I figure this will rank up there with politics, religion, and steak preparation in terms of argument potential.....
Best readily available, inexpensive all purpose grungy E36 M3 cleaner.
Ive sworn by superclean for years. But it doesn't seem to be as good as it used to be. Maybe it is. But, im out and need more. Figured id poll the audience before spending money if theres something better and cheaper out now.
Simple green 99% of the time, Dawn Ultra the other.
Purple power used to be one of my favorites then it started messing with my skin, so I stay away.
Oven cleaner. Use sparingly and cautiously.
Super Clean
I even use it in the laundry! It is a great spot treatment for grease.
Dish soap.
Kerosene
Simple green in strong concentrations does great things.
Sos Gunk heavy duty gel > classic.
CRC QD Electronic Cleaner for aerosols.
Scottah said:Oven cleaner. Use sparingly and cautiously.
Indeed. I consider it the nuclear option, myself. It will remove anything. Including your skin and the linings of your lungs.....
For me, it's mostly Simple Green.
Purple power, diluted 1:1 is my go-to. Tal-strip is my nuclear option. In both cases, wrap the offending item in plastic so it doesn't dry up and let it rest a while.
We always brought Greased Lightning back with us from trips to the US, it impressed me the most removing 20 years of 2 stroke mess under the hood of an 88 Polaris Indy Trail cutting through that oily mess easily down to the plastic/aluminum underneath. It will take the anodizing off of aluminum if left to sit though so you need to be slightly careful with it.
Adam
I reach for brake clean as often as I reach for degreaser.
I used ZEP purple stuff recently, it was pretty good, but ultimately an acid, so go easy.
+1 Oven Cleaner -angry
+1 Simple Green -friendly
Careful with the oven cleaner! Some will remove paint, fade wires and etch aluminum. EZoff is the strong one, Mr. Muscle seems to work well for engine compartments with a mix of materials. I also like Awesome from the dollar store.
Bruce
Simple green for regular duty. Kerosene for super duty. Brake clean for nuclear duty.
Simple green also works great on greasy laundry (keeps the grease in suspension so it doesn’t stick to the washer) and I even use it highly diluted to do regular kitchen counter cleanings.
Simple green and oven degreaser.
Something to Consider, After all Mikes looking for Contriverse, !. Dawn Ultra is watered down Dawn, Water Oil/grease/Dirt All of these things "cept just Dirt REpell water, So why do we wet them to Clean them.
I Don't, I clean off what I can By Hand then Soak In Cleaner and scrap some more, Then It may need some wire brush by now and when that's off I dry it and soak it in My Parts Washer, That has 4 year old cleaner in it that I can Still see through,
If You Have To Hunt For Parts washer Solvent Tractor Supply Has A Good Product for around 30 bucks a 5 G. Pail, I Started with two and will Just add 1 This Summer.
P S keep a clean Filter..
Gasoline, but be careful to avoid sparks around the fumes.
After converting and driving a grease car for 4-5 years, the only thing that removed dried up veggie oil was oven cleaner.
E85 works pretty good for cleaning and only costs $3 a gallon. Smells bad but better than gasoline.
Purple power, but the key is how its applied for us. There are these siphon things you hook up to an air hose that blasts the 50/50 PP and water at high pressure creating kind of a foam degreaser blaster that will take a 315k mile 700r4 down to shiny metal in a few minutes. That's right, over 300k of its life behind a throttle body 350 so you can imagine the layer of oil, dirt, etc that it took off
Linky:
https://m.harborfreight.com/engine-cleaning-gun-68290.html?utm_referrer=direct%2Fnot%20provided
This isn't the one we used, but a HF version of the SnapOn
It's not safe and I don't recommend it, but gasoline does a great job.
RevRico said:Simple green 99% of the time, Dawn Ultra the other.
Purple power used to be one of my favorites then it started messing with my skin, so I stay away.
This.
RevRico said:Simple green 99% of the time, Dawn Ultra the other.
Purple power used to be one of my favorites then it started messing with my skin, so I stay away.
I found a really old squirt bottle of P.Power in my late grandmother’s basement. Purchased in ‘98 or ‘99. Wow that stuff is good! Much better than any of my current degreasers. Maybe it gets better with age?
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