# ACF 50



## voltar (Jul 24, 2009)

ACF50 just wondered if any one has used this on their motorhome panels to stop the white rust forming due to galvanic action when water gets in between two metals over a period of time i belive this puts a coating on and so preventing the chemical reactions.


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## strod (Sep 2, 2007)

Not used ACF50 on thae MH, but I have my motorcycles covered in the stuff for protection in the winter. It forms a barrier to prevent water/salt corroding parts. Works really well on bikes, so why not other vehicles like the MH?


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

I've not used ACF50 (It costs a fortune) But have been using ScottOiler FS365. I apply it to the whole of the underside just prior to the winter. I don't use my van during the winter months so there not much chance of there being a lot of salt underneath. I clean the underside, let it dry off for a couple of days & then get under with a spray gun & give everything a soaking with the FS365. My van's coming up for 7 years old & the MOT man always comments that it's like new underneath  

FS365 is water soluble so needs to be re-applied if you're going to be using the van over the winter months. It's got something in it to neutralise the salt & I personally rate the stuff highly. It's designed for use on motorcycles to keep them from rotting during the winter.

D.


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## grizzlyj (Oct 14, 2008)

Hiya

FS365 is good, but ACF50 is a lot better. Some rusty bits on my front bumper are no longer rusty after a few coatings. Most things just get a once over though. I think it was designed to protect the ally bits of fighters while on aircraft carrier decks.

Nippy Norman has a really good price at the moment, the cheapest I found anyway.


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## Hymie (May 9, 2005)

*ACF-50*

ACF-50 is like anything else that is good - it attracts a premium price.

It fixed my reversing camera, and electric step - so well worth the £15 it cost me.

If motorcyclists use and recommend it to each other you know it must be good.

cheers

Happy Travels


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

I know the ACF 50 stuff's good  All my mates have Beemers & are avid users of the stuff. However & this is the important bit, I don't need it to be the absolute best or a premium product, simply to be good enough which the FS365 is.

I'll give you an example. I bought & used this stuff Weigle Framesaver to rustproof the inside of my bicycle frame (It gets used on the beach) As you can see it costs 16 quid for a miniscule can & comes all the way from the US. This stuff gets rave reviews & it does work. The catch is though that this premium product can bought elsewhere for a lot less. If you've ever unwrapped a brand new ball bearing race & found it covered in a brown tacky film you'll recognise the smell straight away. It's not exactly a premium product & has been in use for eons. I suspect that the specially formulated ACF50 is probably similar. I simply can't justify using ACF when the stuff from Scott does the job 

Anyone else on here got one of these for cycling on the coast









D.


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## airstream (Jan 7, 2009)

*ACF/Scot/WD test reults*

Hi,
link shows not to scientific test of ACF50 v others

http://f2mcltd.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/winter-salt-protection-acf50-fs365-or.html

I use ACF 50 and Dinnatrol on van/car and bikes all of which are kept outdoors

Ray


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

I have never used any of the products mentioned. I have never undersealed or treated our 7 year old van to any rust or corrosion preventative. 

Does the OP want a product for the underneath or bodywork.
Dave p


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## HarleyDave (Jul 1, 2007)

Looks like it Dave - what have you got?

Cheers

Dave


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

http://www.britnett-carveradv.co.uk...e-watering-anti-rust-agent-400ml-aerosol.html
The above company are my suppliers and are a retailing arm of the company that manufactures WD40.

Dave p


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## HarleyDave (Jul 1, 2007)

Thanks Dave

What do you reckon to GT85?

http://www.gt85.co.uk/notes.php

Cheers

Dave


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## grizzlyj (Oct 14, 2008)

Two brief reviews

MCN ACF50

MCN FS365

I think ACF50 is a before winter treatment for a bike, whereas the FS365 is an after every ride treatment. One or the other, unless you hot jet wash mid winter then the ACF would need redoing.

http://www.acf-50.co.uk/

It doesn't perform miracles though 8O


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

HarleyDave said:


> Thanks Dave
> 
> What do you reckon to GT85?
> 
> ...


Sorry never tried it.
Most of these kind of products are very similar. The price usually shows the profit margin.

ie up until three months ago I was buying a similar product to WD40 at £1.20 per can. The same product is now costing me £1.76. I can`t seee where the rise comes from. But I supose if the manufacturer has reduced sales the increase in price makes up for it.
Roll on retirement. :lol: 
Dave p


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

Interesting thread this & backs up my own experience of both of these products. Thanks to Grizzly for posting the links  

Anyone care to comment on the corrosion inhibiting properties of other fluids....diesel for example ?

TIA, Dave.


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

OK, in the interests of testing this further I've purchased some ACF 50  I've prepared some mild steel bar. The bar's been divided into seven sections by scoring with a cutting disc. The scale was then removed using a flap disc on the angle grinder. I then made the finish as uniform as possible using a new coarse sanding sheet on the orbital sander. I've applied a variety of products to the steel & will leave the test piece outside & observe the results. Obviously not a scientific test in any way, but it'll be interesting to see what happens. I suspect the two wax based products are going to offer the best protection followed by ??? Answers on the back of a fiver please  I'm only applying the products once so I guess the first couple of months will be the most relevant as the FS365 is meant to be re-applied regularly.

From left to right the products are.
1 ACF 50
2 Weigels Frame Saver
3 WD40
4 Control (bare mild steel
5 Waxoyl
6 Chainsaw oil
7 Scottoiler FS365


Steel Patch 3 by Davesport62, on Flickr

Steel Patch 1 by Davesport62, on Flickr

Steel Patch 2 by Davesport62, on Flickr


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

4Really feeling guilty now

But I will learn to live with it :lol: 

Don't do anything

rarely even clean it

Dirt protects, doesn't it ?

