What parts cleaner do you use to get coolant and oil off aluminum?

rk9268vc · Jan 11, 2022

What parts cleaner do you use to get coolant and oil off aluminum? As well as aluminum chips/ dust.
I am struggling to find a good parts cleaner for aluminum that doesnt leave a residue.
I have one of those recirculating pump parts cleaners, but I need help finding a parts cleaner solution that is good.
I am not looking for something like CRC heavy duty degreaser that is super harsh and flashes off really quick. I need something that will be fine recirculating around and around just through a filter, and needs to be safe on aluminum.

Thanks!

Finegrain · Jan 11, 2022

I use a standard issue dishwasher, hot water rinse, no detergent. This works great for cleaning water-solubles, but might not be too good for oil.

Regards.

Mike

GENERALDISARRAY · Jan 11, 2022

Dishwasher and Dawn For coolant.

Multi bath ultrasonic for swiss oil.

kustomizer · Jan 11, 2022

I rinse the parts in hot water as they come out of the machine, for the ones that are more critical, I soak them in hot water while the next cycle runs then switch then with the new ones out of the machine. It is way easier to clean them before the coolant dries onto them. Every few cycles I dump the water in the machine and start new, I keep it hot with thrift store Farberware pots and skillets on the bench at the machine along side the blanks, not the bench with the micrometers..

Dan from Oakland · Jan 11, 2022

For oil residue (not coolant) we have found that Simple Green in hot water with a clear hot water rinse works well.

Rick Finsta · Jan 11, 2022

Dawn dishwashing soap is my first choice, or Simple Green if that doesn't work well. Keeping the oil content down by changing it out often enough to be able to honestly call it "de minimus" means disposal is easy, too.

rk9268vc · Jan 11, 2022

Dan from Oakland said:
For oil residue (not coolant) we have found that Simple Green in hot water with a clear hot water rinse works well.

I tried simple green crystal and it left a residue n the parts

I also tried just hot water but it left water spots.

I use a lot of WD-40 in a mister, so I am not really dealing with water soluble stuff. That and the parts have some aluminum dust on them from being milled since this machine doesnt have flood coolant.

MwTech Inc · Jan 11, 2022

water spots = hard water
Add a bit of dishwasher rinse agent

kustomizer · Jan 11, 2022

MwTech Inc said:
water spots = hard water
Add a bit of dishwasher rinse agent

I like the water from the dehumidifier

wheelieking71 · Jan 12, 2022

Another vote for DAWN. And, as everyone has eluded, hot-water works way better.
DAWN is so good, I use it for hand cleaner. When my hands are real dirty, a small scoop of sand along with the DAWN cleans them right up.
No need for fancy over-priced hand cleaners.

Bobw · Jan 12, 2022

wheelieking71 said:
I use it for hand cleaner. When my hands are real dirty, a small scoop of sand along with the DAWN cleans them right up.

I use Sugar, or salt. I really don't want sand down my drains..

I use a lot of WD-40 in a mister,

Then just get some soluble and mix it up and use it in your mister.
Soluble, straight up, also makes a decent tapping fluid, and then
it rinses right off. And if it needs to be REALLY clean, quick
dip in Dawn and you're done.

You don't have to buy crap soluble from the
oil store, you can use oil based coolant, which has all the fancy
high pressure additives and and anti-corrosion things,
and all that good stuff.

-------
Dawn is awesome. Palmolive is gross and greasy and it smells like
my Grandmother.. Or my Grandmother always smelled like Palmolive.

kustomizer · Jan 12, 2022

A quick google turned up this, take it with a pound of salt.

Is WD-40 a hazardous chemical?
This product is an aspiration hazard. If swallowed, can enter the lungs and may cause chemical pneumonitis, severe lung damage and death.

Some years back we had a young lady working at our place get knocked up, by her husband, not me. She became concerned about the stuff we use in our shop so I gave her a project, update our MSDS book as it had been several years. In the end the 2 worst things we use in our shop are WD40 of which we use a couple 16 oz cans per year and liquid tide, a gallon jug lasts us 2 years plus or minus.

