Cleaning a vintage Adler

[Melross]

Hi I’m new to the forum and have spent a couple of weeks reading the posts in the hope I will educate myself!!

I’ve just purchased A vintage Adler which hasn’t been used for a while.  It’s dusty and dirty. My question is;  Is it  ok To use a spirit based cleaner To clean the body?

Thanks

[mikesc]

What is meant by "spirit"..in "spirit based cleaner"..
Before we know that..no advice is "safe"..

[jimi]

I agree with mike... but i always clean first with warm water and natural soap. then you can see if you need to go any further.

[Northmount]

@Melross Moved your post to leather sewing machines.  You'll get more responses here.

Tom

[shoepatcher]

I would use Greased Lighting.  It is great for removing grease and oil and it is water based, not petroleum based.

glenn

[mikesc]

I would use Greased Lighting. It is great for removing grease and oil and it is water based, not petroleum based.

It.."greased lightning" ..being a brand name for ( "who knows what is actually in it mixture" ) may well not be available in the UK ( where the OP's profile says they are from ) nor anywhere outside of the USA..

That is the problem with recommendations which are "branded" products, not everything is available everywhere, and what is in a "brand name" can vary from place to place..and from time to time..witness the numerous threads here about what is in ( at any one time Tandy "pro dye" or whatever they are calling it this week in whichever state they are selling it ) ..Chemistry is Chemistry, brand names are just marketing, packaging and woo..
What does the MSDS say is in it..?
That is all that counts..and 99 times out of a 100 what is in a "brand name" ( the actual "active ingredient(s) can be found much cheaper, and more widespreadly available..without the"brand name" wrapper and packaging..

[klutes]

Don’t leave greased lighting on there to