What substance is messier and harder to clean up than anti-seize grease

[middle.road]

Back in the seventies, I worked as an analytical chemist for Ray O Vac. We used carbon black in zinc carbon batteries. The carbon black was basically lamp soot, particles of microscopic size. We had a fellow by the name of Steve who worked for the International Division but was based out of the Madison, Wisconsin office. Steve did a lot of international travel. On one occasion, he was coming back through customs with a several pound box of carbon black for our lab to evaluate. The customs agent insisted on opening the box to inspect the contents. Steve handed him the box and stepped back several paces. The agent opened the box , fairly covering the room with the fine black powder.

Back in the late '70s I worked for a company that manufactured the 'zipper' conveyor belt system that was used by the tire makers for handling carbon black.
Neat design. We weren't making it anymore but there was a marketing model in the 'showroom' plus we still had all the tooling, which I had to inventory every year...
Anyway, over in 'the' warehouse, (one of those dimly lit, dusty, grimy places where stuff goes that noone knows what to do with) there was a pallet.
On said pallet were four cool fiber barrels. There were cool in that they were 'double' barrels, one inside the other.
I didn't have to inventory that stuff -thankfully, some other smuck had that honor.
On the outside of the barrels they were labeled 'CARBON BLACK' and then a bunch of warnings/instructions on how it was to be handled.
Despite the labels, someone decided one day to have a look-see. What a utter and complete mess that was.

 

[RJSakowski]

It is amazing how a pound of carbon black can utterly fill a room. The stuff we used was called Shawinigan black and made by burning acetylene in air.

 

[pontiac428]

Asphalt mastic. The slang term "bear ****" actually undersells it's potency. Trowel it on, cuss it off.

 

[vtcnc]

Worked for a battery company who operated a mangenese ore refining plant for there carbon zinc battery plants. Fine film of black dust everywhere and where cleaning hasn’t taken place in awhile...piles of it.


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[homebrewed]

Living in the Pacific Northwest, I just thought of another nasty material, "green" and free! It's called slug slime .

One winter I was outside the house doing tree pruning and saw something truly scary -- a slug hanging down on the end of about a 2 foot long thread of slime. At face height. I thought that slugs and spiders couldn't share DNA but, somehow.....

 

[vtcnc]

Pine pitch just seems permanent.


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[NortonDommi]

Prussian blue . Put it on your friends tool box handles and get a laugh .

When I was an apprentice we used to put marking blue around the earpiece of the shop phone then one of the boys would answer keeping the earpiece well away from them then call out the name of the intended victim. That blue would migrate over 1/2 their face within the hour!

Food grade water proof silicone grease. Is somebody trying to make a mess for somebody else on purpose?

Would that be the same sort of stuff that washing machine bowl hangers are lubricated with? As a junker I have encountered it and now approach with caution. Long disposable gloves and great care not to get any on my clothing including overalls which it seems to be able to penetrate with ease.

 

[westerner]

Picture the mess of a semi tractor drum brake, (14 inch diameter, 6 inch wide shoes) that has been running for a few thousand miles with a leaky wheel seal.

Take two cups of brake dust and mix them very thoroughly with 2 tablespoons of 85-140 gear oil and a lot of heat.....

VERY cheap to produce, tho

 

[darkzero]

Polyurethane suspension bushing lube is very tacky so it's not easy to clean up. But it's transparent so not very good for visual for a prank. It's also not that cheap. Energy Suspension Formula 5 & Daystar Lubrathane are what I've used.

How about some old contact cement?

 

[Ulma Doctor]

Polyurethane suspension bushing lube is very tacky so it's not easy to clean up. But it's transparent so not very good for visual for a prank. It's also not that cheap. Energy Suspension Formula 5 & Daystar Lubrathane are what I've used.

How about some old contact cement?

i was gunna say rubber cement