Cleaning a dirty/oily lathe

G Jones

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What would be the best solution to cleaning a Taig mini lathe that looks like it's spent the last decade in a garage?
Something that's powerful but won't damage the lathe itself?

Clr?
Brake Cleaner?
WD-40?
Detergent?


Thanks!
 
If purple isn't to your liking Simple Green works great for me.
 
I use WD-40 to clean my machines and cosmoline that is on new parts. But if it's built up grime you may need something stronger like a good degreaser.

I use Purple Power a lot too for other things but be careful when using it full strength on bare aluminum if there is any, it will discolor/darken it if it matters to you.
 
+1 on discolouring aluminum for Simple Green
 
I just ran into a machinist, funnily enough, stopping into the local hobby shop to look around. He said to be careful with any cleaning/degreasing agent, especially something like brake cleaner, as it would seriously eat into the metal if any was left.
 
Purple Power and Simple Green both use a butoxyethanol (cellosolv) derived surfactant that kicks greasy butt. I love the stuff. My favorite is the foaming oven cleaner in the BLUE can. Stuff will do wonders to caked dried-in junk. It does stain aluminum when warm because is weakly acidic. It can discolor some rubber materials (butyl rubber). But nothing short of a solvent wash can do what it does!
 
Thanks for the advice!
If I wash of the Purple power quickly and thuroughy, can I expect a stain? Or does it take some time sitting in it?
 
There is a Simple Green Aviation version that is safe for aluminum. I’ve never been able to afford it.
 
They say to test on an inconspicuous area first. Actually the aluminum staining is weak and can be scotchbrited back to bling bling. I have been bothered by the rubber staining, but even that fades eventually. Tires will stain with prolonged contact, but a bit of driving and the stain fades back to normal. If you pre-wet the parts with water before using the concentrate spray and scrub brush/sponge/whatever it tends to lessen the staining by dilution. I can upload some before and after pics if I look...
 
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