GUnk engine cleaner .. safe?

[bwringer]

Not that I've ever been caught cleaning much... but I'll agree the Gunk products shouldn't hurt anything and do a good job. The citrus smells a bit less bad and is theoretically less bad for the environment. Simple Green is also OK as long as you rinse very quickly, but I can't say I like strong urinal deodorizer smell.

Stay away from "Purple Power" and similar highly acidic cleaners -- they're a very, very bad idea on aluminum. Read the labels carefully.



One thing I'll warn against is some 3M brand engine cleaner I bought at Napa yesterday. Holy crap, that stuff is mostly paint stripper -- the really, really mean stuff that smells like powerful hair bleach. Yeah, it removes grease, but it will also chew through paint, flesh, and anything that's not metal. And it could legitimately kill you in an enclosed space.

With some heavy-duty chemical gloves, it was just the ticket for cleaning up some very sorry-looking pistons, though.

I'm honestly wondering if this stuff is mislabeled -- there's no way in hell you'd want something that active anywhere near plastic or rubber parts, and it has a warning that it will strip paint quickly.

[sedelen]

I've been using Gunk Engine Brite for years. It never affected the paint. Spray it on, scrub, wash it off. Repeat as nessasary... 

I've used it for years also, a very effective degreaser. Only problem I experienced was it had a tendency to dry out and yellow the protective clear coat on aluminum parts, such as engine cases. I went to a milder degreaser afterwards but the damage had been done.