Chemicals: Time tested goodies

[bonneyman]

I've used alot of chemicals during my life - cleaners, oils, greases, etc. Some worked well, some not. I wanted to share my findings with my friends, hoping to spare the younger guys the waste of trial and error. Perhaps you've seen or heard of these things before.
Some have been re-formulated, and the MSDS's aren't always available anymore on some of these. Recent law changes allow companies to "hide" certain ingredients if they're termed "proprietary". If I have the composition I'll list it for you. Additionally, I'll post some homemade formulas using commonly available ingredients so anyone can make a fair approximation.

First up is a pine ammonia cleaner that I found at an estate sale. Though the brand (Goodwins) is still around, they no longer make this product. But it works great on keeping drain lines clear. If the line is already clogged, you need to clean it out with something else. But using this cleaner helps keep mold, algae, and slime growth down to almost zero. I've used it in my AC condensate lines and pump and they stay whisper clean. (And the bottle I have actually has antidote info on it - you know that thing is from the 70's)!

A close approximation can be made by mixing 3 parts Pine-Sol with 1 part industrial strength ammonia. I add a couple drops of green food coloring to be able to distinguish it from other chemicals on the shelf.

[bonneyman]

Marvel Mystery Oil. Been using this since the early 80's in my Vega 4-cylinder to help keep the valve train lubed. I'm sure the newer blend is different from the old stuff - if you can find an old metal can snag it!
75% highly refined mineral oil
23% Stoddard solvent
2% o-dichlorbenzene, p-dichlorbenzene, tricrestyl phosphate, and oil of wintergreen

Homebrew: substitute 3Gs refrigeration oil for the mineral oil, odorless paint thinner for the solvent, and mothballs for the p-dichlorobenzene. The tricrestyl phosphate is a high pressure semi-solid lubricant from way back but can be toxic, plus I don't know where to source it. (Same with the o-benzene). The wintergreen oil is itself a good penetrant, and is available on-line.
The exotic benzene's possess chlorine atoms in the molecule, which helps eat away deposits and helps "wet" metal surfaces to allow better oil adhesion (if that makes any sense). This produces very powerful solvent properties - use more than the recommended amounts and you'll start dissolving rubber gaskets in the fuel system - ask me how I know!)

[bonneyman]

Supco 88 is an oil additive that is a wear reducer and lubricant enhancer. Though designed specifically for the refrigeration industry, it works on anything that uses a mineral oil for lubrication. I've put it in the lawn mower fuel tank, engine oil, 50/50 in my shop oiler, AC compressors, lube for electric motors, gun lube, gas tank for electric fuel pump lubrication, etc.
Unlike car motors (which require oil changes periodically), AC compressors get the oil they require at manufacture, and it has to last the lifetime of the unit. So, it has to have high-solvency (carry alot of impurities without losing lubrication qualities), posses superior anti-wear qualities, resist thermal breakdown, remain liquid at low temperatures but not vaporize at high temps, etc.

This is a tall order for lubricating oils, and Supco 88 was designed to bolster these qualities without interfering with the oils job. It penetrates the pores of rubbing metal surfaces, providing wear reduction at the point of contact. It also dissolves sludge and is a good cleaner. Made mostly of high grade kerosene, it's not as toxic as WD-40.
I've managed to find half a dozen OLD bottles on warehouse shelves, so old they list 1930 refrigerants as being compatible with it. For some reason that stuff was dark and not transparent, almost as if it had been fermenting in the bottles all those years. I'm chocking it up to it's just a different formulation - though at the bottom of dormant bottles I found some black particulates, very fine particles. Hmm

50% ultra purified hydro-desulferized kerosene
30% naphthenic mineral oil
20% high solvency mineral oil
along with approx. .5-1% benzyl disulfide

Homebrew: Low odor A-1 kerosene from the hardware store is acceptable (as kerosene is an excellent solvent for sludge, has some lubricating qualities, and any residual remaining won't harm anything) with 3Gs and C-5 refrigeration oils substituting for the respective oils. Benzyl disulfide is an anti-wear and anti-seize additive, don't know where to source that.

[bonneyman]

Windshield washer fluid. The good old stuff used methyl alcohol as the main active ingredient. It had a low freezing point, and possessed good solvent powers. But it is a bit corrosive to some plastics and is highly toxic. Many new formulas use other carriers.

I've found that the following home brew works well and has a slightly depressed freezing point (good to about 20 degrees above zero). Mix 1 pint of rubbing alcohol with 1/8th cup of industrial strength ammonia and 2-3 drops of Dawn Blue dish soap in a clean gallon container. Fill the container the rest of the way with distilled water, add some blue food coloring, and mix thoroughly. If the ammonia smell is too strong you can reduce the amount of it.
Be advised though I've heard Dawn Blue affects rubber, so that part of the mix might affect supply lines, wiper blades, and seals/gaskets. Use at your own risk.

If you're a real rebel, use a bottle of HEET gas drier/de-icier that contains methyl alcohol in place of the rubbing alcohol above.

