Any chemists around? Is this basically a degreaser?

neeb

I've been having trouble getting hold of a bike specific degreaser where I am, and have picked up this stuff that is described as a "powerwash" and a "powerful detergent" for removing stubborn dirt from external surfaces, engine compartments, tools etc. It can be diluted with 1-2 parts water for surface cleaning, which sounds like bike degreasers I have had in the past. Wondering if it is basically the sort of thing I can use neat as a chain degreaser, and/or if it will rot tyres or paint. Ingredients are as follows:

Aqua
C9-11 Pareth-6
Coconut fatty acid esters
C9-11 Pareth-3
Cocamide DEA
Methoxyisopropanol
Trisodium NTA
Caprylyl pyrrolidone
Tetrapotassium pyrophosphate
Methylchloroisothiazolinone
Methylisothiazoline

estampida

it might eat paint, or alloy anodising or plastics.... better t0 use the right stuff but it could work ( just plain meths or surgical spirit is probably safer than any funny compound)

all these chemicals will have a MSDS for them that under line the performance of the chemical and will state MEL and OEL for the chemical (MEL & OEL are exposure limits)

pay attention to the data as these chemicals can be dangerous especially when mixed with something else

nicklouse

http://www.biltema.fi/fi/Vapaa-aika/Pol ... ine-36698/

must be one near you.

declan1

neeb wrote:

Methylchloroisothiazolinone
Methylisothiazoline

These are in Head and Shoulders. Just saying :P

neeb

estampida wrote:

it might eat paint, or alloy anodising or plastics.... better t0 use the right stuff but it could work ( just plain meths or surgical spirit is probably safer than any funny compound)

all these chemicals will have a MSDS for them that under line the performance of the chemical and will state MEL and OEL for the chemical (MEL & OEL are exposure limits)

pay attention to the data as these chemicals can be dangerous especially when mixed with something else

Maybe I should test it on paint / plastic etc. Safety instructions basically say not to get it in your eyes and also avoid contact with skin, but it's sold as a consumer product for general use so I presume it's not deadly if used as directed.

neeb

nicklouse wrote:

http://www.biltema.fi/fi/Vapaa-aika/Polkupyorat/Polkupyoran-hoito/Polkupyoran-puhdistusaine-36698/

must be one near you.

Yup, but isn't that just a general bike wash type stuff, probably not strong enough for chain degreasing?

nicklouse

ok then http://www.biltema.fi/fi/Vapaa-aika/Pol ... ine-36699/

Finnish is fun.

neeb

nicklouse wrote:

ok then http://www.biltema.fi/fi/Vapaa-aika/Pol ... ine-36699/

Now that's the stuff.. For some reason all the bike shops here only sell the concentrated type of degreaser in spray cans.

Now I have to decide whether to use the other stuff described above or not (it was quite a bit cheaper).

nicklouse wrote:

Finnish is fun.

Ha, yes... It's a b*gger to learn unfortunately. Non-Indo-European and agglutinative..

smidsy

estampida wrote:

all these chemicals will have a MSDS for them that under line the performance of the chemical and will state MEL and OEL for the chemical (MEL & OEL are exposure limits)

In the UK (so probably all Europe) these have been replaced by a single new standard WEL (workplace exposure limit).

nicklouse

neeb wrote:

Safety instructions basically say not to get it in your eyes and also avoid contact with skin, but it's sold as a consumer product for general use so I presume it's not deadly if used as directed.

I want to know what you have found in the closet.

sungod

interesting cocktail, can i have mine without the coconut fatty acid esters?

dnwhite88

I use gunk engine degreaser which you can buy from halfords, brush it on, leave for 5 mins, wash it off. So much cheaper than the bike specific stuff

onbike 1939

"Gunk" used to be the degreaser of choice and it's certainly effective and easy to use.

mattwood

Since you asked for a chemist and I am one, I thought I's wade in :P

This looks like an alcohol based cleaner/degreaser. I won't guarantee that it won't rot tyres or paint but since it has no strong acid content it should be fine.

However, I use autoglym engine and machine cleaner on my bike. Its a phosphoric acid based cleaner. Does a remarkable job to be honest and its only about £6 for a fairly sizeable bottle

neeb

mattwood wrote:

Since you asked for a chemist and I am one, I thought I's wade in :P

This looks like an alcohol based cleaner/degreaser. I won't guarantee that it won't rot tyres or paint but since it has no strong acid content it should be fine.

However, I use autoglym engine and machine cleaner on my bike. Its a phosphoric acid based cleaner. Does a remarkable job to be honest and its only about £6 for a fairly sizeable bottle

Thanks! I successfully used it last night to strip a headset (amazing what 6 months of sweat on the turbo can do to bearings..), and can confirm that it looks, functions and smells like a degreaser. The acid test (or alcohol test) will be how it works on the chain. It was only about 7 Euro for a litre, so not bad value.

nicklouse

neeb wrote:

It was only about 7 Euro for a litre, so not bad value.

come on what is it?

neeb

nicklouse wrote:

neeb wrote:

It was only about 7 Euro for a litre, so not bad value.

come on what is it?

It's this stuff:

http://www.korrek.fi/app/product/view/-/id/172

Got it from K-Citymarket, which is basically a big supermarket.

nicklouse

neeb wrote:

nicklouse wrote:

neeb wrote:

It was only about 7 Euro for a litre, so not bad value.

come on what is it?

It's this stuff:

http://www.korrek.fi/app/product/view/-/id/172

Got it from K-Citymarket, which is basically a big supermarket.

perfect will do what you want.

will work in a chain cleaning tool as well.

neeb

nicklouse wrote:

perfect will do what you want.

will work in a chain cleaning tool as well.

:thumbsup: (this forum needs that emoticon!)