breakaway Torque
Breakaway Torque

Okay, guys, slight change of plans. I would put the top penetrating Fluid on this bolt and this nut to see if it could penetrate thoroughly. After the last video, I had a lot of requests to mix them all to see if it would work well. So, I decided to take a little bit of each, dump it into one, stir it up and then drop it on top of this to see if it made a difference. I never recommend mixing chemicals because we could experience a chemical reaction. If so, I must open the shop door and get the fans running. So, it doesn’t appear that the Fluid has penetrated anything. I don’t think mixing them all is an excellent idea after all. It’s stuck on there. This isn’t moving, and there’s no fluid. That’s gone past the bottom of the nut. I will soak up the penetrating liquid and then remove the nut to see how far down it is made. It’s all wet right now. But I think that’s because the Fluid in there as I turned the bolt started to flow downward, but it took 56.4-foot-pounds of torque to break this loose. And again, this wasn’t torque; it was put on by hand.

Cost
Cost

So based on the Plexiglas test and how far the penetrating fluids traveled down to threads, the results seem to make sense, with Seafoam Deep Creep coming out on top, followed by CRC Knock’er Loose coming in second. Now regarding the other product and compared to the last test, there needed more time for these products to do their job. As you remember, the previous test was a three-hour test or three applications, but the viewer said it did not make sense to do a three-hour test because, in the real world, no one waits three hours for penetrating Fluid to do its job. This is why I tested differently this time. Please let me know if you like to showdown between Seafoam Deep Cream and Liquid Wrench, and I can put together a test on that, or if you’d like me to test other penetrating fluids; thanks so much for reading the test. And I look forward to seeing you next time.

DOT 3 Brake Fluid
DOT 3 Brake Fluid

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