Whatcha using to Clean Your Machines?

42,
I use charcoal lighter fluid. Pleasant smelling, not too flammable, available even in a jiffy store and best of all really cheap. I used it to clean the cosmolene off my mini lathe and mill/lathe/drill. Works great and really quickly. Once youre done you can use the soaked towels to fire up the grill too. No waste or hazmat to get rid of. It's green!!!
Bob
 
If you use Purple Power or Simple Green dilute it well with water & don't let it set, another good/cheap degreaser is Awesome sold at Dollar General in the spray bottle for $1.00 or refill size $3.00 and won't attack paint
 
Good ole gas and a rag gas has never damaged my paint although once done, just keep it clean. Then
I spray with bycycle chain oil I love that stuff then as I wrote before a little swipe with never seze on
my ways tables etc, its good for it. Wipe in the never snezze with paper towels. Funny I just did this
yesterday, rain all week thingy to do. One more thing I got some rustoleum dk grey and a tinch
of blue and on my SB washed down with gas blew off and brush it with a good brush. Then, (looks nice)
I go to wash brush with gas,, ah-0 the paint aint comming off. Read can, its painters choice thats latex.
Now I go to the lathe and its totally dry. Oh well that was 3-4 wks ago, and ya no what, this is holding
up perfectly with oils and chips, wiping with gas or tuff stuff doesnt seem to bother it, when this drys
there are no brush marks and is like a semi gloss which I like. I like the fact I painted, cleaned up
swept up and put the lathe to work all dried up. Had it been enamal esp. rustolee that stuff takes a
week to dry up. now Ill charge camara batt and ill show ya. Here is before last year pic

South Bend.JPG
 
I'm with Steve on this one. Several oz Makers Mark, or Jamison, ice, and water along with mineral spirits seems to work. Makes clean up almost enjoyable. I personally wouldn't use gas. It's much too flamable us use as a cleaner. Be sure you properly discard those oily solvent soaked rags in a closed metal container. I've seen several instances of spontaneous combustion from oil, grease, solvent, and rags.
 
Simple Green and Purple Power will attack the paint slightly. What I found that works really well is to spray the machine down with WD-40. Let it set a while, then start wiping down.
 
Totally agree with Bob about using lighter fluid. Very handy, never harms the paint and, as Bob mentioned, it smells nice.

I use this on my BP mill, lathes and my little shaper.


-= Matt -=
 
Whew after many hours trying to get my camara to unload itself - anyways my gas and rag treatmen
and my mystake of latex which is working well here it is I hope sam

new grey.jpg
 
I usually start out with a liberal dose of Engine Cleaner from the auto parts store. Let it soak a while
Then down to the local car wash and a pressure washer, or if I'm energetic enough I'll drag my unit out of the shed
then compressed air, followed by a liberal spritzing of WD40.
That gets all but maybe 20%. That uch I can handle with detail brushes and mineral spirits, rags, putty knife etc.
 
Question for posters on this thread;

If your lathe ways and machined surfaces are clean and shiny (normally) why not use a solvent like WD-40, diesel etc. followed by an oil (spray or otherwise) to prevent rust?

Does the bigger equipment leak oil, or need cleaning because of a fluid cooling system? Sounds like a lot of regular, heavy cleaning is done.
 
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