There are a heap of different solvents available. Some work on one thing and not another while another will be the wrong thing for the first and the right for the second. Generally the solvents that orginate from crude oil through distillation will do nicely for de-grunging parts that have caked up grit and grease on them. This includes kerosene (get the low odor lamp oil type, it's a LOT less smelly than the diesel fuel which is more crude and mixed with other ingriedients), Varsol cleaning solvent (a VERY close cousin to mineral spirits), mineral spirits AKA "low odor paint thinner" from the paint supply shelf. Once you get more aggresive and volitile than the low odor paint thinner the solvents get more flammable and smelly.
The carb cleaner and brake cleaner DO work great on these things. But they are pricey and highly volitile and flammable. Use with care and only if your bank account can afford it in more than just special small jobs. Oh, and both of these super powerful degreasers will strip the oils from your skin lickety split and enter your blood stream via the now oilless skin. USE GLOVES!
=cyccommute;10216116.....White gas is about the same as mineral spirits.
I always understood that white gas is what is used for Coleman stove fuel for the old liquid fuel types. If this is correct then white gas is WAY more volitile and flammable than mineral spirits. Not even in the same leage at all. The Coleman fuel is more volitile than even car gasoline. I used some to try starting a campfire one time. I was glad that I was upwind, using a long lit stick and had my head well down by the ground. The WOOMP! ! ! ! as it went off with about a 4 foot fireball was very impressive. Do NOT clean with Coleman or similar stove fuel indoors.... or anywhere for that matter. The smallest spark or flame source and you can kiss your eyebrows and hair goodbye and likely the first couple of layers of skin.
Originally Posted by
sciencemonster
For small things and localized cleaning, I use lighter fluid. ....... I figure if you can inhale the stuff lighting cigarettes all day...
Inhaling the burn byproducts for a few seconds a few times a day is a far cry from inhaling the fumes from the solvent itself. Also the fact that again it's more flammable than mineral spirits and you may as well just get a bigger container of the better option and keep the lighter fluid for re-fueling the lighter.
Originally Posted by
Kimmo
Disassembly, mineral spirits and a toothbrush. Good idea to wear gloves, cause your skin soaks that crap up like a sponge.
Gloves or a good barrier cream that is meant for working with petrochemical solvents is a must if you value your internal organs. Solvents not only cut right through grease on the bike parts but they do a great job of leaching away the skin oils of our hands. Once that's gone the solvents are free to enter our blood stream thorugh the skin. The internal organs are the parts that end up removing the solvents from our blood. But because many of these solvents or chemicals such as citrus degreaser are not options they are intended for various issues can occur over time and later in your life. So learn now and use good gloves to avoid skin contact. And avoid using the stuff in enclosed areas. Keeping the fumes confined not only increases the risk of setting off the fumes and burning your place down but it makes it easier for the solvent to enter your blood through the lungs.
Solvents are a superb tool but we all need to learn that there's a lot of variations that come from different sources and what they can do. And we need to learn how to protect our bodies from excess exposure to them.