I would change what's in your mister to something water soluble and if hot water won't clean it a tiny bit of dawn in the hot water should. The sooner you get in the hot water the better.

rk9268vc · Jan 12, 2022

kustomizer said:
A quick google turned up this, take it with a pound of salt.

Is WD-40 a hazardous chemical?
This product is an aspiration hazard. If swallowed, can enter the lungs and may cause chemical pneumonitis, severe lung damage and death.

Thats funny. I literally buy WD-40 for the mister by the gallon jug. I have to set up box fans all over the shop because the atomized WD fogs up the place. Fog buster is too many buckeroos :'(

A water soluble cutting solution sounds like a good idea. Do you have any oil based ones you recommend? I dont want to worry about rust which is one of the reasons for using straight WD.

thanks

rk9268vc · Jan 12, 2022

Bobw said:
Then just get some soluble and mix it up and use it in your mister.
Soluble, straight up, also makes a decent tapping fluid, and then
it rinses right off. And if it needs to be REALLY clean, quick
dip in Dawn and you're done.
.

Do you have any water soluble fluid you recommend? Preferably oil based so it doesnt rust

thnaks

wheelieking71 · Jan 12, 2022

Bobw said:
I use Sugar, or salt. I really don't want sand down my drains..

My shop sink where I was my hands just dumps on the ground off the far back corner of the shop.
Only things that run through that sink are water, Dawn, the mentioned sand, and food rinsed off my lunch dishes.
Maybe a tiny bit of residual dried coolant from washing jaws that sat long enough to get all dusty?
Grass still grows fantastic there, LOL.

DDoug · Jan 12, 2022

rk9268vc said:
Thats funny. I literally buy WD-40 for the mister by the gallon jug. I have to set up box fans all over the shop because the atomized WD fogs up the place. Fog buster is too many buckeroos :'(

A water soluble cutting solution sounds like a good idea. Do you have any oil based ones you recommend? I dont want to worry about rust which is one of the reasons for using straight WD.

thanks

So there is a swirling cloud of "WD-40 Mist" in the middle of your shop ?

Aim all the fans to get it going counter clockwise ?

"Fog buster is too many buckeroos :'(" ... I hear a replacement set of lungs is too..... :nutter:

kustomizer · Jan 12, 2022

rk9268vc said:
Thats funny. I literally buy WD-40 for the mister by the gallon jug. I have to set up box fans all over the shop because the atomized WD fogs up the place. Fog buster is too many buckeroos :'(

A water soluble cutting solution sounds like a good idea. Do you have any oil based ones you recommend? I dont want to worry about rust which is one of the reasons for using straight WD.

thanks

I don't actually mist anything, I am a flood kind of guy amd mostly was trying to promote hot water washing after machining but we all have our ways

DDoug · Jan 13, 2022

kustomizer said:
I don't actually mist anything, I am a flood kind of guy amd mostly was trying to promote hot water washing after machining but we all have our ways

Yup, OP should pick up a "Curbside" dishwasher, and start from there.

kustomizer · Jan 13, 2022

digger doug said:
Yup, OP should pick up a "Curbside" dishwasher, and start from there.

Depending on the size of the parts, mine would be tossed around, dinged up and such as they are little. I rinse them and set them in egg flats at an angle, they are spot free and dry quite quickly using the hot dehumidifier water. Dish size parts work great in a dishwasher.

the average Joe · Mar 2, 2023

wheelieking71 said:
My shop sink where I was my hands just dumps on the ground off the far back corner of the shop.
Only things that run through that sink are water, Dawn, the mentioned sand, and food rinsed off my lunch dishes.
Maybe a tiny bit of residual dried coolant from washing jaws that sat long enough to get all dusty?
Grass still grows fantastic there, LOL.

Years back, we found out our shop was previously owned by a guy who liked to dump used motor oil right outside the building. We tried to plant some trees and stuff there, but nothing would ever grow. Fast forward to us finding out that the guy had laid down layers of old carpet to pour the oil out on. We had to dig it all out with a tractor and have it hauled away by a special company.

Coolant and food waste would've been way better.

What parts cleaner do you use to get coolant and oil off aluminum?

Aluminum

Diamond

Hot Rolled

Diamond

Titanium

Stainless

Aluminum

Titanium

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Aluminum

Aluminum

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

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Diamond

Aluminum

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