I finally got to play with the histoclear yesterday, I used it on the catalytic converter heatshields which had a moderately thick coat of cosmoline. Poured a little on a paper towel, let it lie directly on the surface for a minute or two and started wiping. I was worried the stuff would evaporate rapidly like xylene or brake cleaner but it is not very volatile at all. After a few minutes of soaking the stuff was somewhat softened, and I was able to remove it by wiping. Definitely still requires elbow grease, but overall I think it works comparably or slightly better than brake cleaner or kerosene. There was some down in nooks and crannies that I couldn't wipe, but when I hit it with the pressure washer all that stuff blew right away (whereas it was untouched by the first pass with the pressure washer during pre-cleaning). So that's promising for undercarriage cleaning.

It also appeared to brighten the metal a little, dunno if it was actually removing oxidation or it's my imagination. The smell is not at all overpowering and of course smells like oranges. It has the same drying/cracking effect on rubber gloves that brake cleaner does, maybe not as fast.

I have some more serious engine compartment/wheelwell/underbody cleaning to do this weekend, will report back with more.

 

Thanks Rob!

That' similar to what I found using the H-D stuff directly applied (undiluted). It softened up the cosmoline a lot but it still needed some work to get the softened stuff off. I didn't try the pressure washer directly after the treatment though. I did have the pressure washer out last week, and shot at the rear crossmember and suspension on the '85 Euro in the driveway. That's a month after using 1:8 dilution. Some of the cosmoline blew off, but I'm not sure if the cleaner really helped any.

 

I haven't worked on the cosmoline at all, but after trying every kind of green and purple and spray foam degreaser I could find, the easiest way to get oil and grease off is 99 cent Joy dish soap. Simple Green doesn't seem to work much better than tepid water, except the vapors when I spray it can make me cough up a lung if I inhale while I'm misting it.

 

Pics of the cat heat shield post histoclear/pressure wash. The central portion should tell you how much corrosion there was (car was in CT/NY/NJ for 8 years/70K miles), but you can see how bright the histoclear makes the aluminum where the cosmoline was:




And here's about 6 damp paper towels' and 15 minutes' worth of histoclear on the GTS's muffler: (well, I cheated and threw it in the bead blaster to clean the surface rust off the pipes)

 

I used lacquer thinner to get most off and also used Oil Flo. Be careful though b/c it will take paint off if you leave it on long enough. I've found that if you hose the area down first it acts to dilute either and you're less likely to remove finishes you don't want to...

Like you I've used a lot of this product but have found lacquer thinner works about equally as well. Bought mine from Larry too. Great guy.

I love what you're doing with your GTS and can't wait to see the finished product......

 

Whaddya mean? It's already sitting in your driveway!

 

Lacquer thinner made it on to the local AQMD's hit list a few years ago, along with xylene and toluene and MEK and methylene chloride. All those great cleaners... You can still buy it, but the price these days seems to include a pre-paid fine for allowing the vapors to disspate into everyone's air here. It does work faster than mineral spirits, but the very low boiling point means it's not going to stay on the parts long. And like most low-boiling aromatic solvents, you shouldn't inhale, mr president, or get it on your skin. Or on painted or plastic parts.

I think I remember someone saying that the brain damage is a cumulative effect. In my foggy past...

 

I think general aerosal can engine degreaser has been way underated and over looked. Cosmolene comes right off after a 1 minute soak and a scrub with a brush in engine degreaser. Just cleaned a bunch of suspension parts and a trans. I used to love brake clean and simple green but my new process after all that is a wipe down with a brush and some simple green then soak it in degreaser and brush it till everything comes off. Just some cheapo engine degreaser.... waaaay better than brake clean and especially stronger than any purple green whatever cleaners unless you are cleaning a small spot or brake dust. It does not evaporate or run off so you can keep scrubbing with it and when you rinse just scrub as you rinse with water. By far the easiest and SAFEST solvent I have found. Saved me a ton of time along with the 1 gallon garden sprayer.

 

What brand are you using? I haven't had much luck with them, they don't seem any better then any of the other solutions, but I'd be willing to give it another go with a specific brand.

Thanks, Ed

 

I've used Gunk Engine Brite with excellent results on greasy stuff, but never tried it on cosmoline. The foamy version hangs on to stuff for a while too. Downside here is that I need to capture all the runoff, including the rinse water. It can't go to my surface drains or into the storm drain system. So if I can't put it down the drains legally, it's off my list of possible solutions. But I do like the way it works. Maybe at one of those pay carwash places it would be OK, since they are supposed to have grease traps for their drains at least around here.

 

I used regular Oreilly's brand. Nothing special or foamy.

As far as catching it I use a large cat litter box and a hand pump pressurized 1 gallon garden sprayer. After scrubbing with a brush with the degreaser I use the garden sprayer and a clean brush to scrub as I spray things off. Works wonders and makes such little mess.

The things I have cleaned with are the transmission, rear crossmember, rear control arms, all covered in cosmoline residue and grease and road crap. I usually take a dry bruch and get as much chunks off first then do a once over with simple green to get the general dirt and stuff out of the way to work on the tougher grime.

 

More good info, thanks. -Ed

 

The stuff I use is non caustic, biodegradable, smells nice, etc etc. Its like Simple Green but actually works.

I have never seen it anywhere but this one mom and pop type chain that is local to the OP and myself.

 

I've never been able to make Simple Green work either.....

 

Simple Green has its good points. One is that it made some of my former Surfside neighbors very very wealthy. For cleaning most things I like it, but there are some drawbacks. One is that you really need to rinse well when using it, or it leaves a distinct film on your pieces. I often follow up with a pre-rinse with a little Dawn before final rinse and dry. Seems to work. The folks who use the P21S Total Body Wash stuff don't seem to have the rinse issues. Simple Green is also available everywhere, is relatively "safe" and kind to the drains and sewers.