LPS Lubricants and Penetrants

Did you know that several LPS lubricants can be used as penetrants? The two that immediately come to mind are KB 88 The Ultimate Penetrant and LST Penetrant. But don’t forget LPS 1, TKX, LPS 2, Food Grade Machine Oil and Magnum. Each has its own special property or properties that make it work.

For now, let’s focus on the two primary LPS penetrants:
KB 88 is a high solvency, aggressive penetrant that is red in color and has a strong odor. It’s a bull dozer with a Kauri Butanol value of 155. (For those that aren’t aware, KB value is measure of a solvent’s strength.)LST is the fast penetrating, low surface tension, all surface safe penetrant. It’s the sports car of the two relying on its low surface tension (high speed, low drag) to work the frozen bolts loose.Where you use either is really dependent on the application parameters. If you need to be careful around sensitive plastics or other surfaces such as paint, use LST. Whereas if the application calls for an aggressive penetrant with need to bust through contamination, go with KB 88.