Crap Solvent Cleaners in So Cal
 

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6,500 miles of road dust, decided to sort of clean the 1975 or so Raleigh International. Full Campy, and a nice bike. the crap they sell here for degreasing is well, crap. It just gums up everything. I took the chain and boiled it on the BBQ with Simple Green and it sort of worked. Used to be I could soak a chain for an hour in regular paint thinner and it would come out really clean. This new crap just gums up stuff.

I should have bought a gallon of the good stuff before I drove the biga$$ RV back to SoCal.
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I use Homedepot purple degreaser in a heated ultrasonic tank. I used to clean the chain, front sproket, rear gears, weekly.

Dollar store orange citrus degreaser in a HF ultrasonic. Whistle clean! I restored a French bike I bought last winter and that combo removed 40 year old spooge like a boss.

It's true, the citrus stuff is a beast.

It is , for sure! Have a couple of spray bottles under the sink and in the garage.
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BTW, CA sells only TSP "Substitute"...I found out in '05 or '06.
Happy to see it here in AZ...bought several boxes in '08, I was tickled.
Bought a 5 gal. bucket of HD purple degreaser on sale a while back.
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Good riddance CA.

If you're not worried about ph balance the Dollar store stuff is great.

Thanks for the tips, I'll go to HD and try the purple stuff. The stuff they sell as thinner here is clean air compliant and mostly acetone and is junk.

diesel fuel.

I like the yellow Harbor Freight degreaser

When I have it around I've used Kerosene.
There's also moto chain degreasers...but not as cheap as the others, of course.

Another one I like to use is original formula Pine-Sol - there's a certain ingredient that the original has - can't remember the name of it - that some varieties don't have now. I use this for cleaning carbs and it does't eat the aluminum.

Carbon tetrachloride, cleans anything.


I kid

I worked in a clean room PMEL lab in another life...we used a sonic cleaner constantly.
Recently bought one from Amazon...a great tool. G/f cleans her jewelry in it, too.
Thanks for the suggestions on the various solutions to use.
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BTW, g/f cleans her jewelry with Windex and a soft brush also...comes out sparkling clean. You can see every carat.

I use kerosene for cleaning greasy/oily car parts all the time...works like a champ.

Actually, a very very good solvent

Be super careful with the purple on your bike parts, it will destroy aluminum if you leave it on too long.)

What is the vapor dangers when heating those cleaners in a U/S cleaner.

I know that it isn't popular but I hose mine down with WD40.

I used it as a chain wash, and then unless I am heading out to extreme conditions, I leave it on as a lube.

It never gets dry since I give it a quick stay and wipe after every rid (80k or so)

And you'll feel it on your bare hands after a bit.

yeah, but it turns your liver into cottage cheese

Use the citrus based stuff for the bike