Does a Syphon Gun Work Better for Degreasing? Mineral Spirits or Degreaser?

It's always a really "nice" surprise when you crack open that used engine to find years of sludge buildup. Your mind instantly goes to how much time it's going to take just to get the parts ready for work. Should you throw it in the parts washer and dirty up all your degreaser or solvent? Should you throw it in a vat of cleaner? Or, can you make magic happen with a simple and cheap syphon gun? While we're not trying to find out the best degreaser/solvent, we are trying to see if we can cut some corners. Let us know your ideas.
#tools #lsswap #cleaning
Syphon Gun Sprayer: amzn.to/3MsAikj
Keep current with our great content:
Facebook: / shoptoolreviews
Twitter: / shoptoolreviews
Instagram: / shoptoolreviews
KZbin: / shoptoolreviews

[@boosted2.4_sky]

I could see this being helpful in areas where you can't necessarily get your brush in to get a good scrub

[@peanutbutterisfu]

I’ve tried everything you either need to use the expensive solevent or a power washer that’s the only way to get parts clean fast. I own a auto repair shop I’ve been a technician for 20 years again I’ve tried everything pretty much anything will clean ur parts it’s just how much time you want to spend scrubbing. The best thing I use is a pressure washer hooked up to hot water I do this to clean an engine after fixing a leak, to clean an engine to find a leak and if I’m doing engine work I will lay the parts down and clean them, or if I’m replacing like valve cover gaskets I’ll power wash the covers. I use to waste money on the cans of foaming degreaser which does work but if you get a 3000 psi power washer and use hot water nothing will get this clean this fast just using water. I have a small ultrasonic parts cleaner that gets parts so clean they look new but the machines are expensive. I put clear kerosene in my parts washer from a gas station most gas stations sell kerosene with red dye in it but I feel like the clear stuff works best plus kerosene is like 6 bucks a gallon so for 30 bucks I have 5 gallons in my parts washer I just can’t justify spending 100 bucks for 5 gallons of solvent that will look terrible after one dirty valve cover. I am going to buy a electric power washer because I hate having to get gas, then have to let the engine warm up it would be easier to get an electric because I’m only using it for maybe one minute I know electric power washers don’t work as well but I think if I get the most powerful electric I get it should work fine to get grease off.

[@jameskringlee8974]

FORMULA FOR HOMEMADE "ENGINE CLEANER" 40 years ago I had use of a then "big deal" 18 hp pressure washer, sold by an oil field cleanup supplier, in exchange for bringing it back to working order. They also sold an expensive proprietary detergent to mix 1 part detergent 1 part water then gradually and vigorously mix in 5 parts solvent like mineral spirits or kerosene or diesel fuel as a soak down pre-spray for oily dirty equipment prior to the use of the pressure washer. I adapted their "formula" using household detergent and it has been my go to engine cleaner ever since.

[@thebigdoghimself]

If you want to make metal look like new, there is only one way to do it. A dry ice cleaning machine is the best, especially on aluminum, but it's a HUGE investment.

[@dougdier3104]

I have a steam cleaner style pressure washer with a down stream chemical line, that thing kicks ass on any built up grease or sludge. Fast too

[@thisisyourcaptainspeaking2259]

Thanks for the comparison.

[@davidgriffin14]

I have tried all these. Mean Green seems to work the best for me. And it's cheap too.

[@salvadormonella8953]

This might not work as well as agitation in this application, but you know the adage of using the right tool for the job. For cleaning engine bays, there are definitely places you cannot reasonably get an agitation brush into a space. Other places have so many intricate pieces that using an agitation brush would be impractical, if not impossible. I can think of a hundred engine bay components, from wiring looms through to plastic pieces covered by ignition coils that would work fine with a pneumatic gun, but would not be a candidate in any way for an agitation brush. And then there's the reach. This tool gives you another 14" or so of extra reach down into a tight engine bay. There is no substitution for physical scrubbing. In my opinion, that's the most reliable, but most aggressive cleaning method. I have tried cleaning stainless BBQ grates from baked on debris with any number of chemicals, ranging from mild to extremely harsh, and when all else fails, as a last resort, I break out the angle grinder with the wire wheel. That'll get the crud off for sure, but it's a last resort. The engine bay of my car is fiberglass. I am not going to use some physical scrubbing brush. It'd get the gunk off for sure, while simultaneously destroying the fiberglass. BUT, it wouldn't have crud on it. One man's clean is another man's destroyed.

[@justinvanburen8259]

Thank you for another great video!!

[@MrSupernova111]

Pretty cool!

[@oliverroedel1111]

diesel is the best to clean, I mix it with some universal household cleaner and it works good

[@peters6070]

Try fume-free oven cleaner. The blue can. Spray on. Let sit for 15 min or longer depending on amount of grime. Starts working immediately. Then hose off, or use just water in the siphon gun. Much better than the purple stuff.

[@bps.1]

i want to add to this video ,so i been using super clean full strenth on all my engine jobs ,it doers a very good job ,now if your engine parts look like that u have to use a presure washer first the break loose all the heavy sludge ,theirs no degreasser in the world that will clean those the first not even gas ,ask me how i know ,but after the big stuff is out of the way use the super clean as a clean up full strength and rinse with water this all i use

[@lloydcooke5503]

Hi Thanks for this helpful video, I have the same gun, but it did not come with the connector. Can you tell me what that is called. Thanks

[@theamazinggoldfish8713]

Can you use mineral spirits to remove stickers from the car?

[@buildurtruckurway9118]

i honestly have always just found a way to get a big bucket and fill it with boiling water and a powerful dish soap. let the part soak for an hr clean it up in the parts bin and do it again. the boiling water with degreaser o big dollar store bottles of knockoff mr clean. it really strips the grease and carbon build up off once i hit it with the pressure washer its near new looking.

[@hugoortiz05]

does mineral spirits work as good as wd40 and compressed air to keep cast iron parts from flash rusting?

[@TsunauticusIV]

Aerosolizing chemicals in the shop… seems legit. Lol. Just wear protection. Don’t breath that stuff in.

[@bmxkelowna]

Need to try some oven cleaner.

[@james10739]

The problem I assume is you probably want to use the same cleaner or solvent more than once so unless you are putting enough in your parts cleaner I don't think it will be that effective