Most paint shops sell bottles of painter’s wax and grease remover, made for the job.

Also, spray-can brake cleaner allegedly leaves no deposits.

Yeah, Dan Gelbart has some good videos.  I seem to remember him recommending Ajax/Comet bathroom scrub cleaner because it’s abrasive.  I think he also said that all solvents will leave behind a layer of hydrocarbons.  Acetone is not a HC.

Just noticed that the thumbnail of the video shows him using the bathroom cleaner.

While not arguing that it is a good choice for this task, Acetone most certainly is a hydrocarbon. It has 6 Hydrogen and 7 carbon atoms per molecule (CH3)2CO.

For a water based cleaner try Diall Clean spirit brush cleaner (available from B&Q etc)
As noted brake cleaner is a good solvent.

Robert.

I have just started painting my engines using Craftmaster coach enamel. It has taken months of experimentation to get a decent finish.

I do not use white spirit, or water, to clean parts. Instead I use files and abrasive paper to smooth the surface and remove sharp corners. Then a brush down with a dry brush and a soak/wipe over with acetone and let it dry naturally. Immediately paint with grey primer, or etch prime. Follow that with high build undercoat and rub down when dry. Finally at least two top coats. A lot of solvents, such as white spirit leave a residue. White spirit is also bad news for cleaning prior to loctiting parts together.

One of the reasons I very rarely use tapping compound is because it’s a PITA to clean it off.

Andrew

Just to clarify. White Spirit is not a chemical with a defined composition. It is a distillate of petroleum and may conceivably differ in exact composition from supplier to supplier. It does not contain additives so any residue left will only be high-boiling petroleum fractions. These will be completely irrelevant if the job is to be painted with an oil-based (i.e. Enamel) paint because they will simply mix in with the hydrocarbons invariably used in the formula of the enamel.

The general rule of thumb is “like dissolves like”.  White spirit which is just a petroleum fraction will therefore readily dissolve oil based contamination and blend happily with paints based on oils such as linseed i.e. the so-called enamels. It is a non-solvent for most, if not all modern paint systems e.g. acrylic, iso cyanate. Therefore it could cause problems with these systems if it leaves high-boiling residues behind after cleaning. Therefore it is a good idea to wash over with Acetone after white spirit BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE GOING TO USE A PAINT OTHER THAN ENAMEL. Again like dissolves like, so Acetone is not a particularly good solvent for oily contaminations. It is sometimes used in commercial paint thinners and gun washes for more modern paints than enamels so it can be relied on not to use residues behind. The safest plan may therefore be to use  white spirits followed by Acetone if the job is to be painted with more modern paints than the traditional “enamels”.

Cost is always a consideration but there is a good case for using specialist cleaners as suggested above by Hopper.

On 28 May 2024 at 12:36 Grindstone Cowboy Said:

SOD – I thought IPA was excellent at soaking up water, hence its use in the drying process when making silcon wafers for ICs?

For example, here.

Rob

Links to https://www.modutek.com/how-the-ipa-vapor-dryer-further-improves-wafer-processing/

Good find!   I thought IPA should work, but I’ve never tried it, or come across a process that used it.  And yet there it is.  Using IPA vapour is an interesting twist!

Ta

Dave

I’ll have to rewatch the Gelbart video.  I thought I got the “acetone isn’t a hydrocarbon” from him.  Thanks.

Mike

When I returned to the metal finishing industry I had all the ‘good stuff’ to hand tric degrease, ultrasonic tric degreaser’s and later the real super stuff methylene chloride plus a few more have to say the later would strip and clean anything But like Ducan says in puts you in your coffin if your not careful

H

As a regular user of Halfords rattle cans the same as Duncan wants to use with no problems of paint coming off my engines then I will stick with my usual clean down with lacquer or cellulose thinner and then prime (etch or plain depending on material)

aluminium

On 29 May 2024 at 08:51 Oldiron Said:

Why does the spell checker tell me I have spelt ALUMINIUM incorrectly ?   Have we gone all American now.

Spell checker will be the one in your browser, so it’s your local settings (FWIW mine is set to UK English).

There is no longer one built into the forum editor as a browser based one means it’s consistent across all websites.

Another vote for paint thinners, just make sure to do it outside.