-> your advice. I have been using kerosene/Gunk mixture. It is now time
-> to change the old solution and I was wondering what others have found
-> works well. I have seen adverts for water-based solutions. Do they
-> work OK?
After jumping through various hoops I obtained a drum of engine
cleaning caustic, which the EPA radically disapproves of. It didn't
ship with an MSDS, but deciphering the label revealed that I had just
purchased a large quantity of common lye soap. Some food stores carry
Red Devil brand lye packaged in convenient boxes. The suggested mixture
ratio is 1 pound of lye to 4 to 6 pounds of water. It works best when
heated to 180F or so, but it works reasonably well, though more slowly,
when cold. The dipped parts must be rinsed with water before handling.
This stuff is the cat's ass for thoroughly grungy parts. My parts
washer, however, is still using K1 grade kerosene. I get about a year's
useful life out of ten gallons of kerosene. I'd prefer Var-Sol, but I'd
have to purchase a 55 gallon drum of the stuff or find some place to
mail order it from. However, the cost is about the same as kerosene,
assuming you want to store 45 gallons of extra solvent for future
generations...
Some people reportedly use paint thinner in their parts washers.
"Paint thinner" covers a lot of ground; 10 gallons of acetone would
probably evaporate overnight. Mineral spirits stink too bad to put up
with. Xylene and toluene are highly toxic. It's difficult to put much
trust in MSDS toxicity readings - look up "Water, Distilled" or "Sand,
Washed And Dried" sometime for a laugh - but back when Formula 1 cars
ran exotic fuels, just the fumes from toluene would make some pit crew
sick.
Common household vinegar also works well for getting rust off of
ferrous parts. Soak the part overnight, and what's left will usually
brush off.
There are special cleaners available for aluminum parts. I've found
the lye solution works well if you don't dip the part too long and rinse
it off immediately. If you leave a part in very long you'll pull out a
wire with nothing on it; the part will dissolve. For less-grungy
aluminum parts hydrochloric acid works okay. It is conveniently
packaged in spray bottles as "mag wheel cleaner." Both solutions will
etch the aluminum surface; any shiny parts will become dull.
Some of the citrus-based cleaners are supposed to be quite effective.
I have yet to try any, but it's on my list of things to do.
====dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us========================DoD#978=======
can you help me...help me get out of this place?...slow sedation...
ain't my style, ain't my pace...giving me a number...NINE, SEVEN, EIGHT
==5.0 RX7 -> Tyrannosaurus RX! == SAE '82 == Denizens of Doom M/C '92==
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