PB Blaster is magical

[Cadman]

i do 1 part atf, 1 part acetone, 1 part mineral spirit, & 1 part coleman kerosene. works great as a degreaser metal parts.

What is ATF? Automatic Transmission Fluid?

[Shark Hunter]

Correct.

[steelhead_killer]

I think from reading the link that ATF stands for Acetone+Transmission Fluid

Andy

[PacRat]

I have read many times on firearms forums that people will submerge a  neglected handgun in transmission fluid and let it marinate for a week or more before cracking it open. I haven't had a reel bad enough to require this but if I did, I wouldn't hesitate. ATF typically wont harm plastic (that's Automatic Transmission Fluid without acetone). I have read about adding acetone and they have a name for that like 'Red's____'....but I can't remember exactly.
Mike

[foakes]

I feel the same way about these products -- they all work well in their own way -- results are good -- but the stench and dangers are unacceptable to me.

I have a large kerosene parts cleaner that I feel the same way about -- odors that you can never remove, oily, messy, flammable, etc..

My cleaning is done in a shop within my house -- so that stuff is a non-starter.

Even if it was my outside shop, I edge towards clean air and safety.

Just my opinions --

Best,

Fred

[PacRat]

I looked up the ATF mix. It's known as 'Ed's Red'. You can google search it and get a lot of opinions and recipes. It seems the acetone is mostly for cleaning plastic wadding residue from shotgun bores.

"Ed's Red is equal parts of Dexron III ATF, kerosene, mineral spirits, and acetone. I have used it for years without the acetone and have never had it separate. I have heard that the newer water based mineral spirits will not work well so remember to use the petroleum based mineral spirits. The ATF and acetone formula is supposed to be an excellent penetrating oil."

Just be careful when purchasing your chemicals as many (especially here in CA) aren't what they claim to be anymore. May of these will read something like this,"TURPENTINE substitute" or 'MINERAL SPIRITS substitute". Lesson...read the fine print and make certain it's what you think it is.

Mike

[Cadman]

Thanks for the clarification.

[Tightlines667]

I use 50:50 Acetone : Dextron ATF, but i may have to ad some mineral spirts and/or White Gas to the mix.  Best to keep this in a sealed metal container and use in a well ventilated area away from spark or flame.  

I use mineral spirts, vinegar, and simple green as my primary cleaners, but sometimes Purple degreaser, back to black(for bakelight and vulcanized rubber), wd-40 (for lacquered/badly dried heavy grease removal), diluted HCL (for bad vertiquois), and OSPho (phosphoric acid) gels to restore corroded steel/chrome, and metal polish or never dull.

John

[Shark Hunter]

I think from reading the link that ATF stands for Acetone+Transmission Fluid

Andy

ATF is automatic transmission fluid without any other additives,
The concoction after that is up to you.

[steelfish]

i do 1 part atf, 1 part acetone, 1 part mineral spirit, & 1 part coleman kerosene. works great as a degreaser metal parts.

looks like bomb formula too

[Gunrunner]

Question guys what would you recommend
To remove frozen bolts on a penn 10/0 without
Harming the Bakelite plastic ends I have the
Eccentric lever flower nut is frozen I think it's
Just from sitting and there's a film like the reel
Was stored in a kitchen or something anyway
I'm looking for the best way to get that loose
With little to no damage to the reel any ideas would be
Greatly appreciated thanx

Scott

[PacRat]

Scott,
Patience is your best ally here. Whatever you do, go slow and easy. Make sure you're using the proper wrench on the flower nut. Don't soak the entire plate in anything for any amount of time as the bakelite can (and likely will) swell. Does your flower nut have an oiler port? If so, put a small amount of your favorite penetrating oil there. Hopefully your reel is disassembled and you can lay your plate flat with the oil port down so that the oil will stay at that side. I would let is soak overnight before attempting to loosen it. If the first attempt fails; repeat it again. After two or three attempts and it still doesn't free up, you can try a variety of temperature variables...but nothing too extreme. You can place the plate in the freezer and/or very warm water. What your attempting to do is break the bond between the flower nut and eccentric by contraction (shrinking) and expansion. Both parts are brass so unfortunately they will react about the same to temperature changes. If it were mine (and penetrating oil didn't work); I would freeze the plate and then quickly apply a soldering iron to the flower nut. (be careful that you don't heat damage the plate!) If that didn't work I would re-freeze it and then apply heat to the eccentric. If that failed I would go back to penetrating oil for an overnight soak and then I would grip the eccentric in a vise and really put it to it with the wrench (Alan Tani wrench would be optimum) and hopefully it either breaks free or you break the flower nut off in the eccentric and you've saved the plate and will only need to replace the broken parts.
Good luck...and let us know how it goes.
Mike

[Gunrunner]

Ok Mike will do thanx for the ideas

Scott

[foakes]

Scott,
Patience is your best ally here. Whatever you do, go slow and easy. Make sure you're using the proper wrench on the flower nut. Don't soak the entire plate in anything for any amount of time as the bakelite can (and likely will) swell. Does your flower nut have an oilier port? If so, put a small amount of your favorite penetrating oil there. Hopefully your reel is disassembled and you can lay your plate flat with the oil port down so that the oil will stay at that side. I would let is soak overnight before attempting to loosen it. If the first attempt fails; repeat it again. After two or three attempts and it still doesn't free up, you can try a variety of temperature variables...but nothing too extreme. You can place the plate in the freezer and/or very warm water. What your attempting to do is break the bond between the flower nut and eccentric by contraction (shrinking) and expansion. Both parts are brass so unfortunately they will react about the same to temperature changes. If it were mine (and penetrating oil didn't work); I would freeze the plate and then quickly apply a soldering iron to the flower nut. (be careful that you don't heat damage the plate!) If that didn't work I would re-freeze it and then apply heat to the eccentric. If that failed I would go back to penetrating oil for an overnight soak and then I would grip the eccentric in a vise and really put it to it with the wrench (Alan Tani wrench would be optimum) and hopefully it either breaks free or you break the flower nut off in the eccentric and you've saved the plate and will only need to replace the broken parts.
Good luck...and let us know how it goes.
Mike

Great advice from Mike...

Best,

Fred

[Shark Hunter]

I haven't met an eccentric lever or handle nut that couldn't be tamed with an Alan Tani Wrench.