Awhile back, I was perusing an antique tractor website and happened upon a discussion about penetrating oils. A number of folks were very enthusiastic about their successes with Oil of Wintergreen. Anyone who has worked on old tractors knows this is a good test track for frozen, rusted fastener removal.
Since I haven't been very impressed with anything currently on the market, and I've tried a bunch, I bought a 4 oz. bottle of pure Wintergreen Oil and tried it yesterday. I was working on an 1891 vintage Lefever that wouldn't cock on the right side, and had a sluggish top lever. There were several stubborn screws, and one, the retaining screw for the top lever spring was broken off flush with the action surface. I gave each stubborn screw a dose of the Wintergreen and let it work for only about an hour. All unscrewed with less effort than I expected. One sear adjusting screw on the right sideplate took a couple taps with a screwdriver in the slot before it turned, but then it moved easily. This one had a buggered screw slot, and apparently had resisted someones earlier efforts to move it. The small (#5-40) top lever spring retaining screw which was broken unwound easily by turning it out with a dental pick. All of the threads on the screws were wet all the way down, and the stuff seemed to wick into the threads quickly. It's very thin. Smells a lot better than most penetrating oils too.
I realize one gun doesn't prove much, but so far this looks promising. Has anyone else here heard of this or used it?
