Degreaser choice?

[Memnon]

Was watching an episode of Wheeler Dealers (only car show I can stomach)

Ed China was cleaning up bits and pieces of gearbox & engine... he used a trigger spray with a degreaser fluid.
There was no rinsing off .. but unsure if this was a solvent based product or water based.
Anybody recommend a good degreaser ... for mechanical parts.

I have seen this on Screwfix .. https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-heavy-duty-...

Anybody used, or know of something better.

Appreciate you might want to rinse off BBQ parts or floors, but for mechanical parts no need to rinse is preferable.

Read more: https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/degreaser.50460...

[souper]

Paraffin/kerosene very good cheap was easy to get hold of, a bit messy.

[GreenV8S]

I remember this was discussed in another thread recently and there seemed to be a consensus that water-based cleaners were better in many respects than old school vats of paraffin/petrol/whatever.

[Memnon]

don't suppose you have link to that thread.?
I will try a search for it

[colin_p]

Aerosols of brake cleaner are my fave de-greaser. Comes out with some oomph so is very good at cleaning then evaporates.

[Memnon]

I specifically want to get a product to use in trigger bottle.

[helix402]

5l tin/bottle of brake cleaner, £12 ebay.

[E-bmw]

Personally I have a big bottle of Persil liquid that I mix 1/10 with water, spray on with an old garden hand-sprayer & use a stiff brush to rub it in, then just wash it off, works really well & not too hard on anything.

[227bhp]

E-bmw said:

Personally I have a big bottle of Persil liquid that I mix 1/10 with water, spray on with an old garden hand-sprayer & use a stiff brush to rub it in, then just wash it off, works really well & not too hard on anything.

Eco friendly, kind to the hands and doesn't fade the colours too, does it have anti-bobble?
Seriously though, you use whatever works for you and the environment, we have several different types all for different specific jobs.

[Tony427]

Degreasers, my specialist subject.

I don't want to fall foul of posting rules but I happen to import the best degreaser I have ever seen called HP12 from an italian company called Ma Fra. It's mainly sold in the UK as a forecourt cleaner to clean fuel pumps, so if you fill up at a clean pump its probably been cleaned using HP12 but if its dirty, it hasn't.

According to market research by pump manufacturers Gilbarco, the first thing customers want from their fuel pump is cleanliness, not speed. Who da thunk it ?

It was originally developed as a workshop cleaner and we get a few purchases from engineering shops etc and a video I took at our first trial always make me smile. Hearing a Black Country engineer excitedly shouting " Thats the baby, thats the baby" as he cleans his machine with HP12 for the first time is brilliant.

Take a look here https://www.facebook.com/1519151601648701/videos/1...

If the op or one or two others are interested I can send a few foc 125ml samples out if they care to pm me their addresses.

Cheers,

Tony

[Mr2Mike]

colin_p said:

Aerosols of brake cleaner are my fave de-greaser. Comes out with some oomph so is very good at cleaning then evaporates.

Brake cleaner is very good on stubborn stuff, but IME needs to be followed up by a water based cleaner as the grease it dissolves gets spread around into a film which looks really manky after it's all evaporated.

[Memnon]

I use aerosol of brake cleaner on brake drums and backplates - but looking for more generic degreaser ...

[colin_p]

Mr2Mike said:

colin_p said:

Aerosols of brake cleaner are my fave de-greaser. Comes out with some oomph so is very good at cleaning then evaporates.

Brake cleaner is very good on stubborn stuff, but IME needs to be followed up by a water based cleaner as the grease it dissolves gets spread around into a film which looks really manky after it's all evaporated.

Yes, it is good for quickly washing off oily bits so you can work on / dismantle them but if you are looking for a concours finish then nope.

Personally, what I do is;

1, For really gritty oily filth, use WD40 (you could use stinky old parafin) and an old toothbrush to loosen it.
2, Then wash off with brake cleaner
3, Then use a tigger bottle with neat TFR (traffic film remover) all over the engine bay or whatever bit you are doing. Let is soak in a bit and do its magic
4, Jet wash the lot off
5, Get the airline out and blow the water out of any electrical connectors and give it a wipe down.
6, Treat any plastics and rubber with Aero303 cleaner / sealant.

My sheds engine bay although 14 years old is clean enough to eat your dinner off.

But it all depends what the degreasing is for, to do work or to simply tart things up. If you want to get in and do some work on some oily gritty bits then the WD40 and Brake Cleaner combo is the fastest and easiest. Just make sure there is a drip tray under the car to catch the gritty sludge. Using that method, especially if under the car saves rolling around on a soaking wet floor.