Garage chemicals: PB Plaster should be a tool, not just a chemical...

In the past, I've been faithful to WD-40 - period. I had heard about PB Blaster from many people, in the end - the endorsement that won me over came from a thread in this forum.

Over the last few weeks, as part of spring into summer "Honey Dew" lists I've had to clear out a lot of pack rat car parts from engines I've enjoyed in the past but seriously have little to no reason to keep. Plus the Honey Dew household maintenance chores (nagging drip in bathroom sink - Duct tape just wasn't working anymore).

A lot of fittings on intake manifolds are brass, mounted in aluminum or steel that has corroded and bonded with aluminum. In either case, there is real possibility of stripping treads when you pound on them for removal. I first tried to remove them using my old standby -WD-40, but it just didn't budge. This time I pulled out the PB Blaster, sprayed it on the joint (in some cases, left it to soak overnight). The next day all I had to do was shock it (fancy way of saying put a wrench to it and hit it with a hammer) - the parts came loose like magic. There was no damage to the fittings or the manifold either.

Today I had to do some plumbing when I found that the leak was really a corroded galvanized 1 1/2 nipple, been in the house since it was built back in the 60's. It would not budge, even with a three ft. "Monkey" (pipe) wrench. I tried the PB Blaster - left it to soak a few hours; it came out like magic too. This one job has saved me at least $100 - $150 bucks, the cost of a plumbers visit.

I am convinced, PB Blaster actually works - it’s not often that a product does what it claims, it’s even harder to take my WD-40 away from me or change my opinion after years of relying on something that worked in the past...but in this case, I have to admit that I'll likely never be without a can or two of PB Blaster in the tool box.

Just thought some of you guy were on the fence about all the Hype for PB Blaster. Wonder no more; it actually works better than the hype. [img]/forums/images/smiles/icon_bow.gif[/img]


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Beoweolf on 6/1/07 3:12pm ]</font>

I've been using PB Blaster for years, and you're right, the stuff works. Liquid Wrench is pretty good, and if I didn't have PB I'd use that.

In fact, I just used PB blaster this past weekend wrenching on exhaust manifold bolts. I put new gaskets on, including those little 'donuts' that fit between the manifold and the collector. We're talking really, really rusty parts here. I drove the car around a little, letting it get nice and hot in the exhaust, and then sprayed that PB blaster on the bolts. A few of them were so rusted up and tight that they squeeked all the way out! But they all came out, no problem.

Anytime I am taking off bolts or nuts that look a little 'aged' I spray that stuff on and let it soak in.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: redneckprofessor on 6/1/07 8:18pm ]</font>

It's pretty decent stuff with very good penetration.

I like CRC556 also but haven't seen a bottle in 10 years...
[addsig]

The first time I ever heard or used it was when we moved to MD. I got my car there from OR in '01 and was making a lot of trips to the local NAPA to get parts. Trying to get exhaust bolts out of the intake was not working. While at N I mentioned it and the manager came up to the counter with a can of PB that they had been using and said try this. Works better than WD and maybe it will work. Well it worked for one of them but that was it. Still we used it on other things and I was sold. I still prefer WD for finding vacuum leaks because of the more misty spray. For the heavy duty stuff though PB is the way to go.

Deb

PB all the way for me that stuff is great. All we use WD for is to soak dirt car tires in after a weekend of racing
[addsig]

Some old Eastern Airlines Mechs used Hoppes gun cleaning oil. It works great! So if you ever run out of your nomal penetrating oil and have some Hoppes around. Give it a try.

I use PB a lot on rusted stuff. It is good and cheap. If you want to step up a notch, try Aero-Kroil. Just my .02.

Ray

I have used Kroil with very good results also. I will try PB blaster soon.

I have tried them all and some of them work in some instances and some never work. I went into extensive detail in an article I sent into Old Cars Weekly several years ago and there isn't one I would bet the house on. The article was titled Penetrating oil-doesn't. You see if the oil, regardless of manufacturer, doesn't penetrate the rusted part, how is it going to break or desolve rusted parts. Try this very simple test. Put a portion of your fluid on a flat piece of metal. Put a nice amount on there and just let it sit for about a day. Come back and see if it is still there. If it has evaporated, then how in the world can it penetrate if it has disappeared! Two instances that have turned me sour on any "penetrating" oil; The clutch head screws in the '46 Chevy PU I was restoring. I soaked them for days with PB Blaster to no avail. Had to drill them all out. And please, it had nothing to do with the fact it was a Chevy! Last year I bought a '61 American Hardtop to drive while I restored the Fairlane. When the car arrived the engine wouldn't turn over. Someone had taken the plugs out and the cylinders got rusty. I took the head of and filled the cylinders with another pentrating oil that I had bought by the quart. After a full month of refilling, tapping gently on the pistons, and putting a pry bar on the flywheel, it was evident that the engine was not coming free. This on top of the three weeks where I put penetrating oil in the spark plug holes.

So in my opinion what the refiners are selling to us in cans marked penetraing oil is the light ends they would normally burn off in the towers at their refineries and nothing else. Yea, sometimes they work but in those instances you have to ask yourself if the part or nut or bolt would have come loose without it.

Later!
Mr. Ed
[addsig]

I don't see any tool as something I would bet the house on. There are too many variables; to include the skill of the user, which could affect the outcome.

However, in the limited situations each person provided, there is some recognition for a product that actually did perform. For example - there could be some doubt about using PB Blaster to attempt to remove 200 years of marine encrustation; likely, it would be a waste of time and product. That is not what it was designed to do nor listed on its label. Like any tool in your toolbox, you chose which one to use based on experience and the likelihood of achieving a successful result.

Other chemical, physical solutions may offer a superior solution when used in an appropriate setting. Even in the cases I mentioned - it is possible that heat or brute strength alone or together will have saved the day. Sure, each might have also brought additional danger too - using an open flame inside the close quarters of a bathroom is not on the top of my list of things I enjoy doing any more than calling in "Joe" plumber at $xxx/hr to do the job I was capable of completing, with the assistance of a chemical.

I think we all appreciate hearing your cautionary warning not depend on any one product or technique as the only solution. Since the criteria for success are simple - the part is freed or it remains stuck, success is easy to judge. So the decision is to either try or not try to release the unwanted bond. Given the options, you have to admit if you never try - something, anything ... then the possibility of saving a part or disassembling a stubborn nut, bolt or mechanical bond moves into 100% failure instead of 50/50 possibility.

There is no guarantee of success if you use a specific product, but there is 100% guarantee of failure if you do nothing.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Beoweolf on 6/4/07 1:13am ]</font>