Best ways to clean dirty engine parts?

I tried all sorts to clean baked on oil from the inside of my v8.

white spirit was good for soft grime but the real filthy hard oil came off with nitromors (vanish type). worked in with a brush. mind your eyes though. I was amazed after someone told me but it does work.

Colin
 
colnerov said:
smokin1942 said:
colnerov said:
Dave3066, Paraffin is not as readily available round here.

Colin

Isn't jet fuel mainly paraffin/kerosene? s Should be able to find that near Gatwick :wink:

HI, yes, but they are very protective of it. :) In fact whenever there is a spill and we had to
clean it up, you wouldn't believe the paperwork that generates.

Colin

Hi Colin

Just saw this post whilst browsing. I am guessing from your post that maybe you used to work for the Airport Fire Service?? I used to be an aircraft refueller for GRS during the 90s. Maybe a few of those spills were mine!! :oops:

Having been smothered in JetA1 a few times I would not personally want to go near the stuff ever again.

Ron
 
Hi, Ron, Oh it was you was it? :wink:

No, I used to work for Airfield Operations. The fire services involvement was limited to attending
the incident and watch us clear it up. Prior to about five years ago their involvement was to hose
it down the drain, until it was deemed not environmentally friendly. Then as I say it was down to us
to clear it up with 'oil specific pads' so that it could be reclaimed.

Colin
 
RMP said:
Having been smothered in JetA1 a few times I would not personally want to go near the stuff ever again.

Ron
Been there, and fully agree with the sentiment. It is good for cleaning parts, though.
 
Strange as it might seem, Amway metal cleaner is great for getting rust of steel and chromework. Its a bit dicey to buy though. Castrol also make a product which varies in title but is a de carbonising compound. you dip your parts in it, leave them there for a few hours take them out and wash them off and they look like they just came out of the mold. Only available to industry types though as its rather toxic and absorbed through the skin. Carby cleaners often have a small quantity in them . Works better on alloy than steel. Castrol also make a general degreaser which is good but not as good as the de carboniser. Denture cleaner also has a good reputation as does molasses
 
back in the day Freon r12 was the best parts cleaner know to man, something to do with ozone layer or something.

I like caustic soda in 205 litre drum, leave parts to soak over night then cleen off the next day, just don't make the brew to strong, or leave aluminium parts longer than 24 hrs or youll get white crust build up as your alloy begins to break down.


that or a well maintained robowash is where it is at these days.
 
I like caustic soda in 205 litre drum, leave parts to soak over night then cleen off the next day, just don't make the brew to strong, or leave aluminium parts longer than 24 hrs or youll get white crust build up as your alloy begins to break down..
The place I Apprenticed at for my career in Aviation has a cleaning bath that is filled with a really nasty liquid that cleans just about anything off any metal part, from paint to burnt-on carbon from turbine components.

One Friday, the bloke in charge of the component overhaul shop was busy stripping the main transmission of a Sikorsky S58 and it had been put into the bath......and forgotten over the weekend.
Monday morning dawned bright and cheerful until the tray was lifted to reveal a few random Rosan Inserts, some studs, bolts and sundry steel bits.... no trace of the Magnesium casing, though..:eek: It had been completely dissolved over the weekend.
A good few tens of thousand $ turned to memory.....
 
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