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- Nov 27, 2012
- Messages
- 7,900
Try Relton A-9 on aluminum. Best aluminum cutting fluid out there, at least as far as I know, and definitely better than WD-40. When surface finish matters, try A-9.
Relton A-9 is great stuff. I bought a small bottle of it to try when I was trying out alternatives for TapMagic Aluminum. Smells good & I like the color (green is my favorite color). I don't always like the thicker consistency though although I perfer that viscosity for steels. My favorite for aluminum is Winbro AlumTap (or AlumaTap as some people incorrectly say but there is actually a product called AlumaTap also), the original formula though. They have a new non-chlorinated formula.
I used to use TapMagic Aluminum. At some point I couldn't stand the smell of it anymore, gets on your fingers & the smell doesn't wash off. What's weird is it never made me sick when I first started using it.
I know a lot of people swear by WD-40 or kerosene for aluminum & while they do work well (I've never tried kerosene myself), the 3 mentioned above work better IMO. WD-40 is cheap & available anywhere though. I only use WD-40 for cleaning.
I use TapMagic EP-Xtra (or Boelube 90) on steel. Like it but it can cause a smoke storm, I don't like to keep my garage door open.
I use Boelube 90 on stainless & Ti. Really it works great on everything. Non-toxic & doesn't stink at all. But the stuff is very expensive. Now that Enco is gone I use it sparingly. Luckily I still have a gallon & a half of it which should last me a long time but if I run out not sure I will buy more unless the price comes down (unlikely).
AnchorLube is great too but I never really use it, I have a jar of it but I tend to forget to reach for it. I use SafeTap Paste the most when tapping. It's a gel & I get good results with it.
But what do I know, I'm just a hobby guy but this is what I have been sticking with.