Lacquer thinner.
In my experiences, a can of lacquer thinner is the best readily available parts cleaning solvent I know of. I regularly keep a gallon can of this around just for this purpose. Throw the old nuts and bolts (or other parts) into a tuna can, swish around for a few seconds, and remove the sparkling clean parts.
Combine this with my pickle jar/BB tip and I bet the results would be fantastic.
I'll have to try it.
I do the same thing, though I keep a couple of nitrile gloves handy so I don't burn the E36 M3 out of my hands with it.
WD-40 cleans a lot of messes without affecting paint or plastic. And washes off.
It is a very effective solvent.
There are a few safety issues worth mentioning. It and it's fumes ignite quite easily; be especially careful if for some reason you have a large surface area, like a shallow pan, for your cleaning needs.
Consumer-grade variants … Goo Gone (the world's most expensive Lacquer Thinner (LT)) or Nail Polish Remover (the world's second most expensive LT) come in small bottles due to it's volatility.
Also very important is disposal and handling of rags containing LT residues. These will self-combust. You should invest in a shop / lab grade garbage container or alternately just don't store rags even overnight. You can store them in a container where they will be covered in water.
You can search used / surplus lab equipment sources for an economical version of a lab grade garbage container. It won't stop fires but will contain them safely.
Johnny2Bad wrote: It is a very effective solvent. There are a few safety issues worth mentioning. It and it's fumes ignite quite easily; be especially careful if for some reason you have a large surface area, like a shallow pan, for your cleaning needs. Consumer-grade variants … Goo Gone (the world's most expensive Lacquer Thinner (LT)) or Nail Polish Remover (the world's second most expensive LT) come in small bottles due to it's volatility. Also very important is disposal and handling of rags containing LT residues. These will self-combust. You should invest in a shop / lab grade garbage container or alternately just don't store rags even overnight. You can store them in a container where they will be covered in water. You can search used / surplus lab equipment sources for an economical version of a lab grade garbage container. It won't stop fires but will contain them safely.
I thought nail polish remover was acetone
An even better way to prevent combustion is to let the rags and paper towels dry out. Lacquer thinner evaporates very quickly. Acetone is not as fast, but it's still quick. Just lay the rag or paper towel flat to maximize surface area for evaporation.
i just switched over to Aquatene in my parts washer, i cant say enought about how great it is. its water based and has a very high PH so its a alkaline cleaner. and works great at ambient temp and is phenominal when heated 
. just have to watch out on using with aluminum parts because it will etch aluminum over time. we left a piece of 1/8 alumin in it for 48 hrs and it looked like it had been anodized and it had shrunk a couple thousandths ? but man does it strip baked on varnish. i use a floating oil sock to keep the fluid clean and the best part when i want to change the fluid you just dilute to a safe PH and it can go down the drain.
wbjones wrote: I thought nail polish remover was acetone
Most of it is; there was one time my wife had a bottle of nail polish remover that was advertised as acetone free. The smell reminded me of something I'd worked with while painting, so I checked the ingredients... this supposedly safer nail polish remover was mostly methyl ethyl ketone.
I can foresee the day that lacquer thinner is banned everywhere, not just Cali.
Methanol is an extremely effective solvent. Just wear safety goggles.
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