Hi Kurt,
You have a good point. It would be useful to point out a
source. The stuff is really not hard to get and $20 worth will
last the average guy a lifetime. I've pointed out a source in my
coments below. I'm sure there are many others. But this one is
nationally and internationally accessable.
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
>Date: Sat, 02 Jan 1999 17:03:26 -0800
>From: Kurt Andress <NI6W@contesting.com>
>
>Eric Gustafson wrote:
>
>> Specifically regarding penetrox:
>
>Agreed, there are several different compounds. I was tying to
>keep the discussion short by just addressing all of the popular
>compunds commonly available and recommended for use with
>aluminum.
>
>BIG SNIP
>
>> When you are done, you will have a connection that contains no
>> dissimilar metals and has a relatively permanent occlusive
>> barrier to moisture and gasses entering the joint. The
>> connections that I have made using the above method have been
>> the ones that gave me the least amount of trouble for the
>> longest period of time.
>>
>> 73, Eric N7CL
>
>Thanks for the excellent commentary! I am in total agreement
>with it.
>
>The problem is that most everybody else can readily find the run
>of the mill petroleum based stuff. To make this discussion more
>useful for everyone else, we might offer where the Dow compounds
>can be found.
Here is a national distributor with a presence on the web. I'm
sure that they would be willing to sell to anyone in the US or
outside the US +/- who pays shipping.
<http://www.neelyindustries.com/index.htm>
I just looked at the Dow lubricants section of this page. It
appears that there may be several products in this line that
would perform a similar function for us. DC-111 grease in
particular appears to be very close to the High Vacuum grease in
properties. But I haven't tried the DC-111 and I have a LOT of
experience with the Hgh Vacuum grease.
>I know that we get them from an industrial distributor named
>R.S. Hughes in L.A. These silicone compounds are not usually
>offered at the local hardware store.
They might be if there was some level of interest expressed in
them. I bet ACE could be persuaded to stock it if more people
knew how useful it is.
For example, when I was living in Yuma (not a good place for car
battery connections. Too much battery acid vapor under the hood
in a 125 degree ambient), I did the High Vacuum grease treatment
to a battery I installed in 1972. When we removed the battery in
1983, the terminals were still bright and shiny like the day I
wirebrushed them to install the battery. These connections had
survived many underhood spraydowns at the car wash as well as all
those years in the desert heat. No little felt pads and no spray
paint coating were used.
But, alas, ACE also used to stock a lubricant called Break-Free
CLP. This is just about the best lubricant / protectant /
cleaning agent I have ever seen for firearms (and other iron
stuff too I guess). And now they no longer stock it. Probably
didn't get enough demand. This is a problem with stuff that
works wonderfully well but that the user doesn't need to consume
a lot of to get the benefit. I'm still using some Break-Free
that was in the bottom of a can that the Army discarded as empty
in 1976.
73, Eric N7CL
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