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6 Underrated Chemicals to Have In Your Shop
The first thing anyone needs to start a DIY project is the drive to learn and get their hands a little dirty. The second is, naturally, the necessary tools. In a surprising third place are the cleaners, lubricants, and menagerie of other chemicals that tend to fill a shelf, drawer, or cabinet in any garage where work gets done. Some are obvious: Brake cleaner, carburetor cleaner, penetrating oils. Others are less so, but can be just as handy. Here are six from my own garage that don’t get the love they deserve.
Fogging oil
This stuff is popular in the marine world for coating the interior of engines prior to long storage. Put simply fogging oil is a light oil in an aerosol can, which makes it very handy for keeping corrosion at bay on anything you store or need to worry about moisture on. Since my shop is heated but not humidity-controlled, some of my rarely used tools get a wipe-down with this before going into the box to keep the moisture in the air from condensing and aiding in forming corrosion. It’s also great for coating parts being assembled that don’t need a coating of assembly lube or will be sitting partially assembled for some time.
Goo Gone
We all love it when new parts come with stickers, but I know I’m not alone in being a little miffed when adhesive residue or gunk is also included. a citrus cleaner like Goo Gone is perfect for this but also for other light degreasing where you might typically reach for brake cleaner. I’ve found Goo Gone to work just as well as brake cleaner, and I can use it in a non-ventilated area (as most are in the winter) without my brain involuntarily entering the space race.
Tire mounting lubricant
As a motorcycle rider who changes his own tires, I had this stuff on the shelf for at least a year before I ever thought to use it for anything else. Not sure why it took me so long. This is the liquid version rather than the solid brick, and that makes it easy to wipe onto items like intake tubes or other rubber boots that need to slide into place. It is safe for rubber, dries away clean, and even has a little cleaning effect. I’ve had great luck using this for all kinds of small tasks compared to other aerosol solutions like silicone spray which come with other drawbacks and concerns like causing fisheyes in paint.
Canned air
I have never smoked and I spent a decade as a competitive runner and a handful of years as a trombone player, but even my better-than-average lungs can only concentrate so much air to remove debris from a project. I also don’t want to spend my Saturday doing my best big bad wolf impersonation just to clean a carburetor.
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And I know you are saying “Get a compressor,” to which I counter that a compressor and shop air is a luxury that not everyone has access to. I’ve done a lot of work to great results without having an air compressor and the tools associated with it. Canned air is not a real replacement, but can do more than one might think, including being a budget freeze spray if used while turning the can upside down—works great for press-fit bearing installations.
Gummi Pfledge
Weatherstripping is something that typically slowly fades away without our noticing. Hobby cars that are only driven in fair weather, often with windows down, are almost expected to be louder inside than a modern car. It doesn’t have to be so bad though. A little bit of care from wiping on some Gummi Pfledge will help restore some of the sponginess to that weather stripping and keep it sealing well for longer. It’s not something I reach for incredibly often, but it has no real replacement.
Pine-Sol
While I probably should mop my floor once in a while, the jug of Pine-Sol in my shop lives next to the ultrasonic cleaner and works great to remove gunk and grime from aluminum parts like carburetor bodies. A friend told me to use this stuff, and while the smell was a little strong at first, the results convinced me to keep a jug on the table alongside the other solutions and detergents I use in the ultrasonic. Just don’t let aluminum sit in a Pine-Sol solution long—I never go more than 10 minutes on carb bodies—it will eat the aluminum and leave you with no part! Rinse with clean water once out and you’ll have a bright clean part with no scrubbing.
Are these the only chemicals hiding on the hardware store shelves worth bringing home? Probably not, but they work great and I wish I’d discovered them sooner.
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For cleaning and restoring rusty gas and fuel tanks I like OSPHO. I pour in enough to slosh it around for 30 minutes or so then rinse with clean water. It etches the metal very well and makes it look almost brand new.
My canned air is almost 5′ tall. Its a compressor. Gotta check out the Gummi Pfledge, never heard of it
Has anyone used both Gummi Pfledge and Silione Grease for door seals and such? I use the latter and it seems to work great.
OK, looked up the data sheet.
https://nextzettusa.com/content/SDS/91480615-Gummi-Pflege.pdf
It is mostly cosmetic grade silicone (dimethicone). The rest is mostly just to make a nice applicator and smell nice (p-cymene). I’d try raw dimethicone. It’s cheaper by a lot. (250 ml should be about 25$). But it doesn’t seem much different than just silcone grease except it would probably need to be applied more frequently.
