# Good degreaser



## Aaron_W (Feb 10, 2018)

I just bought an old vise, that had clearly seen a lot of use, nearly black with old dirt and grease. Started with dawn dish soap, which knocked some of the caked dirt off but barely made a dent in the grease. Went to Home Depot to grab a few things and was going to get some simple green. They only had gallon jugs, no spray bottles so I grabbed a bottle of some generic looking cleaner / degreaser, Zep Fast 505.

Got home, sprayed the parts and gave them a light scrub with a soft-ish grout brush and let them sit about a minute. It took the dirt and grime right off, I'm pretty sure it even took off a layer of oxidized paint. I've used several degreasers and I was impressed with this stuff.

I've always assumed Zep was just a generic Home Depot brand, but this stuff worked great. 


Also safety tip, wear gloves, I expected this to be kind of mild like Simple Green. It made my hand sting just from a fairly brief contact. I know better but was too lazy to go find my rubber gloves, had I known it was this strong I would have made the effort.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/ZEP-32-...PIPHorizontal2_rr-_-202790160-_-202671716-_-N


----------



## woodchucker (Feb 10, 2018)

Zep is generally a commercial grade product.

I use paint thinner when working on my stuff. I can keep using it over and over by using a coffee filter to strain most of it.
Then I wait for it to settle and siphon it out to get the clean on top stuff and discard the settled out stuff.
So I get to use it for quite a while. Works well in a parts washer if you have one.


----------



## jcp (Feb 10, 2018)

We usd ZEP products at a commercial machine shop in the 80's. They were an old company then.


----------



## T. J. (Feb 10, 2018)

I used quite a bit of the 505 when i was cleaning up my nasty mill.  It works good, but won't take off paint like the purple stuff.


----------



## Richard King 2 (Feb 10, 2018)

I prefer SUPER hot water and a brush.  It's like washing dishes.  Zep sells Industrial cleaning products.  I was shocked to see it at Home Depot.
Yes wear safety glasses and rubber gloves.    Another thing is a rotary steel wheel mounted in a drill motor.

I have heard Dawn Dish washer soap works super too.... I used to use Basic H industrial soap too and hot water.  worked great.


----------



## Aaron_W (Feb 10, 2018)

Makes sense that is an industrial product. Home Depot is the only place I see it, so assumed it was a store brand and a knock off of a consumer grade cleaning product.

I used to have an oil eating bacteria "solvent tank" at work. It smelled a little funny but worked really well. While it would be nice I just don't have enough need for a solvent tank to justify having one, oil eating or conventional solvent.

A good bit of what appears to be the original paint is still there and I want to keep it, so a wire brush is out.

I have Super Clean which is one of the purple cleaners, but I use it specifically for removing paint so that was also out.

I'd love to have a deep sink with extra hot, hot water, but that won't work because of how our plumbing is laid out, I'll never have a toilet in the basement either. House is on a slight incline so the floor of the usable portion of the basement is several feet below the sewer connection.



I've walked past this stuff for years without a second glance, so just thought I'd bring it up for others who might have done the same.


----------



## Richard King 2 (Feb 10, 2018)

A 5 gallon pail works quite well, no sink needed


----------



## EmilioG (Feb 10, 2018)

Purple Power is great, doesn't discolor metal. You can soak for a long time without ill effects.
Inexpensive too.


----------



## woodchucker (Feb 10, 2018)

EmilioG said:


> Purple Power is great, doesn't discolor metal. You can soak for a long time without ill effects.
> Inexpensive too.



I think purple power eats aluminum. Doesn't it?


----------



## kd4gij (Feb 10, 2018)

Yes Zep is far from generic, I was surprised to see 505 in home depot.
http://www.zepinc.com/about-us/default.aspx


----------



## SSage (Feb 10, 2018)

There are a few choices commonly found that are nearly identical in capabilities. I like the simple green products though, seem to be fairly safe on rubber and plastics. I think it's the dark greenish blue degreaser I use most often because it's safe on aluminum, but much stronger than the light green and orange ones. It will clean a diesel engine or tractor with minimal scrubbing. Made for commercial kitchen use, not so nasty and biodegradable. I spray it on my dirt bikes and rinse off, leaves the engines nearly clean without any scrubbing.


----------



## FOMOGO (Feb 10, 2018)

Zep has been around for a long time. Used it in the mid 60's when I worked in a local gas station. Agree on paint thinner/mineral spirits. Have used it in my parts washer for 25 years or better, and probably add a gallon or less a year (20 gal capacity) to make up for loses due to mostly what splashes out and a little evaporation. Drain and filter it every three or four years, and clean all the crude out off the tank. Mike


----------



## EmilioG (Feb 10, 2018)

Purple Power does not eat aluminum. Doesn't affect any metal, but it will remove some paint.  I've been using it to de-grease parts and tools for years. You can also dilute it.  Rinses right off and you can re use it many, many times.


----------



## woodchucker (Feb 10, 2018)

EmilioG said:


> Purple Power does not eat aluminum. Doesn't affect any metal, but it will remove some paint.  I've been using it to de-grease parts and tools for years. You can also dilute it.  Rinses right off and you can re use it many, many times.


We are not talking Purple Power Hand Cleaner, we are talking the Degreaser.  
Not so says the safety  data sheet.  Do not store in aluminum containers.
SDS:
http://www.clean-rite.com/sds/SDS_Purple Power Cleaner_Degreaser 6.1.15.pdf

Complaints about it causing white on aluminum, and others saying that its oxidation and eating the aluminum.
http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-fac...ng-do-not-use-purple-power-near-aluminum.html

http://www.fordification.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=60066&sid=acbd4e2ec00523c11a6ff3f46984e68f
http://www.elcaminocentral.com/showthread.php?t=222458


----------



## rambin (Feb 11, 2018)

super clean by Castrol.   soak most of my small parts in it for a day then brush them off with water and a scrubbrush or  toothbrush for the tight spots... good at taking paint too. so I like it for cleaning parts that are to be repainted.... been using it over and over and now theres some sludge in the bucket!. think it was like 10 bucks a gallon?


----------



## Alan H. (Feb 13, 2018)

Many of these degreasers, Super Clean included, have significant amounts of sodium hydroxide (Caustic Soda) in their formulation.  While they do not harm steel at ambient temperatures, they can attack aluminum and zinc.  That's why you will see warnings on the bottles not to put it on aluminum, etc.

Super Clean MSDS snippet:


----------



## Alan H. (Feb 14, 2018)

Here's the label on Zep Commercial.  Notice the exclusions due to the sodium hydroxide.


----------



## GoceKU (Feb 14, 2018)

It all depends on what needs to be clean, i often use gasoline on smaller parts, if i need something spotlessly clean and dry, i use nitro paint thinner, on bigger oily, grammy parts that i can use water i use oven degreaser concentrate and my pressure washer, (car parts, old machinery).


----------

