Old grease removal and drying procedures, before re-lubing

[sinkerswim]

I am new to this board, matter of fact, first post.

First off I'd like to say thank you to Alan Tani, a remarkable guy. Who gives so much of himself to those of us who are mechanically challenged. Alan convinced me to take on my first overhaul of an ambassadeur sx 6600clw. It came out better than new! And to those of you who provide insight to all of us, KUDOS! This website is incredible. So much to digest. The tips provided are second to none. Thank You All!

Ok, on to my question. I know Alan suggests CRC brake dust remover, to rid old grease, is this flamable? Toxic? (fumes) What are some of the other things used. I don't desire to purchase an ultrasonic cleaner, as I don't have that many reels that need work.

Please provide the procedures that you guys use. I'd believe the end goal is to try to wind up bare, dry metal before the lube is applied.

Any help, for this beginner, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You!

[Keta]

Here's a link to the MSDS,
http://www.crcindustries.com/faxdocs/msds/5084.pdf

[alantani]

i'll use carb cleaner to clean out old bearings and levelwind assemblies when a spool needs to spin, but i usually do not clean and regrease other metal surfaces.  all of these materials are flammable, and certainly not healthy to breath, but they're not "cyanide in a bottle" either.  i have a bucket on the far side of the garage to catch the overspray and i just hold my breath a little while i'm spraying.  so far so good.......

[Norcal Pescador]

Most solvents are hazardous at some level, some more than others. Keta's comment to read the MSDS is very valid. I use the brake cleaner from Wally-World and try not to breathe the vapors. I'm lucky that I can step outside the garage and do my spraying over a trash can. I don't hose everything down every time, just the initial cleaning on a crud-ball that I'm going to rehabilitate.

If you're sensitive to solvents or chemicals, try a hot water bath (for the reel parts ) with a degreasing dish soap like Dawn. I haven't used it on reels, but it cleans hands pretty well. Thank goodness for old toothbrushes! Wear safety glasses or goggles when spraying or scrubbing with wet stuff; sooner or later it'll come back at your face.

Welcome to the site and learn from the experts like the rest of us do. Alan should get a gold medal for what he's got going here!

Rob

[Pro Reel]

When I was starting my reel repair shop, I tried a lot of cleaners and talked to a lot of people about cleaners. Many shops just use simple green. Even with very hot water , a dilute of simple green won't cut grease and grit very good. Some shops use naptha paint thinner. I hate the smell of naptha and It doesn't seem like a very safe thing to use for overall cleaning. I checked with an industrial solvents company and settled on a degreaser from Saftey Clean. Safety Clean is a national company and has dealers in most cities. They supply and service parts cleaning tanks to mechanics and industry. I found that you can stop by a saftey clean dealership and buy the fluid for the parts cleaning tanks from them. I take a 5 gallon container with me and get it filled for about $50 bucks. The saftey clean solvent is safe on all reels and parts. It will cut most of the grease and works great as the first step scrubbing with brushes. I used to just use a cake pan and a plastic coffee can of the cleaner. I now use a bench top parts cleaner with pump and filter. When the fluid gets very dirty, you can set it aside and after a week, the grease and dirt will settle out and you can pump the clean fluid off the top. 5 gallons lasts my shop a year before it gets so weak that it stops working good. After the scrub with the saftey clean, I rinse the parts with diluted simple green, or drop them in a sonic tank of simple green to cut stuborn crud. I still use acetone soak or carb cleaner for bearings, as thats the best for them.

[Phinaddict]

Lots of solvents will work. The amount of grease to be dissolved isn't a lot. White gas, brake cleaner, carb cleaner, orange citrus cleaners. They all will work. I wash them with soap and water afterwards, then blow dry.  Best to use nitrile or latex gloves.

Don't breath the fumes, you'll end up with drain bramage.

[broadway]

I gotta go with Pro Reel on this one...DEGREASER.  I use the original 409, papertowels, q-tips, toothbrush, and elbow grease, wipe with a dry paper towel, and squirt some canned air in hard to dry places (gears, pinions, springs,etc).  I can't believe how well this stuff works, but I think any household degreaser (without bleach) would work.  I have done this to over 50 reels in the past 6 months, and by the time I finish cleaning a reel I can eat off it. Before I discovered Alan's site I used 90% Alcohol on everything...DON'T DO THIS!!!!  I'm almost positive I warped a sideplate on a vintage 2/0 by using the alcohol on it.  The other nice parts of using the 409 is the lack of toxic fumes and the fact that you can clean your countertop off with it when you're done with the reel.  I'm willing to use a less hazardous solvent and some extra elbow grease cause I do my reel maintenance in my living room (I'm obviously single:).   Good luck to ya!
Dom

[alantani]

I'm willing to use a less hazardous solvent and some extra elbow grease cause I do my reel maintenance in my living room (I'm obviously single:).   Good luck to ya!
Dom

spoken like a true bachelor.  dom, you're my hero!

[sinkerswim]

Thanks to all for the replys.

