showcrop
Well-known Member
For pretty much my whole adult life I have been involved in the commercial cleaning chemical business, twenty-five of those owning and operating my own business. I always look with interest at the threads about which cleaner to use such as Eldon's below. There are just a few basic rules that I can offer about what cleaner is best for a job. First; consider that major manufacturers like Proctor and Gamble are not run by idiots. When they offer a product that is gentle enough to have your hands immersed in it for twenty minutes, while it is great for washing dishes, it is not likely to be up to the job of breaking down mineral oil, or mineral oil based crud, without spending way more time than you should want. Second; while the rainbow offers a broad spectrum of colors, color has no bearing on the effectiveness of the product. Third; emulsification of mineral oil or grease, is best accomplished by an alkaline chemical such as potassium hydroxide, Potassium carbonate, or sodium metasilicate. A solvent such as Alcohol Ethoxylate helps the alkali to penetrate the oil. Fourth; strong alkali can attack paint, so for bad oil or grease on good paint it is best to approach from the solvent side with a d'limonene (citrus or orange peel) based product. In order to use any product safely consult the SDS, which is available for virtually everything, on your 'puter, and you can also verify that it has the alkali that you want. Finally, dollar store oven cleaner, the old tractor guy's friend is still best, and leave the Simple green, Dawn, and Tide in the house where they are effective for what they were made for.
