History Main / RustRemovingOil

* In ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'' Dorothy and the Scarecrow come across a rusted tin statue and an oil can. They put two and two together to oil the statue, who is the Tin Woodsman.

* In ''VideoGame/PajamaSamInNoNeedToHideWhenItsDarkOutside'', there is an oil can on the stump outside the riverside shack. You need that to oil King's rusty wheels and navigate the mines.

* In ''VideoGame/PajamaSam: No Need to Hide When it's Dark Outside'', there is an oil can on the stump outside the riverside shack. You need that to oil King's rusty wheels and navigate the mines.

* The "Rust-eze" commercial in ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' shows a can of the oil being waved in front of a rusty car's bumper and magically making it bright and shiny. Justified in that it's an InUniverse advert, and there's a disclaimer at the bottom saying "Actual results may take up to 36 weeks".

* In ''True Fear'', applying oil to the rusted clamp which seals a cabinet will instantly restore it to glistening perfection. In the bonus content, merely dripping oil onto a rust-sealed first aid kit's hinges lets you open it easily.

* Implied in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K'', where grot riggers are sent into the bowels of giant mechs and starships with nothing but rags, oilcans and wrenches to fix things. Ork technology relying as much on ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve as actual mechanical principles, it actually keeps the thousands of tons of rusty metal moving and firing.

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* ''VideoGame/MysteryCaseFiles''. In ''Return To Ravenhearst'', dripping oil on the rusty bolts of a culvert's grille instantly restores them, allowing the Master Detective to unbolt it with a wrench.

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* Numerous [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penetrating_oil Penetrating Oils]] are also available that achieve the general idea of the trope- the formulas vary (and are often trade secrets) but the general idea is that a low-viscosity oil can penetrate into the rust and lubricate surfaces, making it easier for them to slide past each other, and for rust and dirt to be worked out from between moving parts. Certain formulations also aid in loosening the chemical bonds between rust and intact metal, which can give the appearance of de-rusting metal as the rust breaks loose and exposes the remaining clean metal underneath.

* The closest real life equivalent is naval jelly, originally invented by USN for rust removal on warships. Naval jelly contains water (65-70%), acid phosphoric acid (25-30%) and acid sulfuric acid (1-3%) in a gel matrix composed of a thixotropic polysaccharide (1-3%), alcohol isopropanol (1-3%), surfactant (1-3%) and silica (0.1-1%). Unlike sulfuric and nitric acids, which are oxidative acids, phosphorous acid is a reductive acid. The phosphoric acid dissolves the rust (iron oxide) and then readuces the iron oxides into iron phosphate. It can then be washed and painted over.

* The "Rust-eze" in ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' shows a can of the oil being waved in front of a rusty car's bumper and magically making it bright and shiny. Justified in that it's an InUniverse advert, and there's a disclaimer at the bottom saying "Actual results may take up to 36 weeks".

* The closest real life application is naval jelly, originally invented by USN for rust removal on warships. Naval jelly contains water (65-70%), acid phosphoric acid (25-30%) and acid sulfuric acid (1-3%) in a gel matrix composed of a thixotropic polysaccharide (1-3%), alcohol isopropanol (1-3%), surfactant (1-3%) and silica (0.1-1%). Unlike sulfuric and nitric acids, which are oxidative acids, phosphorous acid is a reductive acid. The phosphoric acid dissolves the rust (iron oxide) and then readuces the iron oxides into iron phosphate. It can then be washed and painted over.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "Robot Rabbit", Characters/BugsBunny is being chased by a robot, so he leads it under a sprinkler, leaving it completely rusted over. Elmer comes in with an oilcan and oils the joints, and suddenly all the rust fades away, leaving the robot good as new.

When metal rusts, oxidation converts its ferrous components into a brittle crust of iron oxide that can't be changed back into iron or steel, only chipped away or chemically transformed into black iron phosphate. In video games and some other works, this isn't necessarily true: often, it's a temporary inconvenience that can be set right with a bit of oil. It doesn't matter if the oil in question comes from a machine shop, a lamp, a kitchen pantry, or straight out of the ground. Rub or even just drip a bit of it onto a rusted lock, latch, or other metal gadget, and the device will ''immediately'' be restored to perfect working order, gleaming like new. In extreme cases, rusted-out holes and gaps will seal themselves, and even its ''paint job'' might be restored.

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