Shopsmith Forums

Starting on my overall unit I focused on the way tubes. I used my secret weapon of brake cleaner and the rust just bubbled off.

In my experience if it is easy there is something wrong.

My question is does anyone know if Brake cleaner is a bad choice? I don't know why but it was way to easy which makes me panic.

Looking at your user name and then your profile (Bad-Synapse and someone who dissects everything to the Nth degree) I concluded that since 52 people had looked at your message and NO ONE had replied, that you were emotionally hemorrhaging by now - ten hours away from a panic attack and 52 from a psychotic break. So, thought this response would quell the inner turmoil, until the next thought crisis.

Using brake fluid on Way Tubes will turn them into Away Tubes. Once you spray it on, even if you wipe if off the tubes will gradually become smaller and smaller. Have you not noticed that when you spray your disc brake rotors with this stuff that two or three years later they are so much smaller? Brake Clean does that. It gradually erodes the metal until you eventually will have to replace the Way Tubes.

Wish you hadn't done that. But live and learn - provided you live long enough. Oops! Gave you one more thing to worry about.

Brake fluid, or brake cleaner? Two different things, right?

heathicus wrote:Brake fluid, or brake cleaner? Two different things, right?

Yep! I missed the 'cleaner' when responding to the 'other' thread.


So, what is brake cleaner?

JPG40504 wrote: So, what is brake cleaner?

It's basically a solvent cocktail...I can't really see what harm it would do to way and bench tubes, although it's comprised of some fairly nasty solvents and chemicals, so there's probably some safer and more effective methods to remove rust.

Brake cleaner is basically used to clean the rotors/disks on your car, removing the oily/greasy residue or bake fluid that may be there after working on the brakes so that you don't contaminate the brake pads. It's some nasty stuff and may damage paint, so use it with caution. It best to use outside.

It also evaporates very fast, like Acetone does.

I've used brake cleaner (as well as "Carb Cleaner" - I don't know if there is any difference between the two) on my restorations. Both brake and carb cleaner do a great job at cleaning in hard to reach places, and busting through grime, oil, dirt, etc. And yes, they remove paint as well. I've never used either for rust removal, though.

HI everyone i would like to say about this topic which is that It's basically a solvent cocktail...I can't really see what harm it would do to way and bench tubes, although it's comprised of some fairly nasty solvents and chemicals, so there's probably some safer and more effective methods to remove rust.
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Appears we have another spammer - anderson0.
He has inserted an ad for a tile cleaning service in at least two posts.

db5 wrote:Looking at your user name and then your profile (Bad-Synapse and someone who dissects everything to the Nth degree) I concluded that since 52 people had looked at your message and NO ONE had replied, that you were emotionally hemorrhaging by now - ten hours away from a panic attack and 52 from a psychotic break. So, thought this response would quell the inner turmoil, until the next thought crisis.

Using brake fluid on Way Tubes will turn them into Away Tubes. Once you spray it on, even if you wipe if off the tubes will gradually become smaller and smaller. Have you not noticed that when you spray your disc brake rotors with this stuff that two or three years later they are so much smaller? Brake Clean does that. It gradually erodes the metal until you eventually will have to replace the Way Tubes.

Wish you hadn't done that. But live and learn - provided you live long enough. Oops! Gave you one more thing to worry about.

thanks for the panic attack. However I thought my brakes eroded faster due to the fact my wife sucks at driving.