IXLR8

If anyone is looking for a really good commercial grade water based degreaser, then you should give Facto AT30 a try.

I've been using this product since the mid 80s and haven't found a better product yet.

Take it from someone who has owned messy chain drive motorcycles. We used it at the local flying club to clean the oily underbellies of aircraft.

Available from SWISH USA at 1-800-322-4222.

A pail goes for $72.05 or about $15 per US gallon.



Product Code 5830-20

Product Description Swish Facto AT30 Aircraft, Mass Transit and Vehicle Cleaner 18.9 L

Open Description A liquid detergent concentrate specially designed to add a new dimension to exterior cleaning of modern mass transit vehicles including aircrafts.

Uses
Use on most hard surfaces including aluminum, lexan, plexi-glass, enameled and lacquered surfaces.
Excellent in tunnel washers and portable spray units.

Features
A hard water tolerant, soap free product.
Contains silicates to make it safe for use on soft metals.
Concentrated

Benefits
Can be used in hot or cold water.
Versatile solution can be applied with portable sprayer, mops, soft brushes, tunnel washers and portable spray units.
Highly concentrated

Specifications

Directions Dilute with water as required. Apply with portable sprayer, mops or soft brushes and agitate. Rinse with pressurized water. Apply cleaning solutions from bottom to top and rinse from top to bottom.

Dilution Light soil: 1:40 parts water. Moderate soil: 1:20 parts water. Heavy soil: 1:10 parts water.

Colour Blue

Net Weight 22.6696 kgs

UNSPC Code 47131821

IXLR8

A guess a few sample pics were in order...







Due to leaking valve cover seals, the insides of my heat exchangers were coated with oil and dirt, fumes of which I do not exactly what circulating through my heating system.

No "before" pics, but this is the "after" pic using Facto AT30...

MoeMistry

WOW! That's one clean 993 engine. Good work.

IXLR8

Hate getting my hands dirty.

Wrenching is so much more fun without having to wipe you hands clean all the time.

cab&coupe

Thanks for sharing...

Einsteiger

This is worth trying. Thanks for the info and links to the source.

earossi

If I undstand the writeup, I would apply this degreaser with a low pressure sprayer and then use high pressure water to wash off, correct? What precautions did you have to take in using this material and water in the engine bay around the electrical components (alternator, fuse blocks, and terminal junction boxes, etc).

Thanks.

IXLR8

Maybe you could, but that is not the way I use it or how they recommend using it (Apply with portable sprayer, mops or soft brushes and agitate). Once you've cleaned any heavy crud off that has been there for years, follow-ups once a year take a matter of minutes.

I use a 1" pure bristle long handled sash brush and tooth brushes. I cover the metal bands on any paintbrush with heat shrink to prevent scratching of any surface.

I'll pour an inch of Facto AT30 into small container (175 ml yogurt container, for example), dip the brush and clean whatever I am cleaning. If the solution gets ultra dirty and ineffective, I just replace it; very little solution lost. I guess you can use a spray pump...I'll give it a try.

Personally, I never us a high-pressure washer on any vehicle; painted surfaces, near brakes or the engine bay. I take my wheels off the car when I pressure wash them.


None, but you can cover things using small plastic bags if you wish.

When I'm rinsing, I use my garden hose nozzle on "fine mist". No more water is getting to anything that wouldn't in a rain storm. Starting the engine and letting it warm up a few minutes is enough to dry things out...better yet, take it for a drive.

Keo

Thank you very much for posting, Alex.

I just learned that there is a Swish store where I live! (Ottawa). I think I'll follow your lead and get me some AT30 tomorrow.

Did you also use it to clean paint and the plastics in the engine bay or strickly metal surfaces?

Thanks in advance!
Kev

IXLR8

Swish is a Canadian company based in Peterborough with offices in the US and one in Europe.


I used AT30 to clean the entire engine bay.

I also used AT30 to clean the oily residue left by Stoner Xenit Citrus Cleaner and degreasers when I cleaned the underside of the car and suspension components.

No HTwo O

Nice work, Alex!

IXLR8

I'm treating my 993 too much like my motorcycles.

That wasn't supposed to happen.

Dwane

I thought XENIT was the best thing out there...Have you done the wheel arches with AT30? Or do you finish the job with AT30?

No HTwo O

Momma always said, "It's easier to keep your room clean, than to make your room clean!"

IXLR8

I finished the job with AT30 and water to rinse.

The wheel arches were coated with some product that requires something like Xenit or a petrol based degreaser such as Dunk to wash it off. To remove the residue of those products, AT30 followed by water was used. There was a lot of road dirt (abrasive) in that coating after so many years which made me not want to dry it off with a towel.

Xenit is great, I bought two cases, but it does not mix well with water to wash it off.