Solvents for heavy degreasing

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amos
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Solvents for heavy degreasing

Post by amos » Tue Dec 12, 2017 8:49 am

Morning everyone,
Back in the day triclorethelyne was the go to solvent for heavy de-greasing. Would cut through most anything but then it was found to be pretty dang toxic.It was the same solvent used at dry cleaners btw.
Making matters worse is that lawyers found it and sued pretty much everyone. You can still buy it in 1 gallon,5 gallon and even 55 gallon drums for around $200.00 a gallon (I'll pass on that).
But, if you look closely at the ingredients in non-foaming brake cleaner you will find it is trichlorethelyne. Use good rubber gloves and a good chemical rated filter mask and use in a well ventilated area and it's about the best thing since sliced bread.
I've got a parts washer with "eco-friendly" so called solvent and it won't cut heavy deposits. Break out a can of brake cleaner and a few minutes of spritzing and brushing and part is de-greased.
High VOC and low flash point means it evaporates easily(also VERY flammable). I clean parts either in a plastic bin or if they are small over newspaper and solvent is gone in a few hours.
If you are really thrifty you can catch the solvent in a clean paint can(metal only) put the lid on tightly and you'll have solvent to use next time. When it's a deep dark black it's time to start with new.
Amos
Pushin hard or diggin deep life is good.
What's ahead is what matters. What's behind is already done.
A fool of a man is he who doesn't ask questions...
God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason...

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Stan Disbrow
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Re: Solvents for heavy degreasing

Post by Stan Disbrow » Tue Dec 12, 2017 9:10 am

Hi,

I buy racing gasoline, usually 100 unleaded or 110 leaded. Makes my 2-cycle and old iron 4-cycle engines really happy and also doubles as a super degreaser. Use it outside, though. Current cost is around $8 a gallon and outcleans anything else. ;)

Stan
There's No Such Thing As A Cheap Crawler!

Useta Have: '58 JD 420c 5-roller w/62 inside blade
Useta Have: '78 JD350C w/6310 outside blade
Useta Have: '68 JD350, '51 Terratrac GT-25
Have: 1950 M, 2005 x495, 2008 5103 (now known as 5045D)

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amos
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Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2016 7:29 am
Location: Piney Woods of east Texas

Re: Solvents for heavy degreasing

Post by amos » Tue Dec 12, 2017 9:22 am

Hi Stan,
Back when gas was gas I too used it. In my area you have to look HARD to find straight gasoline anywhere. Found 1 station 20 miles away that carries 93 octane straight gasoline and I get it for a little pick up on farm(straight gas won't suck in moisture like alcohol mix) wife's 4 wheeler,boat, and chainsaws,log splitter etc
Tried Sta-Bil on all and still got water in fuel from temp change and when absorbed by the alcohol in the "new" gasoline you're up a creek. Straight gas doesn't dissolve the rubber fuel lines either and also runs cooler in small engines.
Amos
Pushin hard or diggin deep life is good.
What's ahead is what matters. What's behind is already done.
A fool of a man is he who doesn't ask questions...
God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason...

original possum
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Re: Solvents for heavy degreasing

Post by original possum » Tue Dec 12, 2017 10:42 am

Aviation gasoline supposedly has no alcohol and may be cheaper than racing gas.
Early 40C w/Yakima toolbar and homebuilt ripper: 350 w/6-way

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Stan Disbrow
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Re: Solvents for heavy degreasing

Post by Stan Disbrow » Tue Dec 12, 2017 11:07 am

Hi,

Any race track has it, both circle tracks and drag strips. Usually both leaded (for built engines) and unleaded (for street stock engines). Some gas stations carry it, but those usually have some ethanol in them. Oil jobbers, such as Sunoco dealers, can get it in 5 gallon cans. Sunoco has on the order of 20 offerings. VP, what I get, has several although the local drag track I get it from tends to carry only three: 100 unleaded (with ethanol), 110 leaded (no ethanol) and 113 leaded with nitromethane.

Even the 100 unleaded will evaporate six times faster than 93 unleaded non-ethanol (lots of stations carry 93 due to the proximity of Jordan Lake for the boating crowd). So, the 100 is a much better choice for 2-stroke engines and parts cleaning. I use 110 leaded in the old iron most of the time.

Used to be I could get 100 Low Lead, non-ethanol, from the local airport. It was at least a couple bucks a gallon cheaper than the unleaded racing fuel. Two years ago, the FAA finally bowed to EPA pressure and forced the airports to stop selling it without loading it into an airplane. The new fuel pumps require a tail number to be entered before it will pump. Many local farmers talked their way around that (just use any light plane tail number you see). But, the FAA figured out some planes were burning much more fuel than the logs showed flying hours and sent some folks around to see if they could buy gas into a can.

That ended that.

But, they haven't bothered the racing crowd. Yet.

In the end, it really didn't matter much to me. I go through about 20 gallons of 113 and 5 gallons of 100 per year. To have things simply start up and run with even two year old gas is worth it. The racing fuel doesn't have any of the pump gas sit-itis issues, even if the race fuel has ethanol and the pump gas doesn't.

Stan
There's No Such Thing As A Cheap Crawler!

Useta Have: '58 JD 420c 5-roller w/62 inside blade
Useta Have: '78 JD350C w/6310 outside blade
Useta Have: '68 JD350, '51 Terratrac GT-25
Have: 1950 M, 2005 x495, 2008 5103 (now known as 5045D)

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