forestine

Vim cleaner seems to work well on dusty and gungy old parts. It has some kind of grit in it, so it might not be the best on some surfaces, but it does seem fairly gentle.

If people are having issues with solvents and gloves, get some thick green nitrile ones. Repeated contact with chemicals like that can be bad news.

raymond1354

Old grease, road salt, oils, paints, oil, varnishes, degraded plastic particles, soaps, heavy metals, residue from cleaning agents.... For example, acetone itself is quite benign, it is what's in it, apparently, which is toxic.

p.s., The world of philosophy does not agree that facts are binary.

r

3alarmer 

...all that stuff is coming off the bike anyway, thus already in the environment. If you want to use acetone, be my guest, but I don't consider it benign as an occupational exposure.

My point is that I have, over the years, approached this issue in many ways, and an ultrasonic seems to introduce the least addition to the toxic waste stream in accomplishing it. They work well used with soap and water as the cleaning agent. If you are really worried about grease, oil, degraded plastic, soap, you probably ought to consider walking as your mode of transportation.

The quote is there for exactly that reason, but you would require some extensive bike forum background to understand that.

raymond1354

I clean my bikes the same way; mainly soap, water and U/S. The "effluent", I put in my sludge pail and let the water evaporate. The sludge I take to toxic waste disposal once a year and they're supposed to dispose of it appropriately.

The issue is that if you pour the waste onto the grass or down a sink it gets into the ground water and we eventually drink it. Just trying to introduce the concept of a sludge pail.

r

3alarmer 

...sure. Thank you. Most of the guys I know save the cleaning liquid from the ultrasonic in a bottle or jug of some sort, where a lot of the solids settle out. Many of us used to (or still do) use a similar method with mineral spirits (another popular cleaning solvent). The ultrasonic just does a better job, more quickly and with less effort.

BTW, any liquids I pour into a drain here go through the city sewers to the waste treatment plant, where they do a reasonable job on it before pumping it back into the river. Groundwater is a whole different deal, but especially where I live in California, it makes sense to look at water as something valuable. I wish more people did so.

raymond1354

Point well taken. Without water there is no life.

We take it for granted around here, but probably 30-40% of people here have wells.

r

sced

I'm surprised nobody has said it - gasoline works great - just be safe. Mineral spirits is a close second and less volatile.

realsteel

OP here.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. The consensus seems to be:

1. Nix the WD40
2. Use white spirits
3. Use a strong detergent on non-anodized and non-plastic parts
4. Mild soap and a toothbrush works well
5. Invest in an ultrasonic bath

I think I will get a second-hand ultrasonic bath, but I'll also keep using the WD40 for the tough cases. White spirits and soap for everything else.

Here are the cleaned-up parts from the first post:



The brakes are earlier Nuovo/Super Records and those are salmon Cool Stops (apologies to the purists). These parts are destined for a 1973 Holdsworth Professional. Full build report in a few weeks.

Thanks,
RealSteel.

JohnDThompson 

Any reason why you couldn't use re-usable odorless mineral spirits in your ultrasonic cleaner?

mechanicmatt

100% agree!

Superlube wet and dry has worked wonders for cleaning, not for Lubing though.

3alarmer 

...because it works pretty well without it ? It just seems like overkill. I'm pretty OK with the water based stuff I'm using, and it's one less solvent to handle, after a lifetime of such exposures. Maybe i was unclear, but I reuse the water/cleaner mixture a number of times, in the same manner as mineral spirits, but after a while it has so much grease/oil in it it starts to lose effectiveness.

I've actually used Simple Green and water at about 50/50 a number of times with good results, and no ill effects. But please don't tell anyone I recommended it.

JohnDThompson 

Reasonable points, but I guess what I was fishing for was whether OMS has similar cavitation properties as water. My concern with disposable, water-based solutions is the chemicals and debris that end up in our conventional waste stream when the solutions are discarded. With OMS, I just let the contaminants settle out, and eventually dispose of them as hazardous waste.

ramzilla

I use diesel because I've got a little John Deere diesel tractor and, must keep a few gallons on hand. After soaking stuff, I let the container sit for a couple weeks. Sludge settles to bottom. Carefully decant the clean diesel. Then, it's ready for cleaning more parts or, I just pour it in the tractor & burn it off doing yard work. The sludge gets poured in with waste oil. Take that to the auto parts store oil recycle container. I like diesel because it's vapors aren't really explosive at room temperature. Don't need too much ventilation. Melts old grease like a charm.

Oldpeddaller

My absolute, all-time dream bike! No problem with replacing degraded brake pads with ones that work!

raymond1354

That's where the sludge bucket comes in. Decant off liquid after sludge settles and re-use. Sludge goes to bucket and let dry. Crap at bottom goes to toxic waste. For water soluble, the water goes to bucket, let water evaporate, sludge left over goes to toxic waste. Minimize the amount of water.

r

3alarmer 

MSDS for Mineral spirits
MSDS for Simple Green
MSDS for Diesel
MSDS for Gasoline (honestly, I am horrified when people use it as a cleaner, because of the flash point)
MSDS for Carburetor Cleaner

and of course, MSDS for Water

mijome07

Before and after photos of some Shimano cantilever brakes. I clean/polish everything!

Mainah

The MSDS for water lists "safety glasses and lab coat" for personal protection measures. I guess I've been playing fast and loose with water all these years.