Degreasing Parts

[whitefiretiger]

Not bad at all,looking good.

You should have seen them before.
I thought these parts were about trash.

Going to see about a bit more clean up on these.

I've only ever had one Hartford crank bearing set that couldn't be saved.

 

[whitefiretiger]

Ok here we go did the white vinegar and Dawn on purpose this time to show my results.
Before

After 10 hours soaking and a quick rinse.

Don't know if it makes any difference but I'm using an old small aluminum pan for soaking.

 

[Dale Alan]

That worked well,Going to give it a try for sure.

 

[whitefiretiger]

I'm happy with the results.
Going to polish the race/nut/washer with steel will before assembly.

 

[CRASH]

I use Kerosene. I keep it in an old coffee can with a lid.

 

[whitefiretiger]

I use Kerosene. I keep it in an old coffee can with a lid.

Yea kerosene and the like work great to degrease parts.
I'm happy with the white vinegar & dawn because its taking care of the grease & rust both over night.

 

[mornview]

I use Dawn and Simple Green by themselves,never thought of mixing them. Do you use full strength Simple Green,or is it diluted ?

I would like to know the mixture as well; I have some Simple Green sitting around that I never use and I'd like to give this a shot.

 

[RZ94]

Automotive brake cleaner, toss the parts in a plastic container or jar, cover the parts, let soak for about 10 minutes, parts look brand new and totally clean when done. And the cleaner can be re-used until it's become saturated.

 

[us56456712]

I make soap from scratch, using lye and vegetable oils. It's pretty in-depth. Check out www.soapmakingforum.com Ha. I use the same handle over there, but it's definitely more Martha Stewart than Fight Club.

My friends wife makes her own lye soap. She gave me a bar and it works better on old, dirty, ground in mechanic grease that anything, even GoJo. That liquid hand soap just runs off the grease on your fingers. The other thing that works is cheese: my wife was always accusing me of using the block of cheddar to remove the dirty grease from my hands. Since the lye soap I don't have to use the cheese anymore, the wife is happy.

 

[Bicycle808]

Nice. My pedantic compulsions are forcing me to mention that all real soap is made with lye, or at least potash/caustic soda/etc. Most modern crap being sold as "soap" is better described as "cleanser". I make a coffee soap with the coffee grinds mixed in it; nothing seems to do a better job at cutting through grease and brake dust and other sticky messes that get on mechanics' hands....

 

[us56456712]

Nice. My pedantic compulsions are forcing me to mention that all real soap is made with lye, or at least potash/caustic soda/etc. Most modern crap being sold as "soap" is better described as "cleanser". I make a coffee soap with the coffee grinds mixed in it; nothing seems to do a better job at cutting through grease and brake dust and other sticky messes that get on mechanics' hands....

Can you use your discarded used coffee grounds for the soap?

 

[Bicycle808]

You can (and i used to), but i prefer to use fresh/dry ones, b/c I sell the soap and using wet grinds can cause some inconsistent results. But yeah, the used grinds work just fine. Just tell your wife to toss the grinds in at trace, and mix them in thoroughly before pouring the soap into the mould.

 

[junknutz1975]

I've had real good luck using Spray Nine. Works like a charm

 

[Toeslider]

Just get LA's Totally Awesome Cleaner:

Its a dollar for a spray bottle or refill at Big Lots, Dollar Tree, etc. $8 a gallon. It cleans everything, harms nothing. I clean grease off my hands with it. It will do the stuff people are doing in this thread overnight in about 10 seconds with a rag. I've rehabbed about 50 bikes using it and haven't found anything yet it wouldn't clean up.

 

[dezzie]

I put a spoonful of sugar in my hand then squirt on some washing up liquid, wet the other hand to start mixing it into a paste then run under hot water while scrubbing up with the mix, does it a treat!

 

[kim_dude]

Just get LA's Totally Awesome Cleaner:

Its a dollar for a spray bottle or refill at Big Lots, Dollar Tree, etc. $8 a gallon. It cleans everything, harms nothing. I clean grease off my hands with it. It will do the stuff people are doing in this thread overnight in about 10 seconds with a rag. I've rehabbed about 50 bikes using it and haven't found anything yet it wouldn't clean up.

I use this stuff all the time for degreasing but have found that it will remove some paints as well as the ink off of old bicycle license stickers (which I try to preserve when I can).

 

[Toeslider]

I use this stuff all the time for degreasing but have found that it will remove some paints as well as the ink off of old bicycle license stickers (which I try to preserve when I can).

I haven't had any problems on any modern bike I've used it on, but I would test it before using on something like an old 60's chain guard with writing, or a pinstriped fender. I would imagine anything would have an ill effect on old ink printed tags which weren't made to last 50 years.