I have some gunked on, caked on, oxidized nasty aluminum bits from my SVT that need some serious clearing. Using your standard degreaser with rags/brushes has just moved the gunk around and did next to nothing.
I read online (so it must be true) that dollar store Oven Cleaner can do wonders on the aluminum parts. Any truth to this? Non-painted surfaces, and I'm aware that Oven Cleaner is a strong acid.
Yes, I have used it. It will dull the aluminum so you will need to brighten it up if you want a nice bright finish. It does a very good job of cleaning. Cheap and effective. Use the heavy duty version, NOT the fume free version. Do it outside for ventilation. Spray off with garden hose or pressure washer.
I just want the gunk off. Car has had a leaking upper oil pan (windage tray) for so long, that it's gunked in oil. As long as it's clean, I don't care about dull vs. shiny.
I found it was the only thing that would take off months old dried sticky waste veggie oil back when I had a grease powered Benz. Found it worked best when warm. Put the part in the sun on a warm day.
Steve.
Yep oven cleaner is the ultimate degreaser and maybe the ultimate paint stripper. It will dissolve most things that aren't made of metal.
I use it to clean saw blades. Nasty, nasty, nasty stuff. Wear gloves and a respirator if you've got one.
Not a strong acid. A strong alkaline or base. I think they all contain lye.
It also does a good job of stripping wood floors for refinishing.
Try paint remover on gunky aluminum parts and you don't have to worry about the dark, dull finish oven cleaner leaves. I use oven cleaner or crystal drain cleaner to clean steel or cast iron parts. The oven cleaner on large parts but the drain cleaner on parts I can soak in a bucket. Both are lye based.
Oven cleaner is a very, very strong base (alkaline) and will consume aluminum given enough time. It's the easiest way to remove anodizing - aluminum oxide - which is exceptionally hard.
I'd suggest a strong surfactant instead. Genuine Dawn brand dish detergent is a terriffic degreaser - mixed 50/50 w/ mineral spirits it gets stuff clean.
If you need maximum power, get a gallon of Purple Power or the Zep equivalent at Home Depot. Apply with a stiff parts brush and allow to work. Then use a brass brush if you don't want to disturb the finish, steel if you don't care. Repeat.
Once a surfactant liquifies the grease it will blend with water - that's the whole point - so after Purple Power / dawn/mineral spirits and brushes, hot water and more dawn and you'll have parts that'll rust as soon as they're dry due to the absence of oil.
Smarta$$ McPoopyPants wrote: I use it to clean saw blades. Nasty, nasty, nasty stuff. Wear gloves and a respirator if you've got one.
Thick gloves. Even with those I've had my hands burn for a while after using it. It's probably the strongest cleaning product you can buy in regular stores. It's my last-resort cleaner.
In reply to motomoron:
Sounds like it would work, but I tried Dawn, tried simple green. The gunk just laughs at it. There are so many nooks and crannys that I would spend my life getting it clean using these methods. I need some serious muscle.
Purple power, scrub brush, and power washer. I've not had great luck with oven cleaner myself.
Have I mentioned I'm a cleaning formulation chemist by trade? You guys are right, the non-wuss version is all essentially lye based - pH above 11.5, will eat aluminum and paint with time, dissolves eyeballs at an ALARMING rate and skin somewhat slower (fun fact, it's turning your subcutaneous fat into SOAP! YAY!) So wear heavy gloves and eyeprotection, and a respirator in enclosed spaces. For the love of all that's holy, DON'T BREATH THE SPRAY ITSELF!
Purple Power and the equivalent have more surfactants in them and slightly less free alkalinity, but they still usually push a pH near 11 and can do the same damage to eyes, skin, aluminum, etc - it just takes longer.
Short answer? high pH, alkaline solutions work really well at dissolving grease if it's in an area you can use them without killing something else. When you start talking about straight dirt, which is mineral in nature (mostly) then their effectiveness decreases and surfactant (soap) based stuff starts to work better.
Solvents (like d-limonene, gasoline, kerosene) work pretty well at dissolving grease too, but they leave a coating on the surface that then may need to be cleaned. OTOH, they don't affect aluminum or paint very much. OTOOH, they are flammable in concentration and bad for lungs, eyes, ozones, and little tree frogs.
Oven Cleaner has always been my go to when I am cleaning wheels to prep them for dropping off at a powdercoater if they have really baked on brake dust, etc.
I tried it on a set of calipers I was rebuilding and it really didn't put any more of a dent in the dirt on the cast aluminum calipers then brake cleaner did. I ultimately had them sandblasted and powdercoated.
I use aircraft paint stripper for aluminum parts and oven cleaner on steel/iron parts. works really well just use the right gloves!
When oil dripped on my clutch from the rear of the valve cover, 44Dwarf gave me a great tip:
HOT, hot hot water and Dawn dishwashing detergent in a pressurized bug sprayer. Spray, move the clutch pedal, repeat, rinse, repeat.
Poifect!
Tom_Spangler wrote:Smarta$$ McPoopyPants wrote: I use it to clean saw blades. Nasty, nasty, nasty stuff. Wear gloves and a respirator if you've got one.Thick gloves. Even with those I've had my hands burn for a while after using it. It's probably the strongest cleaning product you can buy in regular stores. It's my last-resort cleaner.
Does 40% muriatic acid count as a cleaning product? :)
If you consider dissolving cleaning, then yes.
Appleseed wrote: If you consider dissolving cleaning, then yes.
They sell it for cleaning/etching concrete.
ultraclyde wrote: Have I mentioned I'm a cleaning formulation chemist by trade? You guys are right, the non-wuss version is all essentially lye based - pH above 11.5, will eat aluminum and paint with time, dissolves eyeballs at an ALARMING rate and skin somewhat slower (fun fact, it's turning your subcutaneous fat into SOAP! YAY!) So wear heavy gloves and eyeprotection, and a respirator in enclosed spaces. For the love of all that's holy, DON'T BREATH THE SPRAY ITSELF! Purple Power and the equivalent have more surfactants in them and slightly less free alkalinity, but they still usually push a pH near 11 and can do the same damage to eyes, skin, aluminum, etc - it just takes longer. Short answer? high pH, alkaline solutions work really well at dissolving grease if it's in an area you can use them without killing something else. When you start talking about straight dirt, which is mineral in nature (mostly) then their effectiveness decreases and surfactant (soap) based stuff starts to work better. Solvents (like d-limonene, gasoline, kerosene) work pretty well at dissolving grease too, but they leave a coating on the surface that then may need to be cleaned. OTOH, they don't affect aluminum or paint very much. OTOOH, they are flammable in concentration and bad for lungs, eyes, ozones, and little tree frogs.
What about Simple Green? I've had pretty good luck with that over the years.
I've had pretty good luck with oven cleaner, however I would not spray it inside an engine compartment or onto a part which needed to maintain its finish.
Por15's degreaser and metal prep are the best I've used on a car with varying types of metal. Worked better than Purple Power. No damage to any metals either.
http://www.por15.com/Preparation-Products_c_12.html
good old trusty mineral spirits is the best way to degrease anything.
I had good luck with Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner too. Even on paint.
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