The grease attracts dust and is messier to apply, so I have switched to Gummi Pfledge in recent years.
When restoring old vehicles I have had good success “resuscitating” old unobtanium rubber parts by soaking them overnight in Ru-Glyde. If you let them soak too long (like several days) they may swell so monitor their progress. Ru-Glyde is available at most Napa stores.
I keep squeeze bottle of Low odor Mineral Spirits and isopropyl alcohol on hand. Using empty squeeze bottles from contact lens cleaner, these have a very thin squirt nozzle to pinpoint fluids into small spaces – less waste. Mineral spirits degreases and works well removing glue residue vs. citrus based cleaner/adhesive removers and alcohol safely cleans and preps surfaces. Crock pot slow-cookers and Dawn are decent parts cleaners if you have time. Brake cleaner is good fast acting but $$ but so long as what ever debris is being cleaned/ removed doesn’t flow somewhere and contaminates other parts and also hope it doesn’t splash back in your face. PineSol – diluted down can fend off rodents (and deer if they’re eating the shrubs) and recommend it as a wash down for any surface area previously inhabited by mice.
WD-40 is NOT a lubricant
Got that right!!
Dollar store oven cleaner for getting the crud off frames and chassis. Scrubbing bubbles instead of engine cleaner under the hood.
Gummi Pfledge (means Rubber Care in German) is good stuff! Learned about it from the BMW folks.
For parts cleaner, try the purple Simple Green Pro HD stuff. It supposedly doesn’t harm aluminum.
Gummi Pfledge? Never heard of it but seems like good maintenance for the doors and removable top seals on my C6. Ordered a bottle and thanks for the tip and good article.
I saw a 10oz can of that compressed air at O’Reillye’s yesterday. $10.95! For AIR!
Right.
I would recommend purchasing from home centers or hardware stores. It’s often far more affordable there.
Kroil works pretty good for penetrating oil. Little pricy. Usually use cheaper stuff unless parts are rusted horribly then I break out the kroil. I use pine sol also for ultrasonic. Just saw online someone posted pics of carb cleaned with Hoppe gun cleaner. Carb looked brand new. Maybe good alternative if you don’t have an ultrasonic cleaner. I use purple power for a lot of degreasing. Cheap and not on the toxic side. Friend just gave a good tip last year for removing tree sap from paint. Alcohol prep pads like the nurse uses before you get a shot. Works way better than goo gone. Also use simple green, carb cleaner and brake clean. Just tried something last week. I need to weld some bolts and zinc/ galvanized welding fumes are nasty. Soaked the bolts in white vinegar and Shazam. Zinc was gone. Also remember don’t clean metal with brake fluid before welding. Toxic fumes
In my experience restoring rusty stuff white vinegar (or Evaporust) to soak rusty parts in works quite well. Small nuts and bolts in old prescription bottles work good too. Shake once in awhile to remove scale.
I have used Pine Sol to soak old rubber seals in to bring back some flexibility and it expands the rubber slightly. Usually a last ditch effort when u can’t get a seal. Wd-40 I buy in the gallon can but limit it’s use for short term lube duties. I am also a big fogging oil guy. Better staying power than wd-40 type lubes. I use mineral spirits for sticker glue removal. Goo B gone for stubborn stuff. As always know the compatibility of the chemical to the surface. I like lacquer thinner and carb cleaner for stubborn grease/paint removal on most small metal parts.
I go a less aggressive route and keep a gallon of deer molasses in the garage for derusting. Mix 1:9 molasses to water and stir, let the parts soak for a week, stir again, let them go for another week, and remove. Keep a lid on to keep stuff from growing, though. Parts come out with almost no rust, so I just wash with water and lightly coat with oil. It’s a longer process, but very gentle.
My other commonly-used chemicals are a tube of dielectric grease for battery terminals, bulbs, etc. and a tube of brake grease; saved me on those $1 one-use packets over the years.
You forgot the standard. WD40!
I would add Meguiar’s #40 Rubber & Vinyl Cleaner/conditioner for weatherstripping, especially in cold climates, twice a year after a wash. Denatured alcohol to wipe off surfaces to remove oil/grease residue (but wear gloves to protect your hands). A set of Novus Polishes for polishing and shining plastics. Originally used for brightening/cleaning convertible top rear windows, I use it for polishing plastic switches and dash areas. As with any chemical, always spot test first..
A little off topic but an antique car guy I knew always kept a bar of Irish spring soap in the trunk – not sure how it does it but it does seem to neutralize a lot of odors especially that burnt oil or old seats smell.