What's everyone using these days? Mineral Spirits? Have a few new machines and need to dig in and get them setup soon.
- posted
12 years ago
What's everyone using these days? Mineral Spirits? Have a few new machines and need to dig in and get them setup soon.
I would go with kerosene. It cleans the gunk without leaving it completely bare to the air.
I would rather use WD-40. With it you do not have to put a protective coating on (I live in the South where a dry day is 65% humidity) the bare metal.
Deb
--------------------------- Kerosene, if you can find it in Northern California.
Lew
No kidding. I can only find it in the outdoor stores in the Houston area, and it is priced like liquid gold. I use it as a cleaner, plus I soak my ramrods in it for my muzzleloaders.
You can also dab some on a tick and he'll let go of you before he dies. Good stuff and does a good job on adhesive stickers and price stickers
Roy
Ah, a better "goo gone".
The little, non 'Ace', non 'Truevalue', hardware store in my NY town sells it. I bought 5 gallons there last year. Maybe Kalifornia has banned the sale because it thinks it causes cancer when drunk.
Kerosene is widely and legally available in California; even at home depot.
scott
BUT! I betcha if you use it in California you might get cancer. ;~0
For a bigger machine, you might consider your neighborhood carwash. The detergent and hot water should cut most of the cosmoline.
On a more serious note, naphtha works very well, and doesn't leave an oily residue the way mineral spirits will.
No kidding. I can only find it in the outdoor stores in the Houston area, and it is priced like liquid gold. I use it as a cleaner, plus I soak my ramrods in it for my muzzleloaders.
You can also dab some on a tick and he'll let go of you before he dies. Good stuff and does a good job on adhesive stickers and price stickers
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Lamp oil or diesel fuel. Even in the PRC (Peoples Republic of California), you should be able to get one of these.
Degreasing starts with removing loose goo, and for that I like to scrape with wood wedges. Then you can use any solvent you like, like oil or kerosene on a rag, and get off any non-polymerized greasy residues. A brush (parts cleaning brush from auto store) helps, too. The gunky stuff, like boiled linseed oil, comes off with paint remover or TSP. Or maybe steam cleaning, if you can get the equipment.
I like to do a final wipe with waterless hand cleaner, myself, because it's bio-friendly, and washes up with water. Goo Gone, turpentine, and Formula 409 have their place. For real clean, though, like for a plating shop, there are ultrasonic cleaners and low-residue things like methylene chloride in Freon (used to be 'Freon TMC') that you can try.
Mostly, though, machine tools get re-greased more often than de-greased.
Overpriced xylene. Buy the generic solvent. A quart will last years.
Recommended cleaner for bike chains. Leaves a thin film of lube, with minimal drag and less chance of staining your pant leg than oil.
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