Chemical cleaner

[Ruairidh Dunford]

I use a weak mix of alloy wheel cleaner and hot water in my ultrasonic cleaner - works very well provided that you fully degrease the parts first.

[Nick Lettington]

I feel like all hell is about to break loose in the QI studio, but is carb cleaner not an appropriate cleaner for carbs

[Nick Salmon]

That is a fiendishly cunning reply Nick - and you may well be correct,  however I suspect it won't work on our old carb bodies

I have tried alloy wheel cleaner - doesn't touch it. Tried brake cleaner (OK, yes, I do know the difference between a carb and a brake...) doesn't touch it.

Anyway, in the absence of any rock solid 'proprietary' solutions I have spent a whopping 80p on a bottle of Tesco own brand brown sauce (please don't now tell me only HP works...) and have begun an experiment to see what happens. Half the carb body is slathered in the stuff and wrapped in clingfilm. The other half is unsullied.

I shall report back at the weekend with photos of success or otherwise.

[Stuart Joseph]

Good evening. I've not tried it myself but I was told that barbecue cleaner has the same properties as alloy wheel cleaner. Can anyone confirm?
Regards from the creative county, Staffordshire.
Stuart

[Charles P]

Good evening. I've not tried it myself but I was told that barbecue cleaner has the same properties as alloy wheel cleaner. Can anyone confirm?
Regards from the creative county, Staffordshire.
Stuart

I clean the barbecue by wire brushing it and then having it really hot for 10 minutes.

Are you telling me there's another way?

[Nick Lettington]

That is a fiendishly cunning reply Nick - and you may well be correct,  however I suspect it won't work on our old carb bodies

I didn't consider whether it worked... I was more worried that perhaps it dissolved them! I have a pair of 1950s H1s from a frogeye in the pile of junk that will one day be repurposed as a Speedex Silverstone... (You'd never guess that I'm starting to loose heart) and bought a couple of aerosols to give them a birthday before i strip them...

I'll be watching this thread with interest...

[Stumpi]

Try Acetone[nail varnish remover]best soaked in a jar for a while.remember to remove all gaskets and rubber/plastic parts first.
Andy

[Nick Lettington]

   

I see your point Nick... One lid just quickly cleaned with carb cleaner and half the carb also cleaned with the same (but scrubbed at with a paint brush...) Spot the difference, or not... 20 years obviously made a difference to the composition...

[Ian Williams]

Good evening. I've not tried it myself but I was told that barbecue cleaner has the same properties as alloy wheel cleaner. Can anyone confirm?
Regards from the creative county, Staffordshire.
Stuart

I clean the barbecue by wire brushing it and then having it really hot for 10 minutes.

Are you telling me there's another way?

Bloody hell are you actually supposed to clean a BBQ, I thought it was like a tea cup that got better the less you cleaned it!

[Ruairidh Dunford]

I have read about barbecues - one day, one day...


Location: SW Scotland