Cosmoline Removal

[Jimmie]

A friend of mine just got a new Audi and says that he smells cosmoline. Are car manufactures still using it? How do you remove it? Did they just put it on the engines or the whole undercarriage (exhaust, etc.)? A lot of questions I know. Thanks for your help.

[ltoman]

What is cosmoline?

[Gary Sword]

Originally Posted by ltoman

What is cosmoline?

Come on Lauran Cosmoline is a line to the cosmos. You should know that.

Cosmoline is a yellowish, light-amber, or greenish colored ointment-like mass, having a slight fluorescence, petroleum-like odor and taste. It is similar to petroleum jelly in properties, appearance, and thickness. It is the purified residue obtained from the distillation of petroleum oils.
Chemically, cosmoline is a homogeneous mixture of oily and waxy long-chain, non-polar hydrocarbons. It can range in color from white to yellow, and can differ in viscosity and shear strength. Cosmoline melts at 113–125 °F (45–52 °C) and has a flashpoint of 365 °F (185 °C).
Its most common use is in the storage and preservation of firearms. Previously, cosmoline was used to preserve other things. Objects the size of entire vehicles could be preserved for future use with cosmoline.

[Kelso]

why would audi do that? unless its in the glue they use in fenders and such?

[Surfer]

Originally Posted by Gary Sword

Come on Lauran Cosmoline is a line to the cosmos. You should know that.

Cosmoline is a yellowish, light-amber, or greenish colored ointment-like mass, having a slight fluorescence, petroleum-like odor and taste. It is similar to petroleum jelly in properties, appearance, and thickness. It is the purified residue obtained from the distillation of petroleum oils.
Chemically, cosmoline is a homogeneous mixture of oily and waxy long-chain, non-polar hydrocarbons. It can range in color from white to yellow, and can differ in viscosity and shear strength. Cosmoline melts at 113–125 °F (45–52 °C) and has a flashpoint of 365 °F (185 °C).
Its most common use is in the storage and preservation of firearms. Previously, cosmoline was used to preserve other things. Objects the size of entire vehicles could be preserved for future use with cosmoline.

Been to Wikipedia lately?

[Gary Sword]

Originally Posted by Surfer

Been to Wikipedia lately?

Wikipedia

The biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. Over two
million articles and still growing.

[Jimmie]

Lauren
Not that long ago almost all car makers put cosmoline all over the engine and other parts as a rust preventive. Some may still use it, like cars made overseas. It didn't smell good. I just wondered how guys used to get rid of cosmoline when detailing a new car.

[Gary Sword]

I found this on the internet.

I've found 2 products effective at removing cosmoline from painted surfaces and engine compartments. There are other strong solvents on the market that will do the job but many will damage the cars finish. Zymol has a product called Strik which is a non-caustic, non-acidic citrus base cleaner that will remove cosmoline and grease from all surfaces. I use Zymol products on my own cars and have found them to be effective and easy to use, although a bit pricey. A bottle (8oz) of Strik retails for $19.95 and can be purchased through mail order houses for somewhat less. The second product is made by Wurth of Germany and is called "Citrus Based Solvent Degreaser". This product is similar to the Zymol Strik, although somewhat more concentrated (can be diluted with 9 parts water). A can of Wurth Degreaser retails for $19.95 but is 18oz. This product is 100% biodegradeable with no harmful vapors.
Both products are excellent but the latter is a better value and comes highly recommended by the Porsche Club concours guru, John Paterak.

[Jimmie]

Thanks Gary. Really appreciate it. I'm going to help my friend get rid of it thanks to your info. That info makes one beleive that Porsche is still using it.