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Help, alloy cleaning
Fifer - 5/2/05 at 06:43 PM

Anyone know how to get my side panel alloy looking good ? I think the glue or something from the plastic that was on it is causing it to look a mess. I have used all sorts of cemicals on test pieces and it just smears.
Any ideas ?????????????

Avoneer - 5/2/05 at 06:48 PM

Meths worked for me.
Pat...

rusty nuts - 5/2/05 at 08:36 PM

Brake cleaner is pretty good for removing some stains and dries out without smearing. A bit stronger is carb cleaner , also evaporates leaving no smears

Andybarbet - 5/2/05 at 09:24 PM

Auto glym 'Instant Tar Remover' gets all things sticky off of most surfaces...

Do a test patch first though :-)

Avoneer - 5/2/05 at 10:01 PM

Forgot about that - Wynns carb cleaner - cleans anything off anything. Did wonders with my cylinder head and is especially good for the bar code lables on B&Q steel.
Pat...

Mark Allanson - 5/2/05 at 10:13 PM

Sorry Pat, you are wrong, not even an angle grinder will get the barcode sticker off B&Q steel!

gazza285 - 5/2/05 at 10:20 PM

Have any of you cleaned a carb with carb cleaner? I tried it once and it was squirting back out of all the nooks and crannies. In my eye straight away, swelled up like Homer Simpson's, wife went off on one etc, etc.









Carbs were clean though...........

tractorboy - 6/2/05 at 12:04 AM

put it in the freezer and wait till it goes hard. no sorry my mistake thats for chewing gum!

Avoneer - 6/2/05 at 08:44 AM

Mark, mark, mark - you have to try Wynns carb cleaner - it was designed for B&Q labels. Spray it on, let is soak and the label comes off clean and smooth with one wipe of a cloth - honestly.
Pat...

NS Dev - 6/2/05 at 10:02 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Dave Ashurst
On an economical note: so far as I know carb cleaner IS cellulose thinners (i.e. toluene and xylene in some proportion).

I found for general cleaning it's much more economical to buy a big can of cellulose thinners. For the same money you can buy 2 x wynns carb cleaner aerosols or a 5 litre can of basic "gunwash" cellulose thinners. In fact the 5 litre can of thinners will be slightly cheaper.


Nobody's listening Dave!

I use thinners to clean anything except plastics which are liable to melt, then I use brake cleaner, which is about the best stuff you can get which is "any surface safe"

As you said Dave, thinners is dirt cheap (£6 a gallon, multipurpose too, painting, cleaning and cheap Octane Booster!!!!) and brake cleaner is fairly cheap too, around £9 for a gallon from my motor factors.

Fifer - 6/2/05 at 05:43 PM

Ok, i'll give thiners a bash but I think I went through that last year with no great results

indykid - 6/2/05 at 10:04 PM

don't try sikaflexing if you don't have brake cleaner handy.

the first bit i did, i got some on my hands, tried to wipe it on a cloth and smeared leaving my hands a brown colour.
tried panel wipe, didnt really cut it. tried thinners which was still pretty weak. tried brake cleaner and i don't think i've ever seen my hands so clean. it works admirably as a solvent for araldite too

Carb cleaner is on a par, but i prefer the smell of brake cleaner. found out today that halfords stuff smells of lemons.........................which was nice.

tom