Best degreaser?
03-31-12, 10:57 AM
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Best degreaser?
Every few years I overhaul my entire drivetrain and soak the chain in Lestoil, which I have found is a nice non-combustable lipid solvent (previously I used gasoline). I don't think they sell it anymore, at least not around here.
What's a good degreaser to use now? Something cheap and other than the 2 oz $5 rip-offs the bike suppliers try to pawn off on you?
What's a good degreaser to use now? Something cheap and other than the 2 oz $5 rip-offs the bike suppliers try to pawn off on you?
03-31-12, 01:42 PM
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Simple green works good.
If you want the same stuff the bike shop tries to sell you, go buy brake parts cleaner at any auto parts store. It's the same stuff, and blasts off grease and grime really nicely. You can get a big aerosol can in the house brand for a couple of bucks. Works great if you want to get your drivetrain squeaky clean without disassembling anything.
I've also used Zep citrus degreaser from Home Depot and it works nicely as well.
Through a random discovery, I found out that Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner works excellently as a degreaser. That stuff cleans everything.
Everything except the brake parts cleaner requires disassembling the bike and scrubbing to work properly. That's not something I really mind doing though.
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If you want the same stuff the bike shop tries to sell you, go buy brake parts cleaner at any auto parts store. It's the same stuff, and blasts off grease and grime really nicely. You can get a big aerosol can in the house brand for a couple of bucks. Works great if you want to get your drivetrain squeaky clean without disassembling anything.
I've also used Zep citrus degreaser from Home Depot and it works nicely as well.
Through a random discovery, I found out that Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner works excellently as a degreaser. That stuff cleans everything.
Everything except the brake parts cleaner requires disassembling the bike and scrubbing to work properly. That's not something I really mind doing though.
.
.
.
03-31-12, 02:05 PM
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Brake cleaner, or Tri-chlor-Ethylene, is about the best degreaser you can get. It does such a good job that any ferrous metal it's used on will rust up very quickly if not lubed again.
03-31-12, 05:25 PM
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NAPHTHA....
Use gloves and a well-ventilated area
Use gloves and a well-ventilated area
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'84 Trek 850--spinbackle-built, '85 Trek 670 Campy Nuovo Record--project, '87 Trek 560 SS/Fixed--project, '87 Specialized Stumpjumper Comp w/ Deore XT--Specialized-built, '87 Rossin Record, '03 LeMond Wayzata--commuter,
'?? TST Mtn Bike frame--project, '07 Tsunami Tandem--home-built
'84 Trek 850--spinbackle-built, '85 Trek 670 Campy Nuovo Record--project, '87 Trek 560 SS/Fixed--project, '87 Specialized Stumpjumper Comp w/ Deore XT--Specialized-built, '87 Rossin Record, '03 LeMond Wayzata--commuter,
'?? TST Mtn Bike frame--project, '07 Tsunami Tandem--home-built
