This form sends one specification for a metalworking fluid, a forming lubricant, a rust preventive or an additive to independent suppliers, who answer you directly. The product groups follow the site's reference on metalworking fluids.
The form covers finished fluids by type, operation and material, forming lubricants, rust preventives and additive chemistry for formulators. Coolant services have their own form below the request block.
Standards, regulations and exposure limits are checked against their issuing bodies, product values against the named data sheet, and every figure carries its source and date; see our methodology and fact-checking.
Request quotes for metalworking fluids and additives#
Specification
One specification, sent to independent suppliers of the product group you choose.
Requests go to independent providers and suppliers. No company pays for placement; see our editorial policy.
The next table lists the form fields and says which are required.
| Field | Required or optional | Input | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Request type | required | select: finished metalworking fluid; forming lubricant; rust preventive; additive chemistry for formulators | sets which product field shows |
| Fluid type (finished fluid) | required for fluid requests | select: straight oil, soluble oil, semi-synthetic, synthetic, vegetable or ester-based, not sure | |
| Additive class (additive request) | required for additive requests | select: additive classes, plus "package or full concentrate" | |
| Operations | required for fluid requests | multi-select: turning, milling, drilling, tapping and threading, grinding, sawing, forming, other | |
| Workpiece materials | required for fluid requests | multi-select: steel, stainless steel, cast iron, aluminum, copper alloys, titanium, nickel alloys, other | |
| Annual volume with unit | required | number + unit: L (US gal) or kg | |
| Delivery region | required | country and postal code | |
| Role | required | select: end user, buyer, formulator, blender | |
| Company | required | text | |
| required | |||
| Free-text specification | required | text area: operations, materials, machines, water, exclusions, trial | |
| Name | optional | text | |
| Machines and system | optional | individual sumps or central system; volume in L (US gal) | |
| Target concentration or treat rate | optional | % by volume of concentrate in the diluted fluid; or treat rate with basis (in concentrate or in use dilution) | |
| Mix water | optional | hardness in ppm as CaCO3, or RO/DI, or unknown | |
| Chemistries to exclude | optional | multi-select: chlorine, boron, secondary amines, formaldehyde releasers, nitrite, none | |
| Packaging | optional | pail, drum 208 L (55 US gal), IBC 1,000 L (264 US gal), bulk | |
| Documents wanted | optional | SDS, TDS, local language | |
| Trial or sample wanted | optional | yes or no; sample size for additives |
Required fields let a supplier answer; optional fields make the answers comparable.
What Happens After You Send a Request?#
After you send a request, the specification is passed to independent suppliers of the product group you chose, and each supplier that can supply it answers you directly by email. This site sells no fluid and publishes no price. As of 2026-10-27 no receiving supplier is selected yet, so requests are stored and passed on once one exists.
The form is one of the site's other calculators and request tools for metalworking fluids.
What Goes Into a Good Metalworking Fluid Specification?#
A good metalworking fluid specification covers eight points, from the operations and materials to the trial and service terms, and this checklist is the site's own because no ISO or ASTM document defines a metalworking fluid request for quote. Concentrations are written in % by volume of concentrate in the diluted fluid.
- Application: operations, severity, tooling, finish and tolerance targets
- Materials: alloys and their share, staining limits for yellow metals and aluminum
- Machines and system: sumps or central system, volume in L (US gal), filtration rating in µm, high-pressure coolant in bar (psi) or MQL, paint and seal compatibility
- Water: hardness in ppm as CaCO3, chloride, sulfate, conductivity, or RO/DI water (see water quality for metalworking fluids)
- Constraints: excluded chemistries, labeling target, OEM or customer approvals, disposal route, exposure targets
- Commercials: annual volume, packaging, price per L of concentrate, cost in use per L of working fluid, Incoterms, local-language SDS and TDS, REACH and TSCA status
- Trial: machines, duration, success metrics, and who pays for the changeover clean
- Service level: visit frequency, included tests, reporting and emergency response
Finished fluids: operation, material, machine and water#
A finished-fluid request names operations, alloys and the system volume in L (US gal) before any price is asked.
Mix water is stated as hardness in ppm as CaCO3, because one supplier's brochure for one boron-free semi-synthetic sets 100 to 200 ppm as CaCO3 initially and at most 600 ppm in a central system over time, at 6 to 8 % by volume. That is a product-specific value, not a general limit.
Additive chemistry for formulators#
An additive request names the chemistry class, the target treat rate with its basis, and the fluid type, because a treat rate is a percentage of the concentrate unless the use dilution is stated.
The request also lists regulatory exclusions, REACH and TSCA status, the biocide registration or approval number for preservatives, sample size, annual volume in kg and region. How additive producers are sourced by class is set out under metalworking fluid additive suppliers.
How Are the Quotes Compared?#
Metalworking fluid quotes are compared on cost in use per liter of working fluid, which is the concentrate price multiplied by the in-use concentration, never on the concentrate price alone.
Then add top-up, tankside additives, disposal per change and service fees. Ask each supplier for what the UKLA/HSE Good Practice Guide v2.5 (February 2025) lists, plus the product's refractometer factor:
- Safety data sheet: the metalworking fluid SDS in the local language
- Mixing method: concentrate added into water
- Water quality the product needs
- pH and concentration ranges, in % by volume
- Refractometer factor, from the data sheet
- Shelf life of the concentrate
- Biocide dosing regime
- System-cleaner use at changeover
- Tramp-oil advice for neat oils
- Disposal route for spent fluid
How supplier types and their offers differ is compared under metalworking fluid suppliers.
How Request Data Is Handled#
The fields of a supplier request are passed only to independent suppliers who can answer that specification, and the request is kept for 24 months.
No company pays for placement.
Fields, retention and the deletion route are set out in the privacy policy.