Ed's Red formula substitutions

[mountain_man]

I just caught wind of Ed's formula and was wondering if the Kerosene could be replaced with off road diesel fuel. I have none of the first but plenty of the latter. I was not planning on adding acetone if that makes a difference.

Also how well does Ed's formula work at removing leading?

 

[MEHavey]

I just cut to the chase: 50/50 ATF/Kroil

It seems to creep under even the most
stubborn lead overnight.

 

[itsa pain]

I have used off road diesel / heating fuel with great results. not much different then kerosene

 

[AZ Desertrat]

Yup....ATF and Kroil do a fine job.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I wouldn't want the dye that's in off-road diesel....I do not use acetone, either.

 

[MikeJackmin]

I've read repeatedly that an ATF/Acetone mix was an excellent penetrating oil, but never tried it myself. Now I read that ATF and acetone won't even mix - probably because the formulation for the ATF has changed over the years.

I found an interesting comment here:

>"his mix goes back to the original Ed's Red formula, which was 1,1,1 Trichlor and atf --- which do mix. You can't get 111tc anymore, so people have tried acetone. No, it doesn't mix, as a followup article in Machinist's Workshop pointed out, but it does form a temporary emulsion if you shake it..."

http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/threads/47279-Penetrating-Oil

So, my current guess is that leaving out the acetone is a good idea... but the new Ed's won't be like the old stuff.

I do know that Kroil, both straight and mixed with ATF, works pretty good, but I honestly can't say if it works any better than any other quality penetrating oil. It is a pretty red though.

 

[Armored farmer]

If dye in off-road diesel doesn't harm pumps and injectors it will be ok for your shootin iron, but i dont want the stinkin stuff on my gun.

 

[MartinS]

As I recall Harris wrote that he checked with an organic chemist to make sure there would be no known, ugly surprises in his mixture. These things are familiar through regular use but they remain powerful and complicated substances.

 

[mountain_man]

I was just wondering since diesel fuel and kerosene are very similar, however I know that there is a different length in the parent carbon chains of each and they generally have different additives. But I figured that it might work as a substitute since kerosene can be added to diesel fuel. I guess that I will just try harder to find kerosene somewhere.

 

[Crashbox]

Kerosene is also known as No. 1 Diesel; regular Diesel fuel is No. 2 grade IIRC. Not as volatile as kerosene but should work OK in my opinion.

I've used assorted substitutions/additions to Ed's Red with no issues (yet). I've used MEK in place of acetone, added LC-20 Oil Supplement which is believed to contain a fair amount of cyclohexanone, John Deere Low-Viscosity ATF and so on.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I guess that I will just try harder to find kerosene somewhere.

Is it hard to find where you live? I can buy it at many gas stations in town.

 

[Hondodawg]

I know most hardware stores sale small quantities of kerosene.

 

[Drail]

Try using straight Dexron ATF.

 

[marv]

Most any ChinaMart has white kerosene as fuel for their kerosene lamps.

 

[FuzzyBunny]

Home depot or a hardware store will have "odorless keerosene" in 1 or 5 gallon cans.

I have Ed's mixed 3 ways

Full eds mix w/lanolin
Eds with no acetone
Eds with acetone and no lanolin

Seems to work great. I mixed up these 3 gallons 14 years ago and an still using it.

 

[orionengnr]

Plain old diesel works fine in Ed's Red--the first recipe I ever saw uses diesel, and I've been using it for 4-5 years now.
Diesel and kerosene are very close in composition.

 

[karlsgunbunker]

I found a recipe on the web 10 or 12 years ago.

2 qt Marvel mystery oil
2 qt Risolene
2 qt Mineral spirits
Fill remainder of 5 gal gas can with Kerosene.

Works well, I'm still using the first 5 gal I mixed.

 

[rdmercer]

Kerosene, Diesel, and Grade Jet A jet fuel can all be used in turbine jet engines. So I am sure they would all be fine in Eds Red.

 

[JRH6856]

FWIW, Marvel Mystery Oil is 74% Mineral Oil, 25% Aliphatic Mineral Sprirts, 1% Lard, or so I've been told.

This is supposedly used by USMC:

2 pt. Mobil 1 synthetic: 0,5,10W- 30W, do not use a heavier than W30 - Mobil 1 ONLY
1 pt. Marvel Mystery Oil
1 pt. STP
1 pt. ATF (USMC prefers FMC synthetic or Mobil synthetic)

Might be worth trying

 

[ColtPythonElite]

^^Sounds like lots of oil and very little solvent.

 

[JRH6856]

Yeah, the only solvent is the mineral spirits in the Mystery Oil. That works out to 5%.

 

[sauer1911]

I forget where I saw this mix, but I use it, and it cuts thru deposits like nothing.

1 part Mobil1 5-30
1 part STP
2 parts ATF with Dexron.

All synthetic, the ATF gets in and loosens up the deposits, STP makes it stick to everything, and the Mobil1 oil thins out the STP.

I like it.

Just mixed up my own GOLD GREASE,

1 part NAPA copper anti seize compound

3 parts Peak synthetic grease.

Just waiting on small applicator bottles with needle tips to apply the grease with. Be careful that anti seize stuff sticks on everything. Thus the need for the pinpoint applicator.

be safe

 

[JRH6856]

I forget where I saw this mix, but I use it, and it cuts thru deposits like nothing.

1 part Mobil1 5-30
1 part STP
2 parts ATF with Dexron.

All synthetic, the ATF gets in and loosens up the deposits, STP makes it stick to everything, and the Mobil1 oil thins out the STP.

I like it.

That is pretty close to the USMC formula without the Mystery Oil.

Dexron is the brand name of GMs ATF, not a component of ATF. GM only makes Dexron IV now which is a different formulation than the Dexron, Dexron II, IIe or III that most of these mixtures are based on. There are other brands of ATF available that conform to the earlier Dexron specs. Have to read the labels. Dexron IId is hygroscopic (attracts water) and should be avoided.

The Gold Grease sounds interesting. Is this something you have used before?

 

[sauer1911]

Well I just got a Glock 34 for my wife to use in IDPA. The original gun lube setup has very thin lines of the gold grease in very strategic spots.

I did some digging and came to the conclusion that it was a copper anti seize compound/grease.

So I made a mix of Peak synthetic grease and some of the NAPA anti seize compound.

As far as the mix ratio is concerned, I kept the grease as the major component, and added some of the anti seize for color.

A little goes along way, and it gets on everything, hence the need for a small needle tipped applicator.

Seems to work very well.

be safe.

 

[Sport45]

I use (by volume) 25% ATF, 50% Mineral Spirits, and 25% Acetone.

I use it for gun cleaning and it's a great penetrating oil for automotive work.