What do you use in your parts cleaner?

Just fabbed a large parts cleaner from electrical junction boxes and was wondering what you use in yours and where do you source it? It will hold more than five gallons so Berryman's is really not a choice for me at this time.

 

I use odorless mineral spirits.

 

Same here

 

I used LUX's parts washer at Crushproof here in Austin and they use Varsol. It's basically paint thinner, but a branded version. I looked around online for it and it wasn't readily avail. Worked great though!! I believe they have a company that services their parts washer and refills, etc.

That brings up a good question that I have been wondering. What do yall do with your old, leftover chemicals? Paint thinner, acetone, etc.???

Nick

 

I was wondering the same thing... I was gonna try Simple Green to start and see if it was strong enough. At least its easy to dispose of! (right?)

 

Good questions!!!

 

Any safety issue with mineral spirits? fumes, EPA, etc?

 

Hello..Simple Green works great if you heat it up and soak parts while still hot..Then use Oxy-clean also works best hot..My way..
Duane.

 

I'm sure mineral spirits are a hazzard. EPA and OSHA would have a fit. It's OK at my house though. I clean up paint with fresh spirits and save this dirty spirits for the parts cleaner. It tends to evaporate so I add more dirty to it. Every year I filter it to get the chunks out. I guess I've never had to get rid of any.

 

interesting...I'd like to see pics of this home-fabbed parts cleaner.

I was going to make one from an old stainless sink I had found, sheetmetal lid, high volume fuel pump and some sort of filtering device.

I've used mineral spirits, kerosene, and all sorts of dangerous flammables for cleaning stuff before, but not with a real setup.

 

Your city/county probably has hazardous waste collections periodically. Call and ask or look online. You can check with the trash disposal company also.

Thanks,
Kurt

 

Super adgitene from Grainger.
little tuff on your hands, works great on greasy parts.

when ya change it out, give it to the neighbor for his parts washer.
fill yours up with fresh stuff.

Roach

 

If you have an E**on distributor in your area you can buy Varisol in bulk. I've also use desiel to soak parts. Not a flameable as some of the other suggestions.

 

i fill gallon jugs up and put them in a car going to the cruscher

 

Mineral Spirits. You can get it in 5 gallon cans at Advanced Auto. It is a blue color because it has a rust inhibitor in it.

 

Do you leave the mineral spirits in your parts cleaner? Or does it evaporate away? What precautions do you use? gloves? Mask?

 

"Castrol Super Clean" or "Purple Power" same thing. Works great on grease and is bio-degradable... but use gloves!

 

You're joking right?

 

I figured there must be a city pickup or agency that does it. Hadn't looked into it yet. If anyone has used a city/county service....any idea how much they charge for disposal?

Nick

 

I buy a gallon of the purple concentrate that Harbor Freight sells. Mix it a bit strong with water. Best stuff I've used in a long time. No fumes, no fire hazard blah blah blah.

 

Here in So. Cal. it's free. No questions asked. The disposal that is.

 

Homemade parts washer I made MANY years ago. Stainless sink from a "soda" truck. Also scavenged the carbonator pump/motor (standard Procon pump) - stuck a dual oil filter from the swap meet on it and it's been going strong for around 15 years now.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=247400&d=1164670068

 

Deodorized Kerosene. But I just have a little ~3 gallon one. I got the kerosene free from a friend who used to have a little kerosene heater. It's funny, as long as you keep the lid closed when you're not using it, it seems to last almost forever and doesn't dry up much at all. All the sludge winds up at the bottom and the stuff on top stays pretty clean.

 

I bought some simple green automotive in a 5 gallon container, it's too much at one time. I plugged up the bottom of a free standing laundry tub to use for soaking. I may rig it with a pump. I like it because I can use it in my ba*****t with no risk of fumes. Washed parts all weekend with no headache/fume issues in a closed space. Used about 1/4 gallon of mineral spirits in a closed container in my garage and in the brief time I had it open I had a screaming headache. (Nobody ever taught me about respirators and the like, it's time to learn)

It worked pretty good, it was kind of counterintuitive to use a mostly water solution to degrease something but it really works pretty well. Next time I won't cut it as much as the instructions say. It was murder on my hands though, just as bad as mineral spirits and brakleen.

One other thing, my ba*****t's not too warm and the water based solvent got COLD. I'll heat it up next time, that's a good idea especially if it cleans better.

 

Diesel.

 

Technically mineral spirits in not flammable, it's combustible. Most companies that service parts cleaners use mineral spirits, with an anti static additive.

 

Hey Nick,
In Austin...you have to go the the Hazardous Waste Facility to drop it off...its south, down around Ben White & Burleson Rd.
heres a link:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/hhw.htm

NEW HOURS FOR RESIDENTS The facility will be closed the week of Christmas and New Year's Day
The first Saturday of the month from 7 a.m. to Noon.</B>
Noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays Residents of the City of Austin and Travis County can bring limited quan***ies of hazardous waste free of charge to the Household Hazardous Waste Facility.
Staff at the facility will ensure that products are safely disposed of. Pouring chemicals down the drain, dumping them on the ground or putting them in your trash is dangerous!
The facility is located at 2514 Business Center Drive (map).

 

That shiz took the paint right out of my parts cleaner!!!
But I did mix it real strong

 

THE ABSOLUTE BEST parts cleaner I have used is a detergent additive called GUNK DEGREASER Concentrate that is used with either ordinary kerosene, #2 heating oil, or diesel fuel (all nearly the same thing) and is sold at many old time parts stores.

I have used that for several decades, and have NEVER found anything modern that cleans anywhere near as good as that "traditional" parts-washer mix.

Ask around for GUNK DEGREASER CONCENTRATE. It is worth looking for.

 

My Parts Cleaner likes Pina Colada and Coconut Rum, But she doesnt clean them so well, so I usually have to re-do them after she thinks she is done. I just tahkn her for "helping" me and leave it at that. She doesnt clean much of anything that well for that matter, so I end up doing that too.