Engine Degreaser and Tea for Cleaning.

[arutha]

I have been using an engine degreaser for cleaning movements that have been soaked in the dreaded wd40 and for anything that has been over lubricated and is covered in gunk, It does a great job and is cheap, wont hurt steel or brass. Has anyone else tried this?
I was reading that Tea is a great rust treatment, the tannic acid in tea helps to cure the rust, as ever me the sceptic had to give it a try and it does work! It works better if your tea is warm, you can see it working on the rusty part. I dont think milk and sugar would be a good idea though

[digitaltripper]

I am curious about the degreaser. Is it like berryman chem dip in the gallon can or the spray on type? I think brake clean would work really well and leave zero residue. As for my tea, earl grey, hot….

Jim

[arutha]

Hi Jim, any engine degreaser but I find the stuff in the can easier to use as I can just pour out what I need. Spot on with the brake cleaner too, I have been using that myself as it air dries quickly probably due to the high naphter content. I like Earl Grey too and drink it all day long

[pkamargo]

Hi Arutha,

About the tea… You mean black tea? Or any kind would work?

[arutha]

Hi,
I thought it was only black tea but doing a little reading I have found that tannin is also found in green tea, I thought it was tannic acid that did the work but according to wikipedia tannic acid is not found in tea, it is a common misconception!
Fruit teas will not work.

[pkamargo]

Well, it doesn’t matter if the work is done by tannic acid or whatever other chemical compound. The fact is that it works – but it is not an absolute miracle.

I just tested it. I am now servicing a french chime clock and one part had the arbor and pinion reasonably rusty. So I made some tea and soaked this part in it after it was degreased and cleaned the best possible.

When I picked the part out of the tea its arbor was absolutely black like coal. 😯

I rubbed it with a paper towel and the black coating went off almost completely. The steel under it was still dark, with some blue tone. I could not rub the pinion leaves with the towel so I went to the motor and polishing brush. After some work the arbor and pinion got clear and clean – not absolutely free of stains but undoubtedly much better than the initial condition, before the tea bath.

Concluding, the tea didn’t remove all the rust, but made a lot easier to remove it. Maybe soaking for longer time? Maybe using the tea in the ultrasonic cleaner??? Future tests…

(Sorry I didn’t take pictures to ilustrate, maybe next time….)

[arutha]

Thanks for posting that up, you are correct, its not a miracle cure but it does help with removal and its much cheaper than buying rust remover

[brassy]

I have been using Brake Clean to remove gunk and heavy deposits, it works great and leaves no residue behind! Thant way the watch cleaning solution stays cleaner a lot longer!!!

[arutha]

Brake cleaner is great for washing clock mechanisms that have been lubricated with WD40, again it saves your clock cleaning solution and also does a great job removing grease from mainsprings. Just please use it in a well ventilated area and wear gloves.

[Author]

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