I've been using WD-40 for cleaning small parts. I'll put 1 or 2 fingers in the bottom of a coffee can, put the parts in, slwish them around, pull out the parts, and go over them with a stiff parts brush, maybe even dig into the corners with qtips and wd40, put them back in and swish some more, then wipe everything off with clean rags or shoptowels, polish it all, and grease where needed and reassemble..

I cleaned a chain a few weeks ago that was *so* black, that I had to use a wire brush on it after soaking it overnight in solvent and even then it only came sort of clean. amazingly, after clean, compressor blow dry, and a light oiling with triflow, that chain worked great on a beater roadie my kid wants to flip.

If I was doing this full time, I could see having a parts cleaning tank with a solvent filter and recirculating pump, but I only do this a few times a year... a gallon of wd40 lasts me years. but... is there a better way? should I be using a detergent and water, instead of solvents, for cleaning parts? if so, what sort of detergent cleaner thats commonly available cheaply ?

Wd 40 is solvent base which is fine for cleaning, not 4 oiling as it collects a lot of dirt. I'm bad because on stuff like that I use hair spray or carb. cleaner outside. I am curious because I see that Harbour Freight tool sells tanks and solvent now so i will probably try that next.

There is really no need to clean parts with WD-40. Seriously. It's toxic for you and the environment.

I'm a big simplegreen fan. Take a jam jar, put the simplegreen in raw, and drop small parts, chains, etc in, then give it a really good shake. Easier to deal with than wd-40, and I think it's a better cleaner. Also, search oxalic acid for a way to get rust off with the least effort possible.

re: solvent vs oil, yeah, I know that, I only use it for cleaning. either polish it all off or use the compressor to 'blow dry', then use a proper lubricant.

re: environment, its mostly kerosene and light oil, I didn't think that was that toxic but disposal of the few ounces of waste does bother me. I tend to toss it the waste on these brambles out back that i'd rather weren't there and let it evaporate. I wear nitrile gloves when working with greasy stuff

re: simplegreen, isn't that fairly corrosive? do you use lots of hose-water to rinse it off after soaking or what? then a little light oil (or wd40) to keep the rust away ?

WD-40 is just a very expensive form of kerosene or Odorless Mineral Spirits if used as a cleaning solvent. You can buy gallons of either for far less.

This: https://www.harborfreight.com/25-lite...ner-95563.html

with this: https://www.homedepot.com/buy/simple-...ner-10534.html

what HillRider said. I've used mineral spirits for awhile as a cleaning solvent and it works nicely. I'll use WD-40 in an aerosol spray-can to get at some tricky-to-reach cleaning spots.

Mineral spirits or Varsol. Both are much cheaper than even bulk WD40. And you can pour the solvent into a jar, let it settle and then decant the clear solvent back out and keep using it many times over.

Best of all it is not corrosive like Simple Green or other citrus based degreasers. Such strong detergents are OK if only exposed to the parts for a while but with longer term soakings they have been reported to produce corrosion on chains and etch into anodized or raw aluminium parts. Something that solvent doesn't do.

Environmental concerns? SG or citrus degreasers are only useable for a one shot or at most two shot sort of deal. Meanwhile I can reuse my mineral spirits many multiple times by just letting the grit and gunk settle out so it is transparent again. Sure it picks up a brownish tea like coloring but that's just the oil and grease which are fine. The harmful grit settles to the bottom. And when it's finally too far gone I pour it into the waste motor oil to be sent in for re-refining. So it's likely better for the environment in the long run than the powerful detergents which carry the waste grease and oil into the sewer system.

I always use mineral spirits. WD-40 is good for those hard to reach places, though.

They used to make stainless steel solvent sprayers that had a schrader valve so you could pressurize them with your compressor. I haven't seen one of those in years, but I'd love to have one.

Very good point. "Green" is an effective emotional marketing strategy these days, even when sometimes the "new improved" product or process is more wasteful than the old ways it seeks to replace.

One of those "green" cleaners out there is caustic, so it is best to avoid using it on any aluminum parts (I am told it will eat the aluminum).

Tom

That would be the Simple Green. It shows up as more damage with long soaks but even short but repeated use will dull polished aluminium after enough cleanings. I'm not sure if the orange based citrus degreaser I have used on occasion for motorcycle parts is corrosive in the same manner or not.

Oh, and I found that the local hardware store's housebrand orange citrus degreaser is way more effective than Simple Green. I had bought some SG years back for heavy shop cleaning but found that it really doesn't cut into the grease without a lot of brushing. And even then lumps or grease just float around instead of being broken down. On the other hand the orange stuff really cuts into the greases and oils pronto.

me thinks you'd want a neutral pH degreaser/detergent. Caustic means alkali, which means a pH above 7.0 (neutral, water), while acids are below 7.0

my biggest concern with using a water based detergent on small bike parts like derailleurs is ensuring you get all of it out of the pivots and such, and can then throughly dry it prior to lubricating.

Got thinking about the plastic cleaning pads used in dish-washing by hand. Why not use them along with denatured alcohol to clean wheel rims? Any thoughts on this out there?

Yep, this is how I clean my wheels.

I've recently been using Purple Power industrial strength cleaner/degreaser, at the recommendation of the guys at an auto-parts store where I sometimes buy touch-up paint or other things for working on bikes.
It works fine, feels very detergent-y (in a slimy sort of way), hopefully isn't corrosive like Simple Green, but doesn't function as a true solvent and leaves a lot of suds and residue. And it also doesn't lend itself to re-use as mineral spirits does.

Next time I think I'll go back to mineral spirits.

Don't get that Purple Power on your driveway unless it is cement. Purple Power will eat most anything made from petroleum product including asphalt, blacktop, grease, etc.

It is very hard to dilute and it will eat the binder from between the little chunks of gravel while you rinse it from your driveway.

It is very effective at cutting grease, but I am not sure how good it is for your parts. It would take a lot of water to rinse them to ensure all of the Purple Power is gone so it does not kill whatever lube you apply.

-j

Not really. Since WD-40 is essentially mineral spirits with a propellant but aliphatic hydrocarbons aren't really all that toxic. The 2-butoxyethanol in Simple Green is probably worse for you.

WD-40 is more expensive than just mineral spirits which do as good a job without leaving behind anything.

I doubt that it does anything to asphalt. It's basically Simple Green in a different color.

Uhhh...no.

you can doubt all you want but the reality is that Purple Power is a much stronger solvent than simple green and has a dramatic effect on petroleum based products.

-j

< pedantic mode>those degreasers aren't solvents, they are detergents. a detergent molecule has a hydrophilic side (likes water) and an oily side, and chemically bonds to the oils so they can be carried off by the water in suspension. a solvent dissolves the material in question, and mixes with it in solution.
</pedantic mode>

Uhhh...yes.

According to the MSDS for Purple Power, it is a mixture of ethylene glycol monobutyl ether (aka butoxyethanol) and sodium hydroxide. Same stuff as in Simple Green.

Almost correct. The detergents don't chemical bond to the oil molecule. The oils dissolve in hydrophobic part of the detergent micelles. It's only a physical change and is reversible using purely physical means. It's not easy to reverse but it is reversible.

I'd skip the WD-40 and just use a odorless mineral spirit. It's cheaper, takes less to do the job and you don't have to get rid of the water, i.e. rinse the parts, after you use it. Odorless mineral spirits are what commercial parts cleaners use.