Excellent Corrosion Fighter

[Hummer]

While I am new to the forum just getting my first AS (76 Sovereign) I do have some input many could use for general corrosion applications. While with the gov't in the small arms engineering field I attended a week long course at Rock Island called Corrosion Control and Prevention of Material Deterrioration which was one of the most interesting courses I ever attended.

About 8 years ago we had a Minnie Winnie and as others have said here there were clearance light problems and other connector problems I had to clear up.

Prior to that I was made aware of something called Ed's Red which is a home made concoction that works very nicely on a number of things.

Initially it was formulated by Ed Harris as a firearm cleaner/lubricant/preservative but has a number of other uses but first I said it was home made and this is what I did.

1. Took a 2 gal gas Blitz can and put in 1/2 gal K1 kerosene (or off road diesel works as well).
2. Added 2 quarts Mercon Dexron Transmission fluid.
3. Added 2 quarts of Mineral Spirits (paint thinner)

Thusly I had 1.5 gal of Ed's Red.

Not only is it good for cleaning your bores and wiping on your guns, you can leave it on them for long term storage. I wet down one 30 cal bore and stored it muzzle down for 14 months. Checked it with a bore scope and it was still completely wet and had not dried up.

I have three 1 qt spray bottles around my shop and a couple atomizer type bottles (empty Kenra Spray bottles, ask wife about them) that put out a fine fog at wide angle.

I went after the light system and on camper and later on my backhoe and got all the lights working quickly. After cleaning off contacts I sprayed both bulb contacts and socket before reassembly.

It also has other uses for hinges, wound springs, loosening frozen bolts, starting camp fires, kills wasps, great on fire ant mounds ( just kick mound, get them all stirred up, spray the ones that come out and walk off. Come back about an hour later, kick it again and generally nothing. If any come out spray them.
I also use it on lug nuts while they are off and spray the threads before reassembly.

On light fixtures exposed to weather I spray the base before screwing in bulbs. It is excellent on locks as it does not gum up. On locks I will use on AS, and my cargo trailer I will wet soak the internal mechanisms.
I have one lock on a Jeep trailer I did this too. Outside is one example of rust but put key in and it opens easily every time.

I have probably gone through about 9 gallons of it in last five years or so and given much of it to friends as samples who are now making their own.

Occasionally I put a pint in my International 140 Tractor and vehicle gas tanks. One day I ran out of gas in 140 and walked back to house and got gas can and dumped in 1/2 gal. As I finished I realized I had dumped in pure ER.
For kicks I engaged starter, it cranked up and I drove it to 1/2 mile to house. Smoked a bit but ran just fine.

[Snedwid]

That's sounding real good. I fight rust, corrosion, and lock up on a daily basis. I'm going to try your brew. Tnx

[Hummer]

Living in Florida you sure can use it. I used to live in Brunswick, Ga so I know exactly what you are dealing with but I didn't know about it then.

I just hd to replace about 2/3rds of the marker lights on the 76 Sovereign because when I opened them up to see why one or both bulbs were not burning everything inside was rusted. The plastic (appears to be PVC) bases on the original was flaking away as well. Assuming they were PVC in warm temps in the presence of moisture give of chlorine gas which attacks metals. I noted in the mornings the inside of the lenses showed moisture which is the combo for a disaster in the making.

I sprayed the old ones down with ER as well as the new ones and soldered the wire spices I did and taped them when new ones added. As well I sprayed the bases of all bulbs before inserting.

Then I took outdoor calking and and went around the lens openings and tried to completly seal the crevice so we will see how long the lights go.

When I got it in I noted no right rear turn signal. I thought the guy might have got a pole wrong and was going to the front plug apart and see what gives. I had already sprayed the truck/trailer side connectors and then I spotted the round plug in AS. I pulled it off and sprayed the plug. Nothing changed. I went back and sprayed the male side on the AS and they started working immediately.

If you are going to have direct rain on applications for threads you might get some Lee Alox bullet lube and take a small brush and paint it on exposed theads. It is almost like Cosmolene. Another good grease is RIG bought in gun shops. It was fielded by military in WW2 to keep rifle bores from rusting in South Pacific as the weather was perfect and coupled with corrosive primers was a master disaster so this stuff was fielded. RIG is not only brand name but acronym for Rust Inhibiting Grease.

[Snedwid]

On the subject of trailor plugs I've offten thought that a useful tool would be a wire brush, similaer to a bore brush but looking like the male end. It could be inserted vigorusly into the sockets and the rust and corrosion brushed out. A similar one could be made like the female end and it would clean off the spades real well. Never seen one, but I think there is a market if'n it was developed. About the closest I've seen is a battery terminal brush that is 2 ended, one for the post and one for the cable clamp.

[dljosephson]

The missing ingredient from the recipe is an amine to attack and bind with the corrosion. Thin out some Cosmoline (you can buy a thicker equivalent as Sanchem No-Ox-Id A Special) and add to the mix, or buy pre-made as LPS3 or Corrosion-X (these are not the same but have the same effect).

And, DON'T use a steel or brass wire brush if the surface is plated. You want to preserve what plating is left. Stiff bristle is good, but if there is some plating you want to keep it there.

[Ganaraska]

A good product for electrical connections is Noalox. This is a gray goo made for protecting 110V and higher electrical connections, such as where the wires clamp together right outside your house.

I use it on my car battery cables and never get a bit of corrosion even after 3 or 4 years. I also put it on light connections on cars, trucks, trailers.

It comes in a squeeze bottle and you get it at electrical supply stores or a hardware store with a good household wiring department.