Parts cleaners and cleaning formulas?
12-10-21, 01:00 PM
#26
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I use Simple Green, but I don't soak for longer than a few minutes and then I rinse with a large excess of hot water and lay parts out to dry on newspaper. Mineral spirits will do a great job, too, but the room I do my bike work in is poorly ventilated.
BTW, most solutions used by professional watchmakers for cleaning watch parts have a base of mineral spirits. In watchmaking, you need all the parts to be absolutely, molecularly clean before you reassemble and lubricate, because unlike bikes, watches only run right if there's a tiny, tiny amount of lubricant only in just the right places, which stays in place because 1) the oils are formulated not to spread and 2) the scrupulous cleaning doesn't provide an 'escape route' for the oil. By contrast, with bikes we want oils that will penetrate the rollers of the chain, or the pivots of brakes and derailleurs.
Oh, and speaking of gasoline, the Army's 1945 Technical Manual on watch repair suggests gasoline as a solvent for cleaning watches! I imagine during WWII, gasoline was easier to come by than watch cleaning solutions!
BTW, most solutions used by professional watchmakers for cleaning watch parts have a base of mineral spirits. In watchmaking, you need all the parts to be absolutely, molecularly clean before you reassemble and lubricate, because unlike bikes, watches only run right if there's a tiny, tiny amount of lubricant only in just the right places, which stays in place because 1) the oils are formulated not to spread and 2) the scrupulous cleaning doesn't provide an 'escape route' for the oil. By contrast, with bikes we want oils that will penetrate the rollers of the chain, or the pivots of brakes and derailleurs.
Oh, and speaking of gasoline, the Army's 1945 Technical Manual on watch repair suggests gasoline as a solvent for cleaning watches! I imagine during WWII, gasoline was easier to come by than watch cleaning solutions!
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12-10-21, 02:51 PM
#27
Sunshine
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I bought an ultrasonic cleaner from harbor freight off a recommendation here. Used it a dozen times and cleaned all the components by hand after removing them from the warm water bath they just had in the cleaner.
dawn and water plus any number of brushes.
mineral spirits soak.
wd40 and any number of brushes.
Between the 3 approaches above, I get anything on a bike cleaner than the ultrasonic and in less time. Truthfully, me pouring water on a component and walking away gets it cleaner than that ultrasonic cleaner did...that thing was trash.
Soak to reduce manual work.
dawn and water plus any number of brushes.
mineral spirits soak.
wd40 and any number of brushes.
Between the 3 approaches above, I get anything on a bike cleaner than the ultrasonic and in less time. Truthfully, me pouring water on a component and walking away gets it cleaner than that ultrasonic cleaner did...that thing was trash.
Soak to reduce manual work.
12-10-21, 05:49 PM
#28
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I have never owned an ultrasonic cleaner. I use mineral spirits to remove gunk.
12-10-21, 06:27 PM
#29
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Originally Posted by genejockey
Oh, and speaking of gasoline, the Army's 1945 Technical Manual on watch repair suggests gasoline as a solvent for cleaning watches! I imagine during WWII, gasoline was easier to come by than watch cleaning solutions!
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Stuart Black
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Days of Wineless Roads. Bed and Breakfasting along the KATY
Twisting Down the Alley. Misadventures in tornado alley.
12-11-21, 10:55 AM
#30
Senior Member
Originally Posted by mstateglfr
I bought an ultrasonic cleaner from harbor freight off a recommendation here. Used it a dozen times and cleaned all the components by hand after removing them from the warm water bath they just had in the cleaner.
dawn and water plus any number of brushes.
mineral spirits soak.
wd40 and any number of brushes.
Between the 3 approaches above, I get anything on a bike cleaner than the ultrasonic and in less time. Truthfully, me pouring water on a component and walking away gets it cleaner than that ultrasonic cleaner did...that thing was trash.
Soak to reduce manual work.
dawn and water plus any number of brushes.
mineral spirits soak.
wd40 and any number of brushes.
Between the 3 approaches above, I get anything on a bike cleaner than the ultrasonic and in less time. Truthfully, me pouring water on a component and walking away gets it cleaner than that ultrasonic cleaner did...that thing was trash.
Soak to reduce manual work.
12-11-21, 11:59 AM
#31
Sunshine
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Originally Posted by Schlafen
You can clean chain lube with warm water ? Never heard that before.
