Parts Washer solvent

[muscle]

just curious what everybody is using in their parts washers. I had one of those 5 gallon benchtop units but too small so I bought a 20 gallon. I used mineral spirits in the small one but didnt do a great job.

 

[pauly383]

Haven't been blessed with a washer yet , but I have had good results with laundry soap "Tide" and a brush , works good on cleaning the tin on your motor

 

[wallew]

What to put into a parts washer

Parts washers.

Varasol OR kerosene works best. But they do smell. I kind of like the smell, but my wife don't, so any time I use a parts washer, I have to change clothes before she will let me back in the house.

 

[muscle]

yeah Varsol is smelly. what about the water based or bio-cleaners?

 

[wallew]

As a gunsmith, I've found that non-petroleum products JUST don't make it. Just my .02 though.

 

[camiswelding]

JET A,,,, 5 gallons of that and 15 of water.... JET a cuts the stuff... water and it doesnt mix... crud falls to the bottom of the tank.. (use a nice heavy plastic bag as a liner... jet a stays on top and can actually be filtered out after awhile if the solution gets too cruddy (alhough i havent done mine in 3 years)JET A leaves parts with a very slight oily residue whcih keeps them from rusting...
its easier on hands/lungs than heavier solvents and better than the bo stuff which doesnt work...
and its not as flammable as some of the other solvents

my 2 cents
cam

 

[muscle]

Where you get the stuff at cam?

and if castrol superclean wasnt so expensive and hard to breathe id put that in...

 

[camiswelding]

you can take a 5 gallon can to your local muni airport and get it where they fuel private planes... I think I paid a couple bucks a gallon for it... call first

castrol superclean does not have any "open" life... which means it doesnt store well in the parts washers because of VOC... and its killer on the skin

JET A isnt agressive (doesnt "melt" grease) like other more toxic solvents but i think you will definately find it acceptable

cam

 

[jjlaughner]

quart of ATF to 1-2 gallons of paint thinner...
paint thinner cleans and the ATF keeps your hands from drying out...

 

[rubbinz raczn]

you can take a 5 gallon can to your local muni airport and get it where they fuel private planes... I think I paid a couple bucks a gallon for it... call first

castrol superclean does not have any "open" life... which means it doesnt store well in the parts washers because of VOC... and its killer on the skin

JET A isnt agressive (doesnt "melt" grease) like other more toxic solvents but i think you will definately find it acceptable

cam

on the superclean as far as killer on the skin ( note to self... do not use superclean straight out of the jug without gloves, it cleans very well but removes layers of skin)

 

[biobry]

I've been buying the solvent from advance auto parts in the 5 gal can. It works great, smells bad. I moved mine out to the driveway and covered it with a grill cover...more than happy with the results.


Bryan

 

[R72K5]

solvent just for them, throguh napa but pricey, so we are not going to get more and instead are going to go with diesel/kerosene mix, works great, we are always swappign engines, trannies etc in cars trucks vans etc, almost every day

no problems washing parts.

 

[k5floyd]

we use varsol at school and i'd say that stuff is really good. clean a lot of stuff off or for a while or just leave you hands in it for a several minutes, you finger nails will get soft and eventually disolve.

 

[ryoken]

or is it rice i smell cooking? hmmmmm......