Had a salesman come by the shop and tried to get us to pedal his "metal conditioner". Little did he know that they had already dropped a sample off to one of my customers and my customer came to me before running this in their equipment to get my opinion. I couldn't find any hard data on the web about it, the web site is full of promises and graphs showing the alleged friction modification characteristics of MC2. I played around with it a bit (it burns green indicating chlorination) and sent a virgin sample to Fabick (Caterpillar) labs. Lab oil analysis came back with 00000000's across the board!!! No measurable conventional additives. The only thing measurable is Oxidation and Sulfation with a V100 of 13.3. I had a discussion with the head Tribologist at Hicks Oils, he says chlorinated olefins in a conventional 40 grade mineral base. "Cutting oil", sounds about right.
MC2 Metal conditioner
- Thread starter Dieselman77
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Wow straight up fraud. How did the conversation go?
It is the third time they have showed up, but I doubt they return. After the first visit the salesman seemed distraught after I told him that I believe their main ingredient was chlorinated olefins, on the second visit he admitted that (they use chlorinated olefins) and told me to keep it under my hat. I refuse to keep a dishonest scam that preys upon my customers "under my hat". So here it is for the world to see. IMO things like this hurt the entire lubrication industry, mislead people who have no education in lubricants, and need to be called out.
Here's the thing - this isn't entirely a 'fraud'.
Chlorinated compounds HAVE been shown to reduce friction in lubricating situations. They are a good EP additive.
Problem is, in combustion environments, they mix with the water by-products of combustions and create acids, which obviously isn't good, and why they are not used anymore.
But in short intervals, with a strong detergent/high TBN oil, they can reduce friction without causing harm.
Chlorinated compounds HAVE been shown to reduce friction in lubricating situations. They are a good EP additive.
Problem is, in combustion environments, they mix with the water by-products of combustions and create acids, which obviously isn't good, and why they are not used anymore.
But in short intervals, with a strong detergent/high TBN oil, they can reduce friction without causing harm.
Then the fraud is calling it a "metal conditioner", much like when other such additives say it "soaks into" the metal.
They make a lot of claims....On their website they claim that "MC² utilizes nanotechnology to bond to ferrous metal, Titanium, and Aluminum to produce a smooth low friction surface." although they show no evidence of this. They also claim that "MC² increases surface hardness of metal on the Rockwell "B" Scale." WOW!
Very true. Some chlorine-based EP additives exist but are rarely used anymore due to corrosion concerns. "cutting oil" as I have heard it called traditionally used chlorinated olefins, I am told the EP mechanism is a boundary layer oxide that makes a sacrificial surface film and forms in the presence of heat and pressure (scuffing). Not something I would want going on in a diesel engine, or any component for that matter.
MolaKule
Staff member
Even Dover, who probably is or was the major producer of chlorinated compounds, is now offering non-chlorinated metal-working compounds because of environmental concerns.
Chlorinated compounds, IMHO, have no place in internal combustion engines.
Chlorinated compounds, IMHO, have no place in internal combustion engines.
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