[J.A.F.E.]

Some good stuff there thanks!

[bonneyman]

WD-40.

This is a tricky one, as it's formulation seems to have repeatedly changed over the years. And, in 2017, it changed again! The state of California passed a regulation that forbid certain chemicals - of which WD-40 contained. Rather than have one formula for California, and keep the existing mixture for the rest of the country, WD-40 decided to change the formula to the California-approved mixture for everybody. Apparently they didn't want a batch made for Virginia to "accidentally" end up in Ca and get them sued. They are selling old inventory first, and all new shipments are the new mix. So you still might be able to find some of the good stuff. If not, my homebrew should get you close.

New stuff is very similar to Supco 88 (guess us Supco lovers have been proven right after all these years!) although the previous formula was similar to Chevron Techron gas treatment.

Homebrew for old formula: 2 parts naphtha and 1 part CW32 hydraulic oil, with a small amount of DMSO (dimethylsulfoxide) as penetrant. Remember, DMSO can penetrate your skin - and carry in with it anything it's mixed with - so be careful.

[bonneyman]

Seafoam

This is one I gotta admit never really worked for me. Did what they said - pour half a can slowly into the carb while revving, then dump the last half of the can into the gas tank. Didn't notice any difference. But alot of guys swear by it. Did an MSDS search, and came up with a homebrew. (one on-line H.B. uses diesel oil, naphtha, and 91% rubbing alcohol. Don't know if I like that much water in the gas tank.)

My mix: 60% CW32 hydraulic oil, 28% naphtha, and 10% of  (99.6%) isopropyl alcohol.

STP Gas Treatment

Easy to home brew.
80% kerosene, 8% naphthalene (mothballs), 5% naphtha (paint thinner), 5% POA oil (high solvency type mineral oil) and 2% trimethylbenzene. (Another exotic benzene, a powerful solvent).

[J.A.F.E.]

I like Seafoam at least as a cleaner for the carb on the little yellow car or the TB on the Explorer. But not as a gas tank additive. It also worked well when I had the TB off whe doing something else and cleaned it from the inside. It worked well in the EGR circuits which, at least on the 5.0, tend to get all gunked up.

Never been a fan of STP stuff.

I miss carbon tet it worked really well but pretty nasty if your like you central nervous system, liver and kidneys.

[bonneyman]

Never used STP Gas Treatment but was a regular user of the Oil Treatment in my 20's. That thick, gooey stuff really seemed to help with worn rings and oil burning. Try finding out what's in that stuff! Oh, STP brands got bought out by Turtle Wax, if I'm not mistaken.

[ken w.]

I'm a big fan of MMO. I've been using that in my air tools for years.  It will bring the life back to a sluggish impact wrench. I also use in in my small engine fuel. I mix it into my gas cans along with some Lucas Ethanol treatment. I haven't had to rebuild any of my own carbs in a few years now. 

[bonneyman]

I'm a big fan of MMO. I've been using that in my air tools for years.  It will bring the life back to a sluggish impact wrench. I also use in in my small engine fuel. I mix it into my gas cans along with some Lucas Ethanol treatment. I haven't had to rebuild any of my own carbs in a few years now.

Cool!

The mixture of benzenes really does clean out gunk.
Also I've read that MMO still retains lubricating qualities even when no longer a liquid. When engine heat eventually vaporizes the more aromatic components out, the semi-solid residue that remains still is still slippery. (Must be the tricresyl phopshate, which is itself a extreme pressure lubricant used in old aircraft engines).

[bonneyman]

Liquid Gas Leak Detector (a.k.a. soapy bubbles)

Old school way of finding leaks, and good for freon (as well as combustible gas and air). I used Dawn Blue dishwasher soap for the longest time, and had good results. But it is a bit of a chore to clean up (mixed with water it cleans up the joint nicely, though). But on certain freon leaks it FREEZES! Since R22 evaporates at 41 below, water-based soap bubbles can freeze. So I made the switch to Nu-Calgon yellow and then Big Blue. Was trying to figure out the ingredients, and one of the MSDS's had zipo in the ingredients section.
http://www.nucalgon.com/assets/MSDS/English/4182.pdf

Dug around awhile and found out they (and most brands) use a mixture of glycerin (thick syrup) and propylene glycol (anti-freeze and humectant (i.e. keeps solution from drying out)) with various other stuff, mostly IPA. And whatever dye they're using must be flourescent and safe.
http://www.nucalgon.com/assets/SDS/English/4180_SDS_ENG.pdf

So after my two bottles of store-bought liquids are gone I'll be mixing my own. Anybody have a source for a bright yellow or blue dye?
And I don't know how my home brew would work around hot engines in cars. What do you auto mechanics use for leak checks?

[kwoswalt99]

What do you auto mechanics use for leak checks?

A lighter.

[muddy]

Marcel Mystery Oil is good stuff!

[fatfillup]

Marcel Mystery Oil is good stuff!

 must be the French version