Treat the cars the same and have had 4 in 26 years

Except for a couple belonging to me

Very particular about the insides though

Aldra


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## grizzlyj (Oct 14, 2008)

I reckon the bits under the sharpie pen will be spotless 

I had read that WD50 actually ends up worse than an unprepared bit, but doesn't some steel come with an oily finish? So perhaps their unprepared section wasn't bare enough :lol: 

Thank you for doing it though


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

OK, quick update. The steel sample went outside 24 hours ago. I screwed it to the side of my wood store at an angle of roughly 45 deg. It's rained here in East Lothian for the last 6 hours so I thought I'd go & have a look. As you can see, nature's begun reclaiming what's hers. More in a few days. It's not looking good for the FS365 though 


Patch 070113 by Davesport62, on Flickr


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## HarleyDave (Jul 1, 2007)

This is great - kinda like a "Myth-Busters" special all of our own!!

BTW - if you need someone to help you burn that wood, just give me a shout 8) 

Cheers

Dave


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

Another day, more corrosion. Don't use chainsaw oil either. Interestingly, the WD40's still holding. Won't be long 8O


Patch 48hrs by Davesport62, on Flickr

And a woodstore picture for HarleyDave 8)


Woodstore by Davesport62, on Flickr


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

davesport, Had I known you were doing an in depth corrosion experiment I would have sent you a couple of cans to add to your list.
Dave p


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## HarleyDave (Jul 1, 2007)

Ha ha - Thanks

That's a real pro job of a wood store

Presumably you have a rotation system going for seasoning the wood?

I'm in the middle of cutting up an old Walnut tree that a neighbour had felled last spring.

Unfortunately it has just been left lying since then so a lot of it is very wet

Also some bits of the main trunk are about 30" diameter which is a challenge for my little chainsaw.

Back on topic - the test is progressing and I am surprised how quickly the corrosion is advancing on the 2 treated sections on the right.

You should have started a book!!

Cheers

Dave


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

> Ha ha - Thanks
> 
> That's a real pro job of a wood store
> 
> Presumably you have a rotation system going for seasoning the wood?


Thanks for the compliment  It certainly brought me more pleasure building it than drilling a hole through one of my central heating pipes :lol:

Yeah, the idea was to rotate the different bays as the wood got used up. There were a lot of trees knocked down here last year by the strong winds. I helped clear them up in an unofficial capacity...if you get my drift :wink:



> Back on topic - the test is progressing and I am surprised how quickly the corrosion is advancing on the 2 treated sections on the right.


Yeah...me too. I honestly thought the chainsaw oil (that sticks like $**t to a blanket) would have done well. The FS365's also a little disappointing. I thought it would have prevented rust from forming for a little longer. The underside of my van's spotless. Perhaps it's simply not down to the FS365 ?

D.


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## AdieL (Sep 19, 2012)

Davesport, any chance of an update on your test samples. I am curious to find out if my faith in acf 50 is justified. Cheers


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

Right here's the latest picture taken today. As you can see the FS365 & the Chainsaw oil have provided little in the way of protection. They're pretty much identical visually to the control. The biggest surprise for me is the WD40. It's still repelling the water. The ACF50 is beginning to lose it's grip but it's still light years ahead of the rest. I suspect the waxes will outlast the scope of this experiment.

It would be good to repeat this with different inhibitors. I'll have a think 

D.


004 by Davesport62, on Flickr


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## Fatalhud (Mar 3, 2006)

Thanks for the update Dave
I have used ACF50 for a good few years now ,hooked on the smell of the stuff  

It works well on mild steel and Aluminium, and also brings up black/grey plastics a treat 

Alan H


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## HarleyDave (Jul 1, 2007)

Yeah - Thanks Dave for keeping us updated

The waxoil certainly is doing well - along with the Weigels - which I had't heard of before.

Cheers

Dave


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

I guess for the purposes of of the experiment I can draw a line under this. The only products to survive intact were the waxes. Salt spray I'm sure would have accelerated this process. & would in the long run make any corrosion damage worse.

If anyone's got thought on repeating this with different products please feel free to PM me.

A couple of final photo's before I go back to my day job 


002 by Davesport62, on Flickr

And another woodpile shot for Harley Dave 8)


003 by Davesport62, on Flickr

D.


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## HarleyDave (Jul 1, 2007)

Thanks for that!!

I did manage to go and "help" the highways agency guys with some "clearance work" 8) (Actually they were OK about it as long as the area was left tidy)

I got a load of beech and birch plus some juniper - which smells great but is a pig to split.

So I have about 4 cu yds under cover behind the sheds and another 2 alongside the house in the open but sheltered.

Yours is the aspirational standard for woodsheds though.

Good work on the corrosion testing too BTW  

Cheers

Dave


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## Jeannette (Aug 7, 2012)

Have used AC50 for years n my aircraft to prevent corrosion. It also gets used at work on the aircraft. All of my bikes are treated with it. It no only prevents corrosion but also stops it dead. 

The manufacturers show it at aircraft trade shows by running an aircrafft radio soaked in it from inside a tank of water with a speaker coming out so you can hear the aircraft radio calls. Pretty impressive!

It is expensive in small cans especially since the motorcycle world recognised its benefits. In bulk its a lot cheaper. Enough to do an entire aircraft is about £150. 

My motorhome is wax oiled underneath and despite being an 04 is like mint. A testament to the previous owners fastidious care. I do spray a few areas with AC50 to waterproof and prevent corrosion that the wax oil does not get.


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