Simple Green Degreaser for part cleaning

[Kez]

All,

I have finally bought this Aluminweld rods and am ready to practice on a few soda cans before working on the actual parts I want to repair. I have an old Enya muffler with the screw hole broken off. I will try to fill the hole and build up enough material to retap the thread.

I will obviously need to clean the muffler of all the baked on oil. I heard Simple Green does the job in an ultrasonic bath. Has anyone tried just spraying SG without ultrasonic? I heard antifreeze works well but I do not have the setup to cook the muffler.

It will be great if the Aluminweld works like they advertised. I can make my own mufflers and even the entire tuned pipe! But I really bought it to repair a K&B45 lower unit. The hinge pin got torn off when the boat got hit.

Thanks,
k

 

[SayMikey]

The Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner has a heater. For years I used that stinky carb dip,A month ago I used this ultrasonic cleaner with simple green about an inch of sg and then the rest water. Best investment yet. Cleans pipe real well motor parts too

 

[Wasted wages]

Don't forget to use stainless steel brushes!!
And no sandpaper or flapper wheels ..
it imbeds aluminum oxide into the aluminum and screws up the flow and rods from sticking... Trust me, I've done a bunch of aluminum evaporator coil repairs in commercial refrigeration... aluminum to aluminum,, aluminum to copper.. once an abrasive cloth or steel brush has been used to clean the repair it's 100 times worse to get things to stick. I've had to deal with a few basket cases that other "pro's " had attempted repairs first.. Now when I hear of one that has failed,,,I find some place to hide!!

 

[Grimracer]

I would avoid Simple Green for cast parts.. use Green Antifreeze (outside) in a crock pot.

Grim

 

[John Beardslee]

Don't forget to use stainless steel brushes!!
And no sandpaper or flapper wheels ..
it imbeds aluminum oxide into the aluminum and screws up the flow and rods from sticking... Trust me, I've done a bunch of aluminum evaporator coil repairs in commercial refrigeration... aluminum to aluminum,, aluminum to copper.. once an abrasive cloth or steel brush has been used to clean the repair it's 100 times worse to get things to stick. I've had to deal with a few basket cases that other "pro's " had attempted repairs first.. Now when I hear of one that has failed,,,I find some place to hide!!

Hummm, stainless steel brush yes, but I’ve used aluminum oxide paperfor years but only aluminum oxide.
Thanks John

 

[Ray Sametz]

Spray Nine, Grez-off. safe on aluminum.

 

[Clifton Gregory]

I use an old crock pot, will the anti freeze. You can buy 2 types of antifreeze. Get the full strength one. I've cleaned a many control line engines with this method. It will clean off baked Castrol oil off the engine parts,it's best to disassemble the engine first. I put the parts in first and then cut it on high temp. Just make sure the parts are covered completely with the antifreeze. I check it often after it heats up.

 

[SayMikey]

Simple green diluted properly used in an ultrasonic cleaner works awesome. Carbs are cast and Most rebuilders are now using this method.

 

[Grimracer]

Mikey.. you might have to expand on this more for me.. I have RUNED an engine using that method.. i have to wonder if I had it to thick...or two long.. or not log enougth or what.. I switched to anti freeze and never looked back.. will take an old FOX 45 and make it look like new in one cooking!..LOL..

 

[Tom Foley]

Hummm, stainless steel brush yes, but I’ve used aluminum oxide paperfor years but only aluminum oxide.
Thanks John

Same here. Been welding all kinds of aluminum for about 38 years , thousands of tops , broken skegs lower units , , cylinder heads , pipes etc , just today a 99 Ford v8 intake manifold and always used abrasives and regular steel wire brushes but hey , what do I know
Lol

 

[Wasted wages]

Same here. Been welding all kinds of aluminum for about 38 years , thousands of tops , broken skegs lower units , , cylinder heads , pipes etc , just today a 99 Ford v8 intake manifold and always used abrasives and regular steel wire brushes but hey , what do I know
LolView attachment 298424

SOLDERING GUYS.... not welding...

The tubing Evaporator coils are made of are so thin you would burn right thru the tube if you tried to strike an arc on it. I know for a fact that if you don't clean the tubing the proper way, the solder will not flow. That includes stainless steel brushes and no aluminum oxide sand cloth.
I invite you to pick up a torch and try your hand at it... Let me know how it works out for you. Oh, that's another thing...better use the right torch setup.. because yeah, that makes a difference too...

