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Maintenance chemicals - what do you use?

September 22, 2010, 10:54:18 pm

In my years of working on things I have come across a number of useful chemicals to help me fix or repair stuff.  I recently read a post that mentioned something new to me- Stabilant 22, a electical cleaner and lubricant, which appears to be quite expensive, a 5 ml kit costs $38.00 on Amazon.

I thought maybe I would list some of the stuff I have used and see what others have found to be useful.
1.  Kroil - got a flyer at work and ordered a can for myself.  Found it worked better than Liquid Wrench.
2.  Corrosion Block - you all know how I found this one and while I was researching another location to buy more I found CorrosionX.
3.  Simple Green - found this in the Turbo Diesel Register for Dodge Cummins owners, learned it can harm aluminum and from the people here learned that there is a version, Extreme, that is aluminum friendly.
4.  Spray on battery terminal cleaner, the one I came across was made by Zep and I don't remember where I found it. 
5.  Aladdin Magic Lube, a Teflon based grease - recommended by my swimming pool company to lubricate o-rings in my pool filter.  CAUTION!  I used this to make sure my radiator hoses would not stick when I needed to change them on my race car but discovered that the spring clamps I used were not strong enough to keep the hose on when the engine got hot.  Regular Ideal clamps work just fine though.  Silcone grease probably works just as well.
6.  Liquid electrical tape - found this at a electronics parts place.  Great for areas that are hard to wrap with regular tape.
7.  Goo Gone - great stuff for removing sticky stuff like label glue.  Citrus based so it does not seem to harm anything I have used it on.

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Re: Maintenance chemicals - what do you use?

Reply #1 – September 23, 2010, 08:04:19 am

I agree that Kroil (or PB Blaster) is better than Liquid Wrench for loosening rusty or stuck bolts etc. What is even better and much cheaper is to mix half acetone and half ATF (automatic transmission fluid). I use this on my antique cars, one of which is nearly 90 years old.

Robert

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Reply #2 – September 23, 2010, 09:01:06 am

Everyone probably knows this, but Acetone will quickly damage paint and plastics. By itself, it usually evaporates before much damage can occur but when mixed with higher viscosity materials like ATF, it remains on the surface long enough to cause damage. Just make sure not to get it on vulnerable areas.

I also found a fantastics citrus cleaner/degreaser used on oil rigs, but we are on the road and it is at home. I will post the name and the attributes next week when we get home.

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Reply #3 – September 23, 2010, 11:07:52 am

"Goof Off - The Miracle Remover - Professional Strength"!  Works great and can be used on nylon, polypropylene, and wool carpets, fully cured varnished and oil based painted surfaces, vinyl baseboard, laminated counter tops, vinyl floors, solid vinyl upholstery, all metals, glass, brick, wood, concrete, grout, vinyl tops, fiberglass, most fabrics.  Damages many plastics, worn vinyl floors, some automotive paints,and some carpets, so always test on a inconspicuous area first!

I can't remember why I first purchased Goof Off, but I have used it several times since.  Does not hurt Gel-coat (used to remove wax so I could apply vinyl).  Have used it on Corian several times.  Has removed stains that other cleaners would not touch.  Has always worked faster than other cleaners.  It has become my new tough job cleaner.

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Re: Maintenance chemicals - what do you use?

Reply #4 – September 23, 2010, 01:22:20 pm

For stains on Corian that nothing else will touch, try Soft Scrub with Bleach. I have removed ball point pen ink with this method. Put it on stain and let it set until nearly dry pick up with a wet cloth and rinse thoroughly. This allows the bleach to work on the stain. It is best not to scrub until this method has failed. Scrubbing with Soft Scrub can dull a polished Corian top. DON'T get it on your carpet, it will bleach it.

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Reply #5 – September 23, 2010, 07:01:04 pm

Soft scrub is too coarse for corian.  If you start with 1500 grit sandpaper, or 2000 grit and the stains/scratches are still there, you can go coarser to1200 grit, finishing it with 1500, 2000, then car polish.  when you are finished, you can shave in it.

The DW did her nails on the table, spilled some of the smelly stuff on it and melted and fogged the table.  While I was at it, I did all of the corian surfaces, especially near the sink which takes a beating.
  DW is happy, happy, happy.
  Dave at FOT made a bigger table extension and I had to sand it down to level it with the table.  Finished it as above and it looks original.

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Re: Maintenance chemicals - what do you use?

Reply #6 – September 23, 2010, 08:59:28 pm

Mike, I agree that it is too coarse for Corian. What I meant was to use the gel consistency of the Soft Scrub to keep the chlorine bleach from evaporating so that it stays in contact with the surface for a longer period of time. Don't scrub the surface unless all else fails.

Mike's instructions for the use of ultra fine sand paper are correct for refinishing the Corian surface. The final fix is polymer based Corian polish. It is available at most Home Depots and Lowes stores. It seals and polishes the Corian to make it more resistant to staining.

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Reply #7 – September 23, 2010, 11:54:44 pm

DW likes Bon Ami Polishing Cleanser.  The container says you can even use it on fiberglass!  But they even use the "test first" disclaimer.  I leave her Bon Ami alone because she make me find out where to buy it, and it is never available locally.  Always have to travel to get it and hope that they still carry it.  So if I stay away from it, I don't have the head ache of finding it.

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Reply #8 – September 24, 2010, 09:56:15 pm

I had not thought of a product that I purchased to refinish my "fake" marble tops in our bathrooms at home.  It is used to refinish aircraft windows.  The Micro-mesh KR-70 kit includes a sanding block, 1500, 1800, 2400, 3600, 4000, and 6000 grit micro mesh sheets and a plastic polish.  All the sheets are the wet type and are meant to be used with water.  I've used the polish compound to refinish the plastic lenses in my reading glasses.

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Reply #9 – September 24, 2010, 10:35:29 pm

Hi John,
  I have used the super fine sand papers, and they are great. Great for touch up on aircraft canopies. They were giving free samples, for doing nails, at the Oshkosh Fly-in. My wife loves the product.

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Reply #10 – September 24, 2010, 10:53:59 pm

An update.  Old age brain fade, I forgot that our bathroom counter tops are called "cultured" marble.  I think it is marble dust in an epoxy binder.  It stains like marble but the Micro-mesh kit cleaned it up beautifully.  The Corian counter tops in our coaches are made up with an acrylic polymer and alumina trihydrate.

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Reply #11 – September 29, 2010, 08:03:28 pm

Not exactly a chemical, but if you've seen the commercials for U-Glue, don't believe a word they say.  I thought it would be great to mount my surround sound speakers, they're very light weight.  Worked for a few days and then they started falling off.

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Re: Maintenance chemicals - what do you use?

Reply #12 – September 29, 2010, 09:39:04 pm

Gayland,

You gotta read the fine print.  The U in U-Glue stands for unstuck. Seriously, thanks for the information.  I will be sure never to buy this product.  BTW.  Loctite make a great sealant/glue.  I used it a lot in my sticks and bricks and it never failed.

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