In this photo I have washed both samples with plain water and my fingers to remove accumulated detritus. I rubbed the samples hard with my fingers and water, trying to remove all traces of oil and dirt.
The new sample seemed to wash off readily while the old formula seem to remain on the steel no matter how much I washed it with water and my fingers. It continued to feel lubricated or coated, while the other sample felt unlubricated or dry.
Clearly the old formula protected better from rust, up to this point.
Again the new formula is on the left, and the old formula on the right (the part which only has one hole.)
When I wiped half of each piece clean with a rag 17 days ago and I thought I had removed all of the oil. I expected lots more rust than what I saw.
What you see in the photo above is that the majority of the rust is in the area where the part was wiped clean, but the sample on the left has rust on all other areas as well.
I would say that these parts have been rained on at least a dozen times, and now I have washed them.
I'm going to put them back up on the roof and see what happens.