Cleaning old machines in a home shop

Simple green is rough on aluminum. If you use it on anything (steel, iron, any forgings) rinse with lots of hot water immediately. For that matter, read the label on anything you use. Some of this stuff does damage,especially if not neutralized immediately.
ATF/acetone (Ed's Red) is really good to use as a cleaner or penetrent, and can be accepted where you recycle your used oil.
 
The big problem for home shops is where the “stuff” goes. Large shops use services that remove the worn-out parts washer solution a dispose of it safely or recycle it. It’s like changing your own oil - you can take the old oil to hazardous waste collection centers in some locales, but not others.

Remember, even if you just use hot water and/or a pressure washer, the crap that’s washed off still goes somewhere.
 
ChazzC said:
The big problem for home shops is where the “stuff” goes. Large shops use services that remove the worn-out parts washer solution a dispose of it safely or recycle it. It’s like changing your own oil - you can take the old oil to hazardous waste collection centers in some locales, but not others.

Remember, even if you just use hot water and/or a pressure washer, the crap that’s washed off still goes somewhere.
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This is always a problem - The solvent from the parts washer can be brought to the recycling center on amnesty day or whatever.
The gunk washed off outside goes ????? I guess you could do it on a tarp, and then dispose of the tarp ....
I DO scrape off the vast majority of the old grease, etc, and dispose of it, before ever washing the parts, so that helps the ground water a bit.

It's just the nature of restoring old machinery - Just sitting, drinking beer, eating chips, and watching the tube is more ecologically correct, then.
I guess I tell myself that I don't drive much, and have a pretty small ecological footprint otherwise, that I can excuse the occasional machine clean up - I tell myself that, and other things, sometimes ........
 
Take the suggestion from @MikeInOr, and use the power of steam cleaning, but with a caution!

You can use all sorts of soapy or kitchen cleaners to help cut into greasy crud, and a steam cleaner with some help from a brass suede brush, or just a old toothbrush, but know that if cleaning up iron, like in my case, a lathe bed, steam cleaning leaves the iron so exposed to oxygen, it will turn orange right before your eyes in minutes, as rust gets going again.

Halt the process in it's tracks, by using the universal cleaner - plain old washing soda. Sodium carbonate. Used since who knows when in everything from laundry to oven cleaning, the stuff is alkaline, which is exactly what you need.

Arm & Hammer Washing Soda.png

Faster than boiling in water, it is not corrosive to steels, but DO NOT let it get on aluminum, nor brass or zinc galvanized stuff. The alkali seems to block the rusting. Some folk use it as de-rusting electrolyte helped by some DC electric current. It takes out the rust, but ceases to act when it is left with the iron. I am unsure what does it, but I do notice that the immediate orange rusting does not seem to happen If it is cleaned with washing soda.

Right now, with some mechanical help from straightforward wire brushing, scrubbing, etc. my method of choice is steam cleaning. It can work OK by itself, but when combined with some washing soda, it becomes unstoppable. :)
 
We had to stop using simple green on aircraft parts. It attacks aluminum and it leaves a residue. I steer clear of anything that's either acidic or alkaline for cleaners on old iron/aluminum/zamak, etc.

Pressure washer is my go to, but only if I'm going to tear whatever it is down to the last nut and bolt. Pressure washer can push dirt and water into places where it just should ever be and the only way to get it out is a complete tear down.

Anything that fits in my 20L ultrasonic goes in and comes out as clean as new. Light detergent and distilled water, nothing aggressive or it could damage parts.

Varsol is my go to if nothing else works. A soak and a scrub and squeaky clean. If I want a no residue surface, I spray with non-chlorinated brake kleen.

If I'm going to paint, the piece gets an acetone wipe down.

All solvents need to be used in a well ventilated area and protective gear must be worn (gloves, face shield, etc).
 
On the mill I bought a few weeks ago, I've been using tiki torch fuel. It doesn't smell nearly as bad as kerosene, but it works just really well. I'll wipe it on with a sopping wet rag to wet the surface, and let it sit for a while (ten minutes or so). It will soak into the caked on grease, so that when I come back with a damp rag it will all wipe off really easily. It evaporates very slowly, but once the surface is dry I can go over it with a dry cloth for a satifyingly clean finish.

The result is a stack of incredibly filthy cloths.
 
graham-xrf said:
Take the suggestion from @MikeInOr, and use the power of steam cleaning, but with a caution!

You can use all sorts of soapy or kitchen cleaners to help cut into greasy crud, and a steam cleaner with some help from a brass suede brush, or just a old toothbrush, but know that if cleaning up iron, like in my case, a lathe bed, steam cleaning leaves the iron so exposed to oxygen, it will turn orange right before your eyes in minutes, as rust gets going again.

Halt the process in it's tracks, by using the universal cleaner - plain old washing soda. Sodium carbonate. Used since who knows when in everything from laundry to oven cleaning, the stuff is alkaline, which is exactly what you need.

View attachment 427174

Faster than boiling in water, it is not corrosive to steels, but DO NOT let it get on aluminum, nor brass or zinc galvanized stuff. The alkali seems to block the rusting. Some folk use it as de-rusting electrolyte helped by some DC electric current. It takes out the rust, but ceases to act when it is left with the iron. I am unsure what does it, but I do notice that the immediate orange rusting does not seem to happen If it is cleaned with washing soda.

Right now, with some mechanical help from straightforward wire brushing, scrubbing, etc. my method of choice is steam cleaning. It can work OK by itself, but when combined with some washing soda, it becomes unstoppable. :)
Click to expand...
A buddy of mine uses washing soda in his plasma water table as a rust preventative. It works as well as the high dollar store bought stuff!
 
I brush the camp fuel on and have a aluminum turkey tray below lined with newspaper. The goopy gunk runs down on to the paper and stays there. When in a few hours the camp fuel evaporates you just wad up the paper and toss it. Easy peasy
 
I like Simple Green too, but the hot water flow once peeled the paint off my car. The unit itself works well, except for the damage you can do by mistake. So the fact that you wrote such a list is correct, but it's worth keeping in mind that it's not all for do-it-yourselfers. Using any device or specialized chemistry, you need to know the rules of working with it. Most of the time, people don't know them. So I think it's more appropriate to use Sparkle Wash York & Lancaster. I think it's much easier to do a complete cleaning while following all the rules of the job. Then, fix your mistakes later.
 
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