But hey, I've only been doing refrigeration work for over 40 years ..
What would I know about soldering?

 

[Tom Foley]

Actually I have repaired many ac tubes using a 1/16 tungsten in my tig setup , limit max amps at like 50 and use the pedal with an .050" or .062 filler and had great success. Dirt bike radiators as well .

 

[Mike Cathey]

Mikey.. you might have to expand on this more for me.. I have RUNED an engine using that method.. i have to wonder if I had it to thick...or two long.. or not log enougth or what.. I switched to anti freeze and never looked back.. will take an old FOX 45 and make it look like new in one cooking!..LOL..

The purple Simple Green Degreaser (Home Depot, $10 a gallon) has worked well for me. I use a 1/4 cup and keep the temp at 40C. Using too much Simple Green with too much heat can discolor the aluminum. This is a brand new CMB after the internal grinding was done. It even took some of the casting sand out of the unmachined parts of the case. Note the crud in the bottom of the sonic cleaner

This works great on cleaning gun parts as well. No more scraping on an AR bolt.

 

[John Beardslee]

SOLDERING GUYS.... not welding...

The tubing Evaporator coils are made of are so thin you would burn right thru the tube if you tried to strike an arc on it. I know for a fact that if you don't clean the tubing the proper way, the solder will not flow. That includes stainless steel brushes and no aluminum oxide sand cloth.
I invite you to pick up a torch and try your hand at it... Let me know how it works out for you. Oh, that's another thing...better use the right torch setup.. because yeah, that makes a difference too...

But hey, I've only been doing refrigeration work for over 40 years ..
What would I know about soldering?

I was talking about soldering in the refrigeration applications.

 

[mr_fons]

I would avoid Simple Green for cast parts.. use Green Antifreeze (outside) in a crock pot.

Grim

Would the green Antifreeze work well with a ultrasound (heated) cleaner also? Would thus also work of degreasing small engine carburetors?

 

[Grimracer]

I dont know.. but.. I cook my parts just below a boil.. not sure how hot a ultrasonic system gets!

 

[Mike Cathey]

I dont know.. but.. I cook my parts just below a boil.. not sure how hot a ultrasonic system gets!

Most have a variable temperature control. Mine goes up to 100C although I've never pushed it that hot. No need to. If you want to cook aluminum parts that hot just don't add any cleaning fluid. When I do the baffles in a suppressor to get the baked on lead residue off then I cook it hot without the cleaner, and it takes it off in two or three 30-minute cycles. Most of the guys I shoot with have sonic cleaners now because it's just a huge time saver, even if you have to totally re-oil everything you put in the cleaner because it so completely removes the oil from the parts.

If you consider getting an ultrasonic cleaner I suggest buying one large enough to do tuned pipes. It eye-opening to see the crud that comes off of those.
I got one of the $5 stainless wire mesh sink strainer baskets from the hardware store and just bent it by hand into a flat bottomed bowl shape to hold small parts.

Lots of them on ebay.

 

[Don Ferrette]

This works great on cleaning gun parts as well. No more scraping on an AR bolt.

How long does it take to clean the bolt?

 

[Mike Cathey]

Depends how many rounds have gone through it. Most times I shoot it's 80-100 rounds so that's one 30-minute pass at 50C. There's some specialty cleaner available for gun parts that works well.

 

[Ronnie King]

Just a heads up for anyone using the Ultra Sonic Cleaners that Palmolive Dish Washing Detergent also works very well, but I would caution you about using Dawn. It will turn any aluminum part a dark gun metal gray color very quickly. The case at the bottom was a brand new Zenoah Case after 15 minutes using Dawn. The top item was cleaned with Palmolive.

Be prepared to re-oil all of your steel parts upon removal from the cleaner. As Mike said all of the oil will be removed from the parts and this happens fairly quickly. The first batch of bearings I cleaned were already surface rusted when I pulled them out of the cleaner.

You will also be shocked at the material that comes out of any brand new engine or parts you clean with it.


Regards,

Ronnie King
NAMBA #1223


NAMBA #1223