# Solvents are tools?



## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

When you take your engine blocks a part to lube and clean them what do you use for Solvent? 

What do you use to clean the old grease and lube off the parts?

JJ


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

JJ, I've just use a good dose of WD-40. It's supposed to fix everything, right?????


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

I use lacquer thinner. It is very powerful, but be careful, it will take the paint too.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

What about Plastic Parts? Paint thiner too strong for them?


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Stan Cedarleaf on 26 Feb 2010 03:04 PM 
JJ, I've just use a good dose of WD-40. It's supposed to fix everything, right?????


I know this has been discussed before and that my comments here are not an answer to the OP question, but I must again admonish folk that WD-40 is NOT a lubricant. It is a bit of a solvent and as such it can be used to clean things, but it also leaves behind a sticky residue that repels oil! Thus if you use WD-40 on a bearing surface you will eventually cause the part to wear out.

The sticky residue causes the next application of oil or grease to be sluffed off and that leaves the bearing surfaces unlubricated and sticking to each other. You have to keep applying WD-40 to get any sort of lubrication at all (kind of like a drug addiction, once used, it must be continually re-applied!) and the lubrication it provides it poor at best.

WD-40 is a "Water Displacer"... great for drying electrical circuits off so they don't short out due to being wet... spray it on the ignition wires on your car motor if it gets wet (like you wash it) and it won't start or runs rough afterward... Works Great!

The Solvent properties are useful to clean lacquer or enamal painted objects, but only if you don't get some on a bearing surface in the process... and you are prepared to repeat the cleaning in a few weeks to wash off the dirt that sticks to the surface because of the residue left by the WD-40.

WD-40 is also useful as a lubricant for Drilling, Lathe, or Mill operations on Aluminium.


To attempt to answer the OP's question... I'd say to use a light oil to wash/clean anything that will later require being lubricated. If you keep your motors/engines well lubricated all you need to do is thin the lubrication enough to allow the dirt to float away and then re-apply the correct oil or grease for the parts.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I have about 10 different solvents in the garage, and pretty much know from "mild" to wild... I try the "mildest" solvent first to avoid damaging anything. If it's too mild, I step up to the next one. I rarely ruin anything. 

low end is "lift off" and goo gone... mid range is things like paint thinner... high end is more like lacquer thinner, MEK, etc. 

Regards, Greg


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Posted By Semper Vaporo on 26 Feb 2010 08:31 PM 
Posted By Stan Cedarleaf on 26 Feb 2010 03:04 PM 
JJ, I've just use a good dose of WD-40. It's supposed to fix everything, right?????


I know this has been discussed before and that my comments here are not an answer to the OP question, but I must again admonish folk that WD-40 is NOT a lubricant. It is a bit of a solvent and as such it can be used to clean things, but it also leaves behind a sticky residue that repels oil! Thus if you use WD-40 on a bearing surface you will eventually cause the part to wear out.

The sticky residue causes the next application of oil or grease to be sluffed off and that leaves the bearing surfaces unlubricated and sticking to each other. You have to keep applying WD-40 to get any sort of lubrication at all (kind of like a drug addiction, once used, it must be continually re-applied!) and the lubrication it provides it poor at best.

WD-40 is a "Water Displacer"... great for drying electrical circuits off so they don't short out due to being wet... spray it on the ignition wires on your car motor if it gets wet (like you wash it) and it won't start or runs rough afterward... Works Great!

The Solvent properties are useful to clean lacquer or enamal painted objects, but only if you don't get some on a bearing surface in the process... and you are prepared to repeat the cleaning in a few weeks to wash off the dirt that sticks to the surface because of the residue left by the WD-40.

WD-40 is also useful as a lubricant for Drilling, Lathe, or Mill operations on Aluminium.


To attempt to answer the OP's question... I'd say to use a light oil to wash/clean anything that will later require being lubricated. If you keep your motors/engines well lubricated all you need to do is thin the lubrication enough to allow the dirt to float away and then re-apply the correct oil or grease for the parts.










Hey Semp

I have wailing about this for years. Lots of my customers use it for lubing Ink Keys. I keep telling them IT IS NOT A LUBRICANT.


We have a machine that bends the end of printing plates. It has a Air operated timer assembly. It controls a process and performs 5 functions.
When they dont empty the Moisture Trap it gets into the timer. I put WD40 in the air line and blow it through the system. It actually cleans out the water. Then the system works


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Hey Gregy 

You forgot to name the 10 different solvents. 

Some of us my want to use some of them


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

i was just thinking that, will try to list tomorrow... 

nighty night! 

greg


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## hawkeye2 (Jan 6, 2008)

Lacquer thinner and some other solvents will remove the enamel insulation from the wires in motor windings and will remove the oil from oilite bushings, use with care.

Flood the parts needing lube and the surrounding area with WD-40 and seal it in with duct tape. If you find the color of the duct tape objectionable red primer should take care of it.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Here's my list, in rough order... (it's not done, so I'm not ready to discuss one over the other) (guess I had more than 10)


[*]plain old isopropyl alcohol [*]goo gone[*]tape head cleaner (isopropyl alcohol and trichlorotriflouroethane)[*]pure freon liquid[*]liftoff (#2 most common, but get the complete kit of 0, 1, 2, 3)[*]rubber cleaner [*]kerosene[*]tar and bug remover[*]kroil (early 50's magic lube and cleaner)[*]metafin (like Kroil)[*]paint thinner[*]crc-32[*]wd40[*]boeshield t-9 (also corrosion protection, better than crc-32)[*]silicon spray (there is a solvent in it)[*]brake cleaner[*]carb cleaner[*]acetone[*]lacquer thinner[*]M.E.K
[/list] 
JJ has inspired me to create a page on my site where I will detail them more and try to put them in order of "hotness", i.e. the ability to melt plastic and remove paint...

