Parts washer fluid

[HenryDorsetCase]

After years of brushes and kerosene and splattering crap all over the shed, I bought myself a wee parts washer.

What fluid do we like? Someone recommended Simple Green. Obviously nothing flammable (so Kero is out).

Any recommendations?

[enth]

Simple Green.

I've used it quite a lot to clean away suspected oil leaks from engines and stuff. Always dilute it as it's a rather powerful cleaner.

[AllanB]

I usually use a El-chepo degreaser from Super Cheap - I scored some cans for $2.50 a while back. Spray, soak and wash off with soapy water.

A old oven meat tray is my parts cleaner .........

[boman]

I usually use a El-chepo degreaser from Super Cheap - I scored some cans for $2.50 a while back. Spray, soak and wash off with soapy water.

A old oven meat tray is my parts cleaner .........

Yep, Supercheap degreaser. Bought some yesterday for $3,25 a can. Works a treat. Use an oil tray and a toothbrush for my parts cleaner.

[Qkchk]

Ring a company called ERS (Transpacific Industries). They have depots in Akl, Wgt and Chc. They lease the big commercial parts washers and supply them with fluid. Perhaps they may have a suitable product for yours.

[Pussy]

Tergosol is good shit.... be careful with skin contact

[Motu]

Nothing beats solvents for degreasing - it's the same stuff that grease and oil are made of (hydrocarbons),so it's going to do the job.

For a water based degreaser to work it needs to be heated,just like washing dishes,it's crap in cold water.For my home bench top parts washer I have gone citrus,mainly because it gets hot in the shed over summer....and my solvent disappears.Being a tuff guy I don't use gloves,so reshearched my cleaner choice - not only should it be safe for hands,but safe for paint too.Most of the water based cleaners are too alkali,and will removed paint....and skin.I tested by soaking painted parts in undiluted cleaner.

[AllanB]

Tergosol is good shit.... be careful with skin contact

Years ago I was stripping a old Chev of body paint with a product called TurgoStrip (same family?) - being young and silly I did not use gloves ....... I ended up in Hospital with multi layers of skin peeling off my fingers.

I spent a week or so running around with them bandaged up like swollen tampons. Fun times in the toilet I must say ..........

I did learn to read the back of the container after that.

[Motu]

When I worked on compressors,we would strip a pump,and hook all the parts on wire and into a 44 gallon drum of Turgosol which had immersion heaters in it.In the morning we would pull out the parts and hose them down on the forecourt.Everything would be bare metal and perfectly clean.Rebuild and repaint.

For my workshop partswasher I once used waterbased cleaner (Workshop Workhorse) and had a heating element made up to fit in the drum.That was bloody good for parts cleaning....but my replacement pump had a temp restriction and went back to solvents.I was in the old shop a few weeks ago and saw the heater over a beam....seeing as they don't know what it is I'm going to get it back.Now to make a dip tank.....

[peasea]

After years of brushes and kerosene and splattering crap all over the shed, I bought myself a wee parts washer.

What fluid do we like? Someone recommended Simple Green. Obviously nothing flammable (so Kero is out).

Any recommendations?

I did the same thing a while back and filled it with the Super Cheap degreaser which swelled the impeller in the pump and it stopped working. I had to strip the pump and fortuntely, after drying the impeller for a few days, it came back to life.

That S/C degreaser might be fine for toothbrush and tray applications or in pressurised degreaser guns but I'll never use it in my parts wash again. I was lucky enough to scab some fluid from a SafetyKleen parts wash, the best I've found in over 30yrs in the motor trade. SafetyKleen was the brand of parts wash I had at my workshop, brilliant but very harsh on your hands, use gloves if you can find some.

[Motu]

My thoughts after 3 months with a citrus based cleaner.It still doesn't damage my hands (they could be tougher hands than average),but paint is just starting to lift from the partswasher tank.Also,because I keep the lid closed,condensation forms on the lid....galvanised hardware on the washer has heavy rust.The cleaning power is reasonable,but oil floats on top,not nice if it's overful like I tend to have.

I'll go back to solvents for sure next time.

[Pixie]

After years of brushes and kerosene and splattering crap all over the shed, I bought myself a wee parts washer.

What fluid do we like? Someone recommended Simple Green. Obviously nothing flammable (so Kero is out).

Any recommendations?

I been a fan of simple green for some time,but I have found a less costly alternative.Super Cheap Auto stock Koala Kare Super Wash.It can be diluted in similar proportions to SG and is as good a degreaser too.
$18 for 5 L as opposed to $29 for 2L of SG.
The bottle warns against use on polished aluminium,so I rang the head koala in Brisbane and he told me it may dull aluminium after long exposure to strong solutions and that SG and other active cleaners will do that too.
I double checked this by soaking aluminium foil in a 2:1 solution of super wash.It took a week for any sign of dulling to show.