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well

having gotten pretty bad sunburn whilst sat on daytona beach the other day, i got handed some Elizabeth Arden 8 hr moisturizing cream off the wife - yep ok whats it got in it - Lanolin - so i looked it up and was amazed with what i found- have a read....


Anti-corrosive effect on ferrous metals
Lanolin is an important component of a broad range of industrial applications, and is a powerful rust preventative with excellent protective properties for ferrous metals. People have valued this quality for centuries; in the Middle Ages, knights' armour and tools were coated with a thin waxy film of lanolin, which conserved them through to modern times.

Seawater tanks and ships can be rust-protected with low-viscous lanolin products
Ecologically friendly protection
Scientists at leading laboratories have analysed and confirmed this protective function. Their conclusion is that as a result of the polar nature of its components, lanolin has a tenacious adhesive tendency to metal surfaces, which is much higher than for hydrocarbons.

It is biodegradable and non-toxic, making it an ecologically friendly substance. Lanolin is also compatible with numerous additives that modify the consistency and characteristics of the resulting protective films (e.g. hard, soft, water soluble or insoluble).
How does it work?
Lanolin is simply added to a metal surface as a grease, although it's better to apply it as a hydrocarbon solution or as a liquid lanolin oil derivative.
 
Strongly corroded seawater tanks and ships can be rust-protected with low viscous lanolin products. In the floor method, the liquids are dispersed on the weathered underground. The oil then creeps into the cavities of the rust structure, where it displaces the water by attaching to the metallic surface, forming a thick and durable anti-corrosive layer.
 

Protect your vintage car
The high penetration potential of lanolin-based anti-corrosive preparations makes them attractive for rust treatment and prevention on automobile parts, especially on old-timers.
 
Due to high capillary activity, the low-viscous substances can penetrate into the splices and even micro-fissures that are especially vulnerable to corrosion due to electrochemical processes.
 

Special anti-corrosive applications and functions
As a dewatering rust preventative for saltwater-resistant protection of ships and seawater tanks.
For protection and conservation of ferrous vehicle and vintage car parts such as:
crevices of front and car boot lid, wheel house, mudguard, underbody parts and so on;
engineering parts like cylinder pistons during storage;
chromed parts for better resistance against road salt, seawater and acid rain;
for regeneration of bitumen underbody protection.
For conserving items such as military hardware, conduits, pipelines, machinery, roofing tiles, sheets, plates, tools, steel wire ropes, surfaces of wood and fabric, and so on.

interesting me thinks

pad

Ok, interesting stuff, so it's a case of forget the car shop, I'm off to Boots in the morning for some anti corrosion lanolin for the Mini! Joking apart, I think sheep's wool contains lanolin, which keeps the body of the sheep protected against the rain, so it would easily protect metal & if it will arrest the progress of corrosion, even better.

Hi the stuff i use contains lambswool/lanolin it is the only thing i have found that actually works at rust protection.It is called steelgaurd and is quite thin so gets into all the nooks and crannies on mini's/also have a drum on thicker stuff called alox which is made in the usa.
The thicker stuff is amazing and will stop any further onset of rust in its track forget all the big names dinitrol/waxoyl etc none work and can actually make rust worst unless steel is asnew.

You've just discovered what they use in Australia / NZ, though usually it is mixed with fish oil. I bought my Rover Cooper to NZ where it had its second resto and the panel beater sprayed fish oil mix over the entire car before it was painted. It does as you said, being low viscosity it gets into all the crevices where rust starts ('cos you need an oxygen gradient) and then 'dries' like linseed oil. It can then be painted over.
After painting I then put it in places like the inside of the plastichrome wheel arch trim which is going to retain water against the body work. As suggested in your post I also squirt it on exposed nuts/threads to stop them rusting. It's good stuff.

We use sheep sweat a bit at work. Its good for preventing corrosion on aluminium and steel exposed to seawater. Its available diluted with all sorts of different solvents and carriers to make it easier to spray or brush on. Undiluted, its a fairly sticky grease, but one of the advantages of the straight lanolin is that its classed as non-dangerous and non-hazardous, so there's no pile of paperwork and MSDS sheets to use it, and after you've used it you have nice soft hands.

http://www.lanotec.com.au/pages/products

Tim