Degreaser help needed it burns

[Tim9]

FWIW.... I buy a 5-gallon pail of mineral spirits. It lasts me a pretty long time. And I usually keep a spray bottle of mineral spirits for the quick clean ups. For the super greasy and somewhat involved tear down clean ups. I keep a gallon can of very used mineral spirits. Dirty, greasy stuff like bearings go in the can and soak. I remove them and blow dry and then they go into clean mineral spirits. I will pour about a half cup in a small pan.
Once finished....whatever is left of the then clean mineral spirits gets dumped into the bigger once gallon paint can and it’s top is tapped on until next time I need it. This has worked well for a few years now.
Yea... I miss not having that big parts washer. But if I took that out of storage and brought to my limited space workshop.... the shaper would have to go. So it is what it is.
Anyway, I think I still have half of my 5 gallon pail left.

 

[finsruskw]

Used an ultrasonic unit for my 9A resto last year.
Get the big one, great for paint removal as well.
Holds about 5 gal.
Add some plain old dishwashing liquid and you are in business!

For small greasy parts, use a peanut butter jar with your favorite de-greaser solution in the jar and submerse. You may have to weight it some to keep it below the water level in the tank though.

 

[Braeden P]

im fixing up my hardinge dv 59 three coats of paint probably lead paint so chemical removal only but it greasy so i might get an ultrasonic cleaner to clean greasy parts, degreaser is sitting on the self probably to never to be used because the parts im degreasing are steel steel+water=rust so only low strength degreaser for me!

 

[finsruskw]

im fixing up my hardinge dv 59 three coats of paint probably lead paint so chemical removal only but it greasy so i might get an ultrasonic cleaner to clean greasy parts, degreaser is sitting on the self probably to never to be used because the parts im degreasing are steel steel+water=rust so only low strength degreaser for me!

Never had an issue with rust, just blow dry and spray w/WD-40 afterwards.

 

[Braeden P]

Never had an issue with rust, just blow dry and spray w/WD-40 afterwards.

mr pete alway says not to use air on a lathe or mill so i won't use that and the way dont have wipers! like really a top end lathe with no wipers!

 

[Tim9]

I've looked at the Amazon adds and that's about the price range I was looking @. Many of the reviews weren't very good & I know they cheat the reviews. The alternative is a regular parts washer. But then I'd have to deal with the solvent. Thanks for the help.

From what I’ve noticed... Amazon isn’t the place to buy bulky liquids like mineral spirits. It’s just a costly object to ship. Not so much the weight but because it’s a flammable liquid. Get your mineral spirits at a Paint specialty store if you live in a state without restrictions like California.
In Louisiana, even Walmart , Home Depot and Lowe’s has much better prices on gallons of oil, WD-40, and Mineral Spirits. The prices I’ve seen for those same items seems to be almost 30% higher at Amazon. Best prices here is definitely a dedicated paint store.
And... low pressure air blowing in the right direction isn’t going to damage your mill or lathe. I tend to vacuum mostly... but a light blast of air around the chuck jaws isn’t going to permanently damage anything in my opinion. That said... I regularly will disassemble my chucks and clean them. Yes...swarf always gets in there. Whether you vacuum or use air. Swarf gets everywhere in my opinion.
Air is just so efficient to clean out a vise or the crap on chuck jaws. I’d rather have a clean surface than worry about forcing some debris in somewhere. Too many times.... I ended up with a part not properly seating or gripping because there was a tiny piece of metal hung up somewhere.
Sometimes....going by the book just isn’t practical in my opinion.

 

[finsruskw]

mr pete alway says not to use air on a lathe or mill so i won't use that and the way dont have wipers! like really a top end lathe with no wipers!

I meant for drying parts after cleaning in the ultrasonic solution.
I never use air to blow chips either.

 

[NegativeK]

Used an ultrasonic unit for my 9A resto last year.
Get the big one, great for paint removal as well.
Holds about 5 gal.
Add some plain old dishwashing liquid and you are in business!

For small greasy parts, use a peanut butter jar with your favorite de-greaser solution in the jar and submerse. You may have to weight it some to keep it below the water level in the tank though.

How much did the big one cost?

@Larry$ I can't pretend that their quality control is going to be perfect, so I'm sure the negative reviews have a basis. But if you get one that doesn't have those problems, holy cow does it work!

 

[finsruskw]

How much did the big one cost?

@Larry$ I can't pretend that their quality control is going to be perfect, so I'm sure the negative reviews have a basis. But if you get one that doesn't have those problems, holy cow does it work!

Don't recall for sure but I am thinking in the $200 range.
Could probably go back through PayPal records and dig up the true cost.
Anyway, it sure does the trick and it's a keeper.

 

[Larry$]

I just finished cleaning a knee mill with (odorless) mineral spirits and an ultrasonic cleaner. Paint the liquid on, scrub with a paper towel, scrape with a plastic pry tool or a razor blade, wipe the crud off. 10-15 years of auto shop grunge and tire dust.

For anything that I could remove, I used a cheap Amazon ultrasonic cleaner. A friend said they die within a year in a chemistry lab settings, so I went in knowing it's not a buy it for life item -- but I paid about $150, and it probably saved me 20 hours sitting at a bench, scraping and scrubbing screws and handles and knobs.

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There are cheap tools you can buy that are mistakes, and there are cheap tools that you buy that you quickly get your money's worth. The ultrasonic cleaner is definitely one of the latter. And as a bonus, it did all of the work with just tap water and some Dawn soap. Ten minutes, and your part is clean.

(For small screws and bearings, put them in a glass mason jar inside the mesh basket.)

That's an impressive cleanup. I can even see your image in the handle.