diesel and cleaning

paul kimmings@ntlworld.co

with all the tips for cleaning in this forum i thought i would share this tip for cleaning the chain set and chain as i have found diesel works excellent as a cleaning agent and has also penatration and lubrication properties, for the chain and gear mechanisms all you need is a tray a small brush and some diesel ,once cleaned wipe excess from around chain and apply small amount of engine oil to chain and wipe of excess ,does any body else use this method .

Smokin Joe

50/50 mix of diesel and petrol is the most effective chain cleaner I have ever used. I don't bother with it though because of the hassle of buying, and storing, and mixing it.

JohnnyAllez

My mates dad has a severley deformed hand after an accident using petrol as a degreaser. I`d be looking at stuff less flammable my self

shrekster

Parafin works very well as a degreaser, cheaper than diesel as well.

Jim.

keef66

Paraffin for me too; I inherited 5 litres from my dad, and reckon I'll be bequeathing most of that to someone else in my will.

I don't go in for religious chain degreasing though, just a quick wipe and relube man myself. Very satisfying to dunk a filthy cassette and have it come out all sparkly though.

mmacavity

isoparaffinic hydrocarbon
or
odourless kerosene

are similar but not as smelly

keef66

Oh, and if your username is your email address, make sure your spam filter is working!

Buckled_Rims

Paraffin used to be the defacto degreaser many years ago. But if it's a quick spray and wipe that's only needed I buy a large can of degreaser from a £1 shop.

I might try diesel, I never thought about it as a degreaser.

Steve_b77

White spirit is also pretty damm good as is Mr Muscle Orange zest kitchen cleaner

paul.k

the reason that i mentioned diesel rather than brake cleaner ,petrol ,or parafin or other degreasing agents is that diesel is an oil,it penatrates well ,cleans well and is not as harsh on the painwork as petrol and others will, especially if you use a brush round the cassettes, if you take the chain off for cleaning in a degreaser it will remove the lubricant right through the chain and then to get the penetration back in to the chain it is best soaked over night in oil then hung up to drip off the excess oil before fitting .

each to there own though there are more importaint things in life like actually riding the damn thing.

cathald

for a good cleaning of a grotty chain I use heating oil
A small tub half filled with heating oil and leave the chain in to soak
or if using one of those chain cleaner things just fill that with the heating oil

the same as car diesel but cheaper

rake

someone said white lightening cider.cheap.

blackhands

cathald wrote:

for a good cleaning of a grotty chain I use heating oil
A small tub half filled with heating oil and leave the chain in to soak
or if using one of those chain cleaner things just fill that with the heating oil

the same as car diesel but cheaper

Yep, about 40p a litre- I keep a 20 litre can of ch oil for lighting bonfires etc so I can clean chain and other bits and still use dirty stuff for fires.

andy_f

A little advice on using diesel, at work we use a piece of kit that applies a butyl substance to attach a plastic sheet to the inside of car doors. When the gun on this kit needs cleaning it get soaked in diesel which eats the butyl. I have also seen diesel warp plastics and turn other rubber compounds to mush, so I would recomend cleaning your parts well away from your brake pads and tyres and certainly would not let it get anywhere near a carbon frame.

John C.

I use gas oil it's cheaper than diesel. I do agree that you must keep it off rubber products

benno68

I've never tried diesel but have been told it's a very effective degreaser. My son recommended diesel for this purpose, he works on ships and they use it for degreasing all the time.

I agree that the parts should be removed and degreased well away from the frame etc.