cleaning solvent

[hmoore01]

has anyone have any good ideas for cleaning the old bridgeport mills
mine is covered with gunk and some type of old coolent
i dont want to remove the factory paint
409 wont do anything mek is too harsh on the paint
feel free to jump in
harry

[Geof]

Varsol will clean oily and greasy gunk. Methanol, (methylhydrate) will soften old dried coolant residue. Both are available from The Home Depot.

[79TigerPilot]

When I refurbed my mill and lathe I used a strong mixtuer of TSP (the real suff not the green subs) and ammonia. Does a great job of cutting all the old and hard grease and coolent. Just let the part sit for a while, hit the thick stuff with a scotch bright pad, works great but a little hard and hands and nose so use gloves and good ventilation. Also make sure you dry off the parts and spary them with WD-40, Boshield T9 etc. cz they start to rust very fast.

As to paint, some of the origional paint was resistant and didn't soften but a lot of the latter and most likely rattle can stuff was softened and blistered off. Best to try it on a non visual spot first if you want to keep the paint.

This was the only thing I found other than methylene chloride based paint stripper that effectively removed all the old crud. Also used some orange oil cleaners but it only seemed to work on plain grease, but did a good job.

Craig

[underthetire]

Done a lot of this back when for used dealers. A Harbor freight steam cleaner worked the best, and didn't destroy anything.
Steam - Harbor Freight Tools

[ccoleman]

costco sells a degreaser. I don't think every store carries it, but it shows up in the back of the store near the paper towels, etc. Comes in gallon bottles for around $10. Stuff is amazing. I've used it to clean a hardinge lathe that was dirtier than... and a bp mill. I put it in a spray bottle or brush it on, let it sit for a minute or two and the crud will wash right off.

[Kevin Taylor]

The foaming bathroom cleaner removes a lot of tough crud on old machines even latex paint overspray without hurting the paint . Sometimes the coolant it self makes a preaty good solvent for it self . A rubdown with Pledg or paist was after cleenup will make the job a lot less trouble the next time Good Luck Kevin

[slowlearner]

I have had good luck using mineral spirits as a degreaser. It will cut grease but not the paint.