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Effective solvent / degreaser in 2025 for cleaning bearings etc?
- Thread starter eagle123
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AndyA
I live for the CABE
I haven't looked to buy kerosene lately (maybe a couple of years) but it was then readily available at hardware stores. It lasts a long time because I reuse it by pouring it off after cleaning parts and saving it. I just pour carefully and stop before I get to the grunge in the bottom. The waste kero works fine. Have fun!
This from the dollar store is the best in my opinion, does the job GREAT and is the most inexpensive you can get. I buy gallons of it when I start a project.LA's totally awesome cleaner degreaser. Cheap at a dollar store near you and very, very effective even at 50% concentration. I used to doctor up paint thinner with some butoxyethanol left over from a field lab test at work, but LA's works just as well.
All-Purpose Cleaner (128oz) | LA's Totally Awesome
Effortlessly tackle grease, dirt and grime with our all-purpose cleaner, the number one solution for a spotless home. Revolutionize your cleaning routine.www.lastotallyawesome.com
RustySprockets
Finally riding a big boys bike
On the really tough cases--the grodiest, earwax-encrusted caged bearings and such--I use a shallow, wide-mouth jar (the type pimentos or garlic is sold in) and swirl the offending parts in liquid Goof Off. It stinks to high heaven, but the parts are usually spotless in a matter of seconds. If you're "environmentally sensitive," do not follow this advice!
eagle123
Finally riding a big boys bike
Oh yeah, Goof Off! I never thought about using the original, pro-strength Goof Off as a parts washer solvent. That stuff surely works GREAT on just about everything else. I haven't yet found anything that Goof Off could not dissolve. I could not live without that stuff. And indeed it works very quickly. I guess the only downside is that it's a bit more expensive than something like kerosene.
But also... I just read that Pro Strength Goof Off has a flash point of 0F degrees. This means its highly flammable at normal temperatures, like gasoline. I never knew that. So if you're using it in a somewhat confined area, like in your basement shop with no windows, be sure to not do anything that could ignite the vapors. But a small amount in a small jar with a lid shouldn't be a problem. I just wouldn't fill a large parts washer tank with it... in your small basement with no windows.
Wolfmac
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
We used to have a parts washer in our fab shop full of kerosene and it ran through a pump. Never had an issue but one day someone decided we needed a more user friendly solvent and switched to Safety-Kleen. It was heated and circulated and non toxic on Non Effective unless you had all day to scrub parts.
Jive Turkey
Finally riding a big boys bike
If you do be sure to film it for comedic purposes.
Hoagie57
Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
Smoking while filming will add to wow factor!
borgward
Finally riding a big boys bike
$590/liter https://www.fishersci.com/shop/products/carbon-tetrachloride-99-thermo-scientific/AC148170010I like simple green but it takes more effort/time. It also never explodes.
If you really don't care about the toxicity (liver and kidney) get a hold of some carbon tetrachloride. The bottle my grandfather hid in his stash disolved everything we ever used it on. Always followed by him saying, "and don't tell your mother".
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