A few things about anti-seize compounds

Anyone who wrenches on stuff has to deal with seized nut and bolts. Shown are 4 compounds I use for unsticking things (mostly), left to right Ballistol, Break Free, Marvel Mystery Oil and WD40. Also going left to right I have them in order of best to worst. I actually do not consider WD-40 to be an anti seize compound it has actually never unseized anything for me. However it is marketed as that so I'm including it, but also to warn that is a very poor choice for such an application. You can see on the cover it's list of uses and actually the one at the top is what it's best for, stopping squeaks. It works exceptionally well for door hinges. It's also pretty good at protecting metals. So is Break Free, and a few gun manufacturers actually recommended it for lubrication and protection. Break Free will free most stuck nuts and bolts too. It's also fairly common. I use it for protecting and cleaning my rifles, and unseizing stuff.

Ballistol however is the absolute best from my experience. I have a great story about Ballistol. Back in the early 90s when I was in trade school for Machining, was when I first discovered it. In fact that bottle you see is the same bottle I bought back in 94. It is about 1/5th full now, and still works remarkably well. I recall when I got it that it had a pamphlet that listed off its uses which included deworming dogs, stopping engine knocking, and even disinfecting wounds. They don't make such claims anymore, but since it had so many strange uses listed, the guys in the shop called it Snake Oil. My greatest experience with it was removing the oil check bolt on the rear differential of a 84 Toyota pickup I had at the time. That thing would not come off with an impact wrench, or a vice grip with a 3-foot extender. At that point the bolt was so badly stripped, and I resorted to going at it with a cold chisel and a hammer. And yes I used some other anti seize compounds but that thing would not come off. Then I heard of Ballistol. One of the guys at the shop was like "hey put some damn snake oil on it"! So I did and let it sit overnight. The next day I came back and just put a vise grip on it, no extender, and it came right out with almost no effort. I was amazed and have been sold on the stuff ever since. According to their website ballistol is slightly basic which makes it good at neutralising the mild acids in human hand sweat which we leave all over the place. They also said it does not resinify, and I can attest to that. My 25-year old bottle which has been left uncapped many times is still fluid as it ever was. Resinification is a hardening process that occurs over time. Apparently it is a mixture of antioxidants in medical oils so it is more stable.

The last one, Marvels, is actually an engine additive. However we have learned that it is good at bringing back some bad ball bearings, that are just completely locked or grinding like old bones, and also preventing rust. Everyone at my job are relentless experimenters. So, sometime along the way some one used some marvels on bearings I guess of necessity or curiosity and found that it worked pretty well.

Thanks for reading!

A few links to find the good stuff!

Ballistol

Break Free

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