Degreaser

[cyberknight]

I've used white spirit for the best part of 60 years, it was also recommended by the best bike shop in Friern Barnet, Oscrofts.

i have started using it too , really does a good job of shifting the crud

 

[Dogtrousers]

When I started working on bikes as a lad in my dad's garage the 70s I used Trike (trichloroethylene). My dad had a number of metal gallon containers labelled with marker pen.

It was excellent at dissolving away grease and crud. So what if it's carcinogenic? It's political correctness gone mad.

 

[roley poley]

yes white spirit ..allow to settle after a scrubby chain clean...pour the clear fluid off the top and use again... the sludge left behind can be disposed of in a mucky rag ...done this for years...a litre lasts a long long time

 

[Mike Ayling]

I use kerosene/parafin for my cleaning requirements

 

[Paulus]

yes white spirit ..allow to settle after a scrubby chain clean...pour the clear fluid off the top and use again... the sludge left behind can be disposed of in a mucky rag ...done this for years...a litre lasts a long long time

That's exactly what I have been doing for decades. A big bottle lasts for years.

 

[EltonFrog]

I recently bought some of that Screwfix degreaser as a result of reading above posts. It truly is excellent stuff, and so much cheaper than bike branded products.

 

[presta]

That's exactly what I have been doing for decades. A big bottle lasts for years.

I do the same with cleaning paint brushes too: multiple rinses with recycled spirits, then a final rinse in new stuff to get the recycled out. (I don't use oily spirit for cleaning brushes though, they're separate recycling pots.)