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Corroded Nut

Aerosol
September 17, 2016

I recently had the opportunity to put Microlon to the test and thought you would appreciate hearing the results. Last week I was attempting to replace lamps used in a 5 HP fountain. The fountain is anchored in the middle of a pond and the lamps used to illuminate the spray from the fountain are contained in water tight fixtures just below the water surface. While attempting to remove one of the retaining bands sealing the lamp and the fixture, I was unable to remove the nut due to heavy corrosion and oxidation on the threads of the clamp. I tried various products including Liquid Wrench (aerosol), WD40 and heat from a propane torch. The nut would not budge preventing me from unloosening the retaining ring on the fixture. The more I tried to turn the nut the more damage I was doing in deforming the ring and possibly damaging it. I eventually gave up and resorted to sawing the band off the fixture with a sawsall and purchasing a new band from the manufacturer in New Jersey.
 
Quite honestly, I had forgotten that I had a can of Microlon aerosol which I never tried using at the time I was trying to take the retaining ring off. Out of curiosity, I took the damaged ring and sprayed Microlon over the nut and threads. The nut started to turn although there was a fair amount of resistance. After backing up the nut on the threads, I sprayed a second coat and allowed it to penetrate for about a minute. That did the trick. The nut started turning very freely and after about six turns of the wrench you could turn it with your fingers. Very impressive!! I wish I would have remembered to try Microlon first. It would have saved an hour of my time not to mention having to buy a new retaining ring and waiting for five days for it to arrive. Great product!