T-Mar

Because no matter how simple the product or how well it represented with pictures on the packaging, customers still want to look at, and preferably handle, the actual product. Clear, clamshell packaging solves the "looking at" issue while still providing protection from handling.

I'm told by by a manager friend at Wal-Mart that repackging removed product accounts for lots of hours and that damage resulting from consumers doing in-store testing, is significant. Personally, I have two related pet peeves from my experience in the retail bicycle industry. First, are the customers who insist on removing inner tubes from their boxes, in order to "examine" them. Second are the customers who throw off indexed derailleur settings by "testing the gears" on a bicycle that is standing still. I've wasted a lot of time repackaging inner tubes and readjusting derailleur cable tension.

pastorbobnlnh 

I recently upgraded my ultrasonic cleaner to this bad boy (even the name scares me):

Lock-N-Load® Magnum Sonic Cleaner™


There are actually two types of solutions which can be used, one for brass and another for steel (and I've found one more for all metals with a ph of 0). The steel solution has hardly any odor (my wife can't tolerate Simple Green) and is really effective. The solution is concentrated and mixes with water.

Here is a '75 freewheel I recently cleaned and the cogs originally had 4 decades of chain crud plastered all over them.

Before:


After:

noglider 

Some people pour their solvent through a coffee filter into another container and say it works well. I'm ready to try it next time I need to.

Grand Bois

I bought a used stainless restaurant sink on wheels and an empty 20 gallon steel drum. I was planning to add a pump to make a parts washer, but then I sold the house with the big shop. Now I have a two car garage and not enough room.

jeirvine 

I use Fast Orange pumice hand cleaner, Naptha, and WD-40 for 99% of my parts cleaning needs. I wear gloves when using the latter two, though they aren't particularly nasty. And I also re-use the Naptha after recanting it through a filter.

bikingshearer 

Yeah, at pretty much any corner of International Blvd.

repechage

To keep OSHA happy at work I have an MSDS (material safety data sheet) on everything, even bathroom cleaners and windex. I make it part of what I use on bikes too, much easier to get this data today than years ago.

The data sheets are sometimes not useful without some additional referencing but that is not that hard today with a search engine either. Being sensible and safe is not that difficult.

Other tip would be to keep your respirator in a big ziplock when you are not using it, no reason to filter the ambient air while it is between uses.


And I really don't like Simplegreen, I guess it was from when I test rode a bike where someone had soaked it overnight plus, damn thing had dozens of microcracks (visible with a loop) and broke under load, scary as the rider.

zandoval 

WD-40, Simple Green, When I need mineral spirits I use Charcoal Starter Fluid, Denatured Alcohol to dry wet things, OCR for rusty things...

My days of me using Tet, Toluene, and Cyclohexane are over...

My wife does complain when I bleach the floors though...

big chainring 

I use Challenger degreaser, thats it. It cuts through everything. Doesn't smell, like that hideous Simple Green. No mineral spirits or any chemical solvents. Why would you use that stuff?

qcpmsame 

Agree with the caution in using these solvents and the cleaners, too. Good ventilation, gloves and eye protection and proper disposal are all necessary. I did our company's HazMat and right to know compliance (large scale commercial and industrial construction GC) as mentioned by Repechage above, and I got plugged in to the on-line MSDS sites as well as the product manufacturer's websites for information on the solvents, cleaners and HC products we use and must safeguard for and account for their disposal for eternity. The mandated MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) give you all the information on ingredients, safety precautions and emergency care procedures along with the phone numbers to call in case of a spill or accident. They must be made available, no cost, to you where you buy the product, by law, and as I said, they are available on-line for free. We have a set of binders with the products separated by type and use and tabbed for quick reference. We must have them on-site or within a local phone call for reference and reporting per OSHA and NAVSAF/USACE EM 385-1-1 requirements and any stiffer local or installation regulations. Failure to have them carries a stiff fine, using them for our C&V purposes just makes good sense.

Simple Green, I won't even buy it much less use it, the FAA issued an AD on its use and the Navy air maintenance command banned its use on aircraft. it pits and degrades aluminum badly when left on and not properly rinsed away. Too much aluminum on bikes even if they aren't aluminum framed. The required rinse procedure will scare you enough to think you have an acid or base that is high molarity or concentration. Enough better products out there to risk the use.

In our county the land fill area has containers for oil and the other fluids' disposal and recycling if you bring it there and twice a year they have a month at various locations for free disposal or hazardous materials, electronics, batteries and such.

Disclosure: I have an Environmental Engineering degree and I work in heavy construction for NAVFAC and USACE construction as a certified quality engineer and compliance officer. I get bombarded with new laws and regulations daily. This stuff will harm you and adversely effect the environment. Our county has/had some of the worst EPA Superfund sites, including NAS Pensacola where I do most of my work.

Bill

mickey85

Working on cars and bikes, I use a lot of solvents and such.

If you want to recycle/get rid of your stuff:

Oil - find someone that uses a waste oil heater, or take it to an auto parts store; they accept the old stuff. A local mechanic heats his shop with waste oil, so that's where I take mine

mineral spirits - why get rid of it? I have a parts washer (bought a cheapy from Harbor Freight) and can go years without changing it. Once a year I strain it through a hand-held colander (one of those cone shaped ones) and a coffee filter. Works great.

Batteries - car batteries can go to the auto parts store (and you usually get a core return on them too if it's an exchange). With little batteries, take it to a battery store - batteries plus/etc

I use brake cleaner a lot, and buy it in gallon cans. These I pour into a compressed-air sprayer. The sprayer is reusable, and the cans can be recycled after being left open for a few weeks.

Just a few suggestions.

Oh, and all of the super harsh chemicals (brake cleaner, carb cleaner, spray paints, etc) get sprayed outside or with the garage door open in the shop. With a paper mask (doesn't help much, I know).


Also, 99% of the time if I'm degreasing a small part (that can fit in a utility sink or bucket) I'll use that Dawn dish soap that advertises it works like an overnight sink in 5 minutes. That stuff cuts grease like nobody's business.

oddjob2

Just a reminder, if you need to restock on your favorite cleaners, degreasers and solvents, tomorrow the 16th is 20% off all you can fit in a grocery bag at most ACE HARDWARE AFFILIATES.

ftwelder

I wish Dr. Bronner made bike cleaner.

Try incredible pink.

Mickey, please stop with the brake cleaner. That stuff is so bad.

ThermionicScott 

+1. Then you could take a shower and brush your teeth with it afterward.