So I got a parts washer and for washing engine parts and such and I bought this water based solvent that you mix with water. Well is really sucks and now I have a bunch of oil floating on the top of my parts washer. So I didn’t a little searching on the world wide web and i have seen allot of people either recommend either mineral spirits or this degreaser called Safety kleen. Just wanted to see what you guys recommend.
Parts Washer? Mineral Spirits or Safety Kleen
- Thread starter RaiderX7
- Start date
old_man
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Loveland, Colorado
Diesel:gee:
xcm
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Southern Oregon
Safety kleen is a company, they rent out parts washers and service them for shops, among other things. No doubt they will have the fluid you want, dunno if they'll sell you just the fluid though.
MoparManiac
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Amherst, NH
Diesel fuel sucks.
cruiser54
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Prescott, Az
Why do you say that?
MoparManiac
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Amherst, NH
Leaves a film on everything.
streetxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Pembroke Pines, FL
Tiki torch fuel also works. :wow:
lazyxj
NAXJA Member #1310
- Location
- Los Angeles
Make sure your washer is rated for flammable fluids. Many of
Safety Kleen's various solvents are water-based so beware. Odds are they will require a contract and want to recycle it.
Paint thinner works for me, as well as laundry detergent. Kerosene works OK too. Just stay far away from gasoline
Environmental laws have eliminated most of the solvents that were common 20-40 years ago. When I started working as a mechanic, back in the seventies, we had barrels of trichroethylene, great stuff except is wasn't good to breath or get on your skin. Wearing gloves just wasn't done back then except with the most aggressive solvents or acids.
Sure miss the days when mechanic's solvent was sold, from bulk tanks, by the local Standard Oil station...but that was in an earlier century.
xcm
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Southern Oregon
I bet your children are glad you stoped using that stuff a long long time ago.
Think about the pandemic of wwII veterans with serious diseases... getting that part 100% clean may not be worth it!
Safety kleen rents some really nice units.
Think about the pandemic of wwII veterans with serious diseases... getting that part 100% clean may not be worth it!
Safety kleen rents some really nice units.
alex22
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- CT: waterbury area
I've been using mineral spirits for years, but I haven't used any of safety kleen's products so I cant comment on one vs. the other. Check out the prices of mineral spirits in your local hardware stores, my local hardware store has it cheaper than Home Depot/Lowes. Either way you go an inline filter will be a nice addition. These guys have great prices on filters and housings. At work we use 5 micron filters on the solvent tank. You will have to change out the fluid after a while of using it. Eventually it will just turn into very thin oil and will leave a film all over you're parts unless you use brake kleen to rinse them off.
Mineral spirits used to be cheap, then it shot up around the time of Katrina and then didn't come down much. Now its about 2.5x the price of diesel
For real nasty sludge I like to let it sit in a tank of diesel for a few days, its cheaper)
~Alex
Mineral spirits used to be cheap, then it shot up around the time of Katrina and then didn't come down much. Now its about 2.5x the price of diesel
For real nasty sludge I like to let it sit in a tank of diesel for a few days, its cheaper)
~Alex
alex22
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- CT: waterbury area
When it comes to cleaning gunk nothing beats carbon-tet, but between the health problems and the stink I stay away from the stuff, that smell is unmistakable.
~Alex
lazyxj
NAXJA Member #1310
- Location
- Los Angeles
Many decades ago, Saturday morning cartoons had public service warnings about using the stuff. Being as toxic as it is, I thought it had been outlawed for consumer use long ago.
alex22
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- CT: waterbury area
In Cali it probably is outlawed for consumer use. It can be purchased for industrial and scientific uses. I haven't tried to buy any of it from a chemical suppler I know so I'm not sure if I would even be able to buy any even if I wanted to. The stuff I saw was from an old timer who probably bought the bucket back in the day.
The limit for consumer products is 10 parts per million.
Alex
DanMan2k06
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Damascus, MD
Lol I feel like we're talking about Agent Orange here. I've used this stuff called Ozzyjuice that worked pretty well. Biodegradable too. If you want something really clean, nothing replaces a good ol' blast cabinet. Use soda or walnut shells if you don't want to mar the surface.
http://www.chemfree.com/compare/ozzyjuice-compare.html
http://www.chemfree.com/compare/ozzyjuice-compare.html
souske
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- The land of competition
We had a pretty good unit at a shop i worked at, it used a heating element to separeate the oil from the solvent. Once a week hit the auto clean before leaving, and drain theoily sludge out the next day.
xcm
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Southern Oregon
Napa carrie's that aussie juice stuff.
alex22
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- CT: waterbury area
Its some seriously nasty stuff, there used to be a local shop (20+years back) that used carbon-tet in zep style parts washers. IIRC all but one of the employees died of cancer. Unfortunately there was an apartment above that shop, the tenants also got cancer, not sure how many of them survived treatment. Sometimes when I'm scrubbing on a nasty old carb I wish I had a barrel of the stuff, then I remember how bad the stuff stinks.
Do you use the Ozzy stuff at work or home, whatever I use in my parts washer at home I want it to be water based. Any idea on the price on the Ozzy stuff?
~Alex
h-townxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Hanford, Ca
I dunno if you have a tractor supply company near you but the ones around me sell in 5 gal jugs parts washer solvents it works good. Or you can order it from their website. Also northern tool and I believe autozone even has some time to time or they can at least order some. It's works great just get a good set of gloves it can eat a cheap set of them. I use none nose of the time and hands feel fine. Mineral spirits is great just expensive.
Super mud
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Bel Air Maryland
I use the stuff from tractor supply (mineral spirits/paint thinner) It has additives like so it doesn't dry out your hands (dissolve the oils) which I wonder if it makes it work less for what your trying to clean. Has a high flash point which means it won't catch on fire. (I tried with a map torch) I too don't have much experiance with different solvents but scrubbing seems like the big part still.
I've heard water based degreasers suck. I think their really meant for heated washers. I've used commercial oven cleaner that works awesome when it's fresh and wouldn't mind trying it in a washer but it has real bad fumes, like burns your eyes/nose when sprayed in the air. Also it expires hence the "fresh".
Jesus Christ. How did you find out they got cancer or was it shortly after the exposure?
I've heard water based degreasers suck. I think their really meant for heated washers. I've used commercial oven cleaner that works awesome when it's fresh and wouldn't mind trying it in a washer but it has real bad fumes, like burns your eyes/nose when sprayed in the air. Also it expires hence the "fresh".
Jesus Christ. How did you find out they got cancer or was it shortly after the exposure?
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