Dgreasing old tools.

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

I am looking to pick the collective members brains.

It is a sad fact, this time of year, Men IN Shed gets donated a whole lot of tools and equipment. It is also a sad fact these tools are often in dire need of restoration, from major to minor.

To the point, we have bean give 3 car boot and a small van load of hand tools. They are in a bad way, caked in oil, grease, wax, dirt and a whole host of other stuff, not to mention rust.



My plan is to make a “Degreaser/ cleaner” using Meth’s as the solvent to hang the tools in and leave them to drip clean, that way a whole lot can be cleaned in one go. Thinks a smaller version of a “Trike” vaper de-greasing tank.



I want to set it up and leave it for however long it takes.



Any one got any pointers on how to go about this?

 

[WorkshopChris]

Have you tested white spirit? might be worth using as a first stage its a little cheaper and less volatile.
I use quite a lot as a solvent for initial cleaning, most garden sprayers will spray it without rotting all the seals and o rings.

 

[MCKDAVID]

what about a small power washer type tank, for a first pass, knock the worst off it then into the degreaser, might simplify the job, shorten the time in the tank.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

@WorkshopChris
I have, that is a choice to use.

The issue is also to hang wooden parts of the tools in the cabinet as well.

But I hope to involve Shed Members to build the cabinet, leave a host of bits between sessions. To reduce the "Hands on time" in restoring them. So we can sell them.

 

[Parm]

Will you be heating the solvent ?

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

@Parm yes, but indirectly. I have permission to store the cabinet in the boiler room. That is at a toasty 21Deg c.

 

[MattF]

Why not go with heating oil, and have less combustion risk? Never known any type of grease or other crap which paraffin or kerosene won't shift.

 

[julianf]

I was going to say Kerosene, but Matt has beaten me to it.

Meths is mainly ethanol, but with some methanol just to make it more toxic. Its a polar solvent, and, whilst it will work on some of the grease, you will probably find a non-polar (petrol/kerosene/etc) to actually be better.

I know with certainty that, when im making biofuel, somtimes things get coated with a polymerised film of vegetable oil. Its a pig to shift with anything, even my usual go to (non-ionic surfactants) but, with kerosene, it just wipes right off.


Plus kerosene is cheap (ish) and not especially dangerous. Fill your parts washer with ethanol or methanol, and it could all get adventurous.

 

[julianf]

Your disposal pathway for contaminated kerosene is easy also - waste oil dump at the tip. Or, if youre happy to do so, soaked into sawdust and on the fire.

Meths will burn nicely, but you would have to be way way more careful. And dumping it in the waste oil drum at the tip would be wholly irresponsible.

 

[Allthegearnoidea]

Paraffin. But use good gloves. It cheap and available.

 

[Gareth J]

Steam cleaner or failing that, pressure washer first?

A steam cleaner in particular can shift gunk that can take large volumes of solvent to dissolve.

 

[Parm]

My advice is not to use methanol, As Julian points out kerosine, parrafin etc are much better degreasers. They are tried and tested.

What ever you do, do not heat and don't leave in a boiler room. That's a recipe for disaster.

Come on Mr Ardvark, with the industry you work in you should know better !!

A parts washer, elbow grease and do it it in small batches is my suggested way forward on this one

Or pressure / Steam washer

 

[WorkshopChris]

I got some meths from Toolstation recently. Very bright purple colouring and the smell was more like wine and vinegar.Keep meaning to try and get a data sheet for it.

 

[julianf]

Some people will say that Paraffin has some magical difference, but as far as ive ever been concerned, if it comes in a tanker, goes in your oil tank, and is 35 pence per litre, its called kerosene, but, if you get the same stuff, put in a bottle, and sell it at the hardware shop, for £2.50 per litre, it cant just be the same.... can it? : )

Paraffin and kerosene are (arguably) the same thing. Or, even if theyre not, for the purpose of degreasing, the only meaningful difference would be the cost!

 

[MattF]

There are slight differences. Not much mind. According to the P.O, this Amanco of mine will run merrily on kerosene, but ran like a dog on paraffin.

 

[MattF]

I got some meths from Toolstation recently. Very bright purple colouring and the smell was more like wine and vinegar.Keep meaning to try and get a data sheet for it.

Yup. The purple stuff, if I recall, is the bittering agent.

 

[outofthefire]

Why not try and get an old dishwasher off Ebay or freecycle

 

[bigegg]

You can burn most solvents by pouring into a bucket of sand - even petrol.
Don't try to add more fuel when it's hot tho!!!

Liquid ammonia is a good degreaser - fumes are *awful*, but no fire risk.
Also good for colouring oak.
Don't know if it would affect the steel? Thinking it might.

Can you not just dip them in gunk, or jizz?

 

[anto44]

I've always used kerosene for general degreasing. It works really well and is fairly safe, it is flammable but the flash point is very high as fuels go. The fumes given off by methalated spirits are highly explosive so I'd be concerned about using a boiler room to dry off the parts. You would want to pay particular attention to ventilation and fume extraction

 

[Olderisbetter]

I use white spirit mixed with Jizer for general tool cleaning, Even after it is quite dirty i filter it and what comes out i store in a tub and re use it.