Degreasing box section

[murrmacParticipant @murrmac]

I am sure many of you have bought MS box section and undergone the task of wiping off the protective oil/grease coating to enable the material to be handled without contaminating everything it comes in contact with.

In the past, I have just laid the lengths of HS between two trestles and wiped them with torn-off paper rolls dampened with white spirit, but I just wondered whether there was a better solvent than white spirit to get them totally grease free.

[murrmacParticipant @murrmac]

[Bob Brown 1Participant @bobbrown1]

I'd use acetone but use outdoors with gloves as it will not only degrease the steel but your skin as well.

[murrmacParticipant @murrmac]

Thanks Bob, I will try that, I do have a 2 litre can of acetone around somewhere.

[David Standing 1Participant @davidstanding1]

I use cellulose thinners for degreasing steel, as it evaporates. Cheapest one I can get possible, bought in 5L tins.

Edited By David Standing 1 on 22/04/2017 11:45:24

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

I have a Clarke degreasing tank and use a commercial degreaser that is non-solvent. The chemist at work used to say it is strong washing up liquid but it is certainly strong even well diluted; It has stripped all the paint in the tank up to the liquid level.

Brian

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

When I get hot rolled bow section steel here, I get it in the painted form, we got some unpainted stuff four or five years ago as it was about half the price, after it was unloaded from the truck, about a ton of it, we loaded it back on and sent it back, it was oily, and full of water, and some despite the oil was rusty, it would have cost more than it was worth to clean up.

For a small bit, the suggestions above would be the way to go.

Ian S C

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

For stuff you can get in a bath I use caustic soda. It doesn't dilute the oil/grease like solvents, it converts it to something that washes away. Be careful though, as it's name suggests, it doesn't do skin/clothes a lot of good, Marigolds are OK to protect your hands. You can pour it down the drain to get rid when you've finished, and it's as cheap as chips. Don't use it on non ferrous, especially aluminium.

Edited By duncan webster on 22/04/2017 12:52:30

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

I used to use a strong water-based detergent and very hot water (I forget the brand name). That way, once shaken and towelled dry, any residual moisture would evaporate, to avoid rust. Of course, without the protective layer, it is more prone to rust….

Soluble cutting oil (applied neat) or Gunk are also candidates, as they seem to be a mixture of light oil and detergent so they dissolve oil but will wash off. Again, hot water is very helpful.

Murray

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by duncan webster on 22/04/2017 12:51:38:

For stuff you can get in a bath …

.

[ … like body parts ? ]

[Fowlers FuryParticipant @fowlersfury]

I agree with those above advocating use of a water based solution.

Caustic soda will convert the oil/grease to soap ~ that's how it's made.

My preference, though comparatively expensive, is 'Autoglym' degreaser applied with a hard brush then washed off.

White spirits is of course a light oil and wiping with a volatile solvent will remove most of the oil but remember that the oil is dissolved in the solvent which then evaporates leaving some of the dissolved oil on the surface just as 2 stroke "petroil" does when the petrol evaporates.

[JellyParticipant @jelly]

It’s very much a question of how clean you really need it to be.

Immersion in an agitated bath of either Hot Caustic or Chlorinated Solvents (Perchloroethylene AKA Perkalone) are the only two methods of degreasing parts totally in one step.

Both have serious health hazards (burns and carcinogenicity respectively), so are sparingly used by industry, often when all other options fail to deliver sufficient levels of cleanliness.

A petroleum solvent (White Spirits, Petrol, Diesel, etc.) or brushing on a strong detergent leaving it to stand and flushing off with hot running water (Traffic Film Remover, Commercial Aqueous Degreasers or my favourite a 4:1 mix of fairy liquid and water are all good candidates here) will remove gross contamination with oils effectively enough for almost all normal requirements.

For very high levels of cleanliness, you can remove the residues of a petroleum solvent or detergent by leaving the part until dry, then wiping thoroughly with clean rags soaked in a more volatile solvent (Acetone, Ethyl Acetate, Methanol and Diethyl Ether are all effective), other than specialist coatings, I can’t think of something which would make this necessary.

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

Detergent, and a water blaster, or a steam cleaner does well.

Ian S C

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