kitten@pertec.UUCP (karen hettinger) (10/13/84)
The following is a letter, printed by permission. >From hplabs!hao!seismo!rochester!rocksanne!sunybcs!250jmg Thu Oct 11 23:59:20 1984 remote from pesnta Date: Thu, 11 Oct 84 11:57:11 edt Subject: Mobil One vs. ARCO Graphite I believe either you or your friend has these two oils confused. Mobil One is a 'man made' oil with a synthetic base. It looks and feels like any other oil, although it has very low viscosity ( pours like water instead of oil ). ARCO Graphite is standard motor oil, with finely ground graphite flakes suspended in it. It is very true that this oil DOES CAUSE ENGINE DAMAGE. This is why ARCO has DISCONTINUED it. It seems that the graphite does not stay in suspension. Rather, it does attach itself to parts as you have noted. Unfortunately, it does NOT plate the parts with a smooth graphite surface as ARCO claims, but with a very rough, abrasive surface instead. While graphite's (the chemical, not the oil) propeties are widely known as a lubericant, it is also one of the most widely used ABRASIVES. It is this property which becomes apparent in the ARCO oil. J. Matthew Good !sunybcs!250jmg >>P.S. Feel free to post any or all of this to the 'board' itself. I am still a little new to the net, and have not yet fully under- stood posting, whereas replying is EASY! Thanks. -End of letter- Seems this is what must've happened to my friend's cars. I seem to recall Mobil One and ARCO Graphite were released on the market fairly close together and for a time were the bigger names in 'alternative' oils, hence my confusion. I beg thy forgiveness. :-) -- kitten~ {ucbvax!unisoft | scgvaxd | trwrb | felix}!pertec!kitten