Cleaning parts - What do you use

[outdoors4me]

Hey folks,

Really starting to get my bike torn apart. I've got a lot of parts with years of crud built up. What do ya'll use to clean/degrease parts?

Also, Is there a way to dress up external parts like the crankcase covers?

Thanks, Beck

[cknight]

For cleaning off those years of yuck, there's a great product called De-Solv-It. One of those orange fluids (environmentally safe) that does not etch aluminum (as Simple Green does). No need to soak the parts, give them a good misting, brush it around, let it set (in the sun or a warm area helps), rinse it off. Can be tough to find. Home Depot and Bed, Bath & Beyond used to carry it around here, but I just order it direct by the gallon. Excellent for cleaning off greasy tools, too. Removes adhesive residue very well, so be careful with the wiring harness. Regards, Chase

[outdoors4me]

Thanks!

Beck

For cleaning off those years of yuck, there's a great product called De-Solv-It. One of those orange fluids (environmentally safe) that does not etch aluminum (as Simple Green does). No need to soak the parts, give them a good misting, brush it around, let it set (in the sun or a warm area helps), rinse it off. Can be tough to find. Home Depot and Bed, Bath & Beyond used to carry it around here, but I just order it direct by the gallon. Excellent for cleaning off greasy tools, too. Removes adhesive residue very well, so be careful with the wiring harness. Regards, Chase

[cadman]

I use two different cleaners - Both made by ZEP and available at Home Depot (Blue gallon bottle).

Calcium, Lime and Rust remover - I also have a 5 gallon bucket of 4 to 1 muratic acid but it is very caustic and will eat metal and aluminum after a few hours. The ZEP product is also a bit caustic but you can soak items in it or brush it on. It works amazingly well. After derustng wash very thoroughly and immediately coat with paint or something with oil in it (WD-40 works). If you don't it will immediately start to get surface rust. This stuff works fairly for derusting tanks.

Industrial Grease Remover - I frequently use this straight in a squirt bottle. It gets after light grease and oil immediately. It helps to have a couple of small brushes to work it around. I follow this with another squirt bottle of clean water. If you are working with something on the bike I get a large cookie sheet and put underneath. This stuff will soak the oil out of your hands very quickly so I use rubber gloves.

I keep a few small and medium plastic (Tupperware) containers for soaking small parts of derusting or degreasing.

[jkv357]

Industrial Grease Remover - I frequently use this straight in a squirt bottle. It gets after light grease and oil immediately. It helps to have a couple of small brushes to work it around. I follow this with another squirt bottle of clean water. If you are working with something on the bike I get a large cookie sheet and put underneath. This stuff will soak the oil out of your hands very quickly so I use rubber gloves.

I keep a few small and medium plastic (Tupperware) containers for soaking small parts of derusting or degreasing.

That type of cleaner (Industrial Purple, Purple Power, SuperClean, etc) are very good degreasers, but be very careful on bare aluminum or painted parts.

It will streak painted parts (especially silver) quickly and if left on bare aluminum will darken it.

Zep has "505" that is similar in strength, but is designed for aluminum. It will still react with some types, but not as aggressively.

Simple Green is the softest on aluminum and paint, but maybe not quite as effective.

Kerosene works great on the chain and other things you don't want to wash off with water.