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PENETRATING FLUIDS
Whether you’re tackling a restoration project or routine maintenance, chances are you’re going to need penetrating fluids. Refresh your supply at CNH Industrial, your source for premium engine fluids and lubricants.
What They Do
Penetrating fluids seep into tight spaces where other fluids can’t reach. Although they contain lubricant, their main job isn’t lubrication. Their special formulas dissolve rust, cut through grease and loosen deposits and corrosion, including dirt, tar, salt and carbon, allowing them to clean and free seized parts — everything from nuts, bolts, latches and bushings to hinges, locks, hydraulic fittings and more. They also help to prevent rust and corrosion by displacing water and other chemicals from surfaces. As a lubricant, they can reduce friction between close-fitting parts to reduce annoying squeaks and rattles, yet their effectiveness as a lubricant is usually short-term.
How They Do It
Penetrating fluids seep into tight spaces because of their low viscosity and low surface tension. To keep things simple, let’s say that a high-viscosity fluid is thick and doesn’t flow as readily as a low-viscosity fluid. Honey has higher viscosity than olive oil, and olive oil has higher viscosity than water. For fitting into tight spaces, thinner is better.
So is low surface tension. A fluid with high surface tension forms into beads on a flat surface, like water on glass. The lower the surface tension, the more it spreads out on a flat surface, like you’d expect of paint. That’s helpful if you want it to cover more area.
Together, low viscosity and low surface tension mean that penetrating fluids do impressive work spreading into and over surfaces, such as when they glide down the threads of a rusted bolt. The thin film they leave behind coats even the pores of some metals.
Ready When You Are
Preventative maintenance with lubricants, sealants and solvents protects against some of the problems that penetrating fluids are designed to solve. But that doesn’t mean you won’t need them. Farm and construction equipment work in tough environments under heavy loads. Parts are bound to get dirty and corroded and stuck. Keep a stock of penetrating fluids on hand by shopping at CNH Industrial.