I am trying to get the hang of using Brownell's Dicropan IM and am wondering if there is a Water Base Cleaner that will work to get the final clean on the metal.  Since I do this in my basement I really don't want to go to a Flammable or Toxic Cleaner.  My learning curve is really long so hope to bypass a lot trial and error.  Thanks,  David

This question got me thinking about what the old guys used to clean before bluing. We didn't always have shelves full of 'miracle' products to choose from- but some of those folks managed pretty durable gun finishes didn't they?

Boil in real TSP (Tri-sodium phosphate) from the paint store. Boil again to rinse.
Keep your fingers off of it after cleaning. 
Old-timers used Oakite. Not sure what it was but suspect a lye solution. Lye works very well.
Chuck

Chuckster wrote on Oct 28^th, 2017 at 10:42pm:


Boiling in TSP.     There were/are a number of products sold under the Oakite trade name.  Only to institutions now, apparently.   I suspect that the product retailed as Oakite was just TSP.   Your local True Value has TSP in the paint section.  Nothing else degreases oily kitchen walls for repainting better.

They're probably illegal now, but in that bad old days I used a  vapor degreaser while working in a high tech heat treating plant.   A stainless drum with a heat source at the bottom, a coil carrying cold water under the lid. A few gallons of *gasp* 1,1,1,trichloroethane in the bottom.  Heat vaporizes the trichlor, it condenses on the parts hung in the middle, carrying away ALL the oil.  Steel parts would come out so oil-free that you could SEE them rust, so we'd quickly submerge in alcohol until they cooled.   Cold coil at the top kept the excess trichlor from getting out. (It was expensive.)   Don't know if this would work with modern substitutes.   

I have heard of the term before.  This is probably it: (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

TSP or greased lighting which is a lye solution

Thanks for the suggestions.  What I will try is boiling it in TSP and then scrubbing it down with Dawn dish soap as soon as it comes out of the TSP.  Was warned by a Painter to never let TSP dry on washing a wall as it leaves a film that doesn't come off.  David

I use whiting compound mixed to a slurry in acetone to paint oil soaked stocks. It draws the oil out very nicely. It's sold locally at stained glass window supply stores as those who work with stained glass use it to degrease the lead prior to soldering. About $8 per pound of the powder.