All the stuff is very informative. I only own ten saltwater reels. Hope to keep them for a while. Three of those are ambassadeur 5500c3's two are twenty plus years old! And, have remained in very good operating order with minor maintenance. So, for the volume of repair work, I don't believe I'll be needing any massive amount of degreaser. I have muddled through with dawn in the kitchen sink, old toothbrush, and elbow grease. Never got anything to come box clean. That is why I'm looking for a more industrial approach. I imagine I'll be purchasing a can of the carb cleaner for the really stobborn stuff. I'll do it outdoors as my workbench is located about twelve feet from the gas hot water heater which has a pilot light. Don't need to tempt fate.

Thank You All!

[callelk]

Don't breath the fumes, you'll end up with drain bramage.

Oooops..............too late.

[dylan]

Another option, that's kind of in the middle between-- A, healthier for you (simple green or citrus cleaners) and B, faster/better solvent (carb cleaner in a can) -- is to use iso-propyl alcohol (also known as rubbing alcohol).  it's less harmful for you than most "solvents" -- such as the carb cleaner, or naptha, etc, and still pretty good at dissolving that mix of grease, salt, etc.  get the stuff that's 99%, not the 70% stuff that is more common.  Or, try denatured alcohol.    the isopropyl alcohol in a ultrasonic cleaner (put it in a glass jar in the water bath of the cleaner) works pretty good on bearings, etc.  hot soapy water has worked for me too.  i will have to try the simple green. 
yes, these are flammable, so exercise some caution.   

[callelk]

For me its an old one-gallon carb cleaner sealed bucket.  You know, the one with the basket that is used to clean small carbs and parts. 

I gave the old carb cleaner to the city on our semi-annual haz-waste day and fill the bucket with kerosene that I purchase at the local hardware store.  Parts can sit in the bucket for weeks and as I clean my reels religiously, corrosion has never been an issue.

I run the used kerosene through a paint strainer for heating use and when the strainer dries with all of the solids, I toss it in the container for the next haz-waste pickup day.  I don't throw any thing that is plastic into the kerosene just in case and instead use a tooth brush, lots of hot water and only mild dish soap.   

For bearings, carb cleaner after the kerosene bucket.   

[reelman76]

When I took over the reel repair business from my predecessor, Mr. Jeff, I took over his supply of his choice of degreaser...Varsol.  I know what you guys are thinking. Not for plastic parts! Yup. It has no effect that I can see on any of the nylon parts in any reels I have worked on.  What it does destroy is rubber parts, so I am very careful to segregate my parts.  But for degreasing, I have found no equal.  It effortlessly dissolves grease.  I soak the reel parts for a few hours in a small container.  Now for the bad part, health issues.  This stuff is really toxic, causing most often bladder cancer, with prolonged exposure.  The fumes are very strong also.  I wear a respirator and nitrile gloves when I use the stuff, because as I mentioned before, Mr. Jeff, who used Varsol religiously without any hand or respiratory protection for over 50 years, died last December at the age of 78 of, you guessed it, bladder cancer.  Guess he had a strong constitution to hold out that long, God rest his soul.  Another problem is that it sometimes removes decals on older reels, but that is easily remedied with a little super glue. The final downfall is, and this is my preference, to clean the Varsol residue off of the side plates and spool with a soap and water solution. They really come out spotlessly clean.  I still would like to find a less toxic but as effective solution for thorough degreasing of reels.

Sorry about my long-windedness

Mike

[Fishermans Paradise]

I have tried a multitude of degreasers, by far the best and fastest i have found is made by a company Chesterton.  It is their product 292 Precision degreaser.  The fumes are not bad at all, and the company even claims it to be an environmentally friendly product.  This stuff instantly cuts through even the heaviest of greases.  The drawback is the price, this stuff is not cheap by any means.  It is available in aerosol cans as well as a 5 gallon can.  I by the 5 gallon can and it runs about $130.  I service a few hundred reels in the course of a season in my shop and I get about a season and a half out of a can.  I have not found any negative effects on metal, plastic or rubber.  It cleans so well that the plastic parts tend to look a little "dried out" after cleaning them.  A quick shot of light oil applied then buffed out and the plastic looks brand new.  just my 2 cents worth.  Thanks for such a great site Alan and everyone who contributes to it ! ! !

Lee

[lyt]

although somewhat of a rookie yesterday I just had great success with dish liquid and hot water and a small stiff nylon brush, there is no way in heaven I would ever use anything I needed a respirator and a hazmat suit to wash down my reel parts.  That's just my opinion of course and perhaps my reels are not as bad as some.  Basically any de-greaser, like the stuff I found at costco that is "safe"  and not toxic that works well too.   I will second the carb cleaner though, the pressurized blast is necessary to do certain parts like bearings.   It just makes life easier unless you want to spend an hour for each bearing ....     I don't lose sleep over the toxic issue, I just don't breathe it in, I'd rather turn purple than inhale nasty stuff.