Autosol alternative.... gunk??
 

Righty....

Seeing all this OCD cleaning malarkey that's been going on, I thought I'd share my 2p's worth....

I was remembering back to the last time I cleaned my bike (don't ask how long ago it was - the fact I had to remember back is a hint!) and a revelation I experienced... Gunk.

Fantastic name, very cheap, and easy to apply (smells great too :smt025). It's basically strong engine degreasant, but works wonders on grimey chains that have a winters worth of oil-and-mud-very-nasty-sticky-**** that's stuck to the 'non-fling' lube (big mistake there...)

A bit leaked on to my wheels as I was painting the chain, and all of a sudden I had a silver streak on my black wheels! So I persevered, and within 15 seconds or so of painting the wheels with this stuff, all the chain oil and **** and vanished and I had a gleaming silver wheel again!

Found this easier than using Autosol which seemed to take a lot lot longer.

Anyone else found / used Gunk for such purposes?

Cheers,

Al.

Re: Autosol alternative.... gunk??
 

Wow! Another holy grail!!!!!

Re: Autosol alternative.... gunk??
 

Gunk? Oh gawd yes, powerfull stuff. However, apart from anything else, it will *destroy* tarmac. I'd also be wary of using it on a chain - the petroleum-based solvents in it might not be too kind to the chain O-rings. Paraffin will work on a chain too (and the rear wheel) and is what the chain manufacturer most likely recommends for cleaning it.

Re: Autosol alternative.... gunk??
 

I find for cleaning non-fling lube on a chain all I need is an old toothbrush, some wd-40 and an old t-shirt....works a treat.
Gunk I use to clean oil and petrol spillages off the driveway...

Re: Autosol alternative.... gunk??
 

WD40 on a chain?:eek: big no-no. It'll eat up the O rings
I use Soc to clean my chain using a Ketten Max Chain Cleaner, which works wonders. You could spend hours cleaning a chain with a toothbrush, whereas this thing takes minutes.

Get it here: http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/produc...&pcode=MTXKET2

Oh but I do use WD40 (the cheap stuff from lidl's) to clean my wheels which works perfect. Just don't get it on your tyres :lol:

Re: Autosol alternative.... gunk??
 

I'm sure this is an urban myth

Re: Autosol alternative.... gunk??
 

It's certainly a very hotly debated issue. I've heard that it's probably safe to use, but paraffin is both cheaper and definitely safe.

Re: Autosol alternative.... gunk??
 

On a well maintained chain a paint brush soaked in parrafin is all you need to make all the crap run straight off. Dry with a rag then re-lube. Parrafin is also a great degreaser for all the other greasy bits. A tooth brush will bring up sprockets, rear shock, etc. About a fiver for a five litre tub from B&Q, Homebase or Focus, usually in the garden centre section, sometimes branded as "Parasene".

Don't waste your money on all these expensive products, they are not as good

Re: Autosol alternative.... gunk??
 

Yup, WD40 might not eat o-rings, but it does needlessly eat money ;) Big bottle of paraffin should last you for years.

Gunk's superb at what it does, but it's a bit too aggressive for indiscriminate use I reckon.

Re: Autosol alternative.... gunk??
 

Agreed - I was merely mentioning it for wheel cleaning due to the amount of oil and crap that had collected on the spokes and hub... And it was 10x worse on the chain - Gunk was the only think that I found that could shift and deal with the crap.

The point was made slightly earlier about Gunk and o-rings.... If paraffin is OK to use, I'd have thought given that they're both a hydrocarbon base and their similar structures, there shouldn't be too much risk involved?

Cheers,

Al.