The list, in more detail is here (at the end of the page)

*http://www.elmassian.com/trains-mai...inmenu-266* 


Regards, Greg


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

tape head cleaner (isopropyl alcohol and trichlorotriflouroethane) 
pure freon liquid 

For shame, for shame! 

Currently BANNED substances for use where they evaporate into the atmosphere! Yer killing the Ozone! (They sure do work good, though!)


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I surely don't leave the bottles open to the air, but yep, banned... except I owned them before they are banned... so I'm still legal... 

I guess it's illegal to let them evaporate... oh well, the guys in the black suits will have to wait their turn behind Lewis's hit squad! 

Regards, Greg


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

How about ordinary dish soap and water. That's the other stuff I use.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I was just listing solvents... I got a whole other list of water-based cleaners and degreasers. 

Regards, Greg


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## Michael Glavin (Jan 2, 2009)

Best I have found is something we used for RC car maintenance... Plastic safe, paint safe, evaporates quickly, aerosol with spray tube its designed specifically for cleaning motors and it works great for cleaning oil residue, grease and other stuff too. 

The nitro/gas car guys have a similar product that appears to be the same stuff, different label best I can tell. I find it at our local Hobby shop. Must be relatively non-invasive to humans and the atmosphere as its available here in California, if it wasn’t the tree huggers would be all over it. 

Michael


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Michael Glavin on 27 Feb 2010 09:36 PM 
Best I have found is something we used for RC car maintenance... Plastic safe, paint safe, evaporates quickly, aerosol with spray tube its designed specifically for cleaning motors and it works great for cleaning oil residue, grease and other stuff too. 

The nitro/gas car guys have a similar product that appears to be the same stuff, different label best I can tell. I find it at our local Hobby shop. Must be relatively non-invasive to humans and the atmosphere as its available here in California, if it wasn’t the tree huggers would be all over it. 

Michael 


Ya got a name or Mfg for this product?


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## Michael Glavin (Jan 2, 2009)

I did a Google search with "RC Car motor spray" got ten pages or so. Tower Hobbies list an entire page of offerings. I’ve used several brands over the years with nary a problem and currently have stuff on the bench from Horizon Hobby called Dynamite Nitro Force (nitro car cleaner).

Try here:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0093p?&C=CKN

Michael


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Hmmm, isopropyl alcohol and heptane.... "extremely flammable"... 

Sounds like my brake cleaner... will go check the can 

Regards, Greg


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## Michael Glavin (Jan 2, 2009)

Yes, its flammable, says so on the can several times... I believe it’s very similar to brake cleaners, but the key is for our application is its plastic safe.

Michael


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## docwatsonva (Jan 2, 2008)

I remember using similar stuff back in the days when I raced RC cars. We used to pour the liquid into a container and stick the motor into it with power leads attached and run the motor for a few seconds. It not only removed all the gummy lubricants but also cleaned all the crud off the brushes and rotor.

Worked great and never seemed to affect the motor's performance.

Doc


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## hawkeye2 (Jan 6, 2008)

I taught Auto Mechanics for 17 years and safety was an important part of the curriculum. We delt with a lot of solvents and chemicals that could cause serious health problems if used casually and here is my advice: Use any solvent in a WELL ventelated area. READ the instructions and abide by them. If you are not familiar with the product or its application do not use it, give it to someone you don't like and go out and buy something else. Here is some required reading, don't skip it:

http://www.brewracingframes.com/id75.htm


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By hawkeye2 on 04 Mar 2010 08:55 PM 
I taught Auto Mechanics for 17 years and safety was an importanf part of the curriculum. We delt with a lot of solvents and chemicals that could cause serious health problems if used casually and here is my advice: Use any solvent in a WELL ventelated area. READ the instructions and abide by them. If you are not familiar with the product or its application do not use it, give it to someone you don't like and go out and buy something else. Here is some required reading, don't skip it:

http://www.brewracingframes.com/id75.htm



I burn Alcohol in my Live Steamers and if I use the denatured alcohol from SunnySide (sold at True Value Hardware stores) I get sick if I breath the fumes from combustion. It nearly put me on the ground, but after sitting for a while I felt better and I don't think there has been any permanent damage (like described in the above referenced article). I no longer use that brand.

S-L-X brand (from Home Depot) does not affect me (that I have noticed... and believe me, I definitely notice the effect of the other stuff!!!!)... apparently, the "denaturing" agent(s) are different between the brands and whatever is in the SunnySide brand is "BAD STUFF" for me... regardless, I am now very careful about breathing any fumes from combustion, no matter what the fuel is!


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## Tenwheeler (Mar 5, 2010)

To Greg's list, I would add automatic transmission fluid. It is very detergent, but avoid painted surfaces.

Jerry

"Pour the coal to her, she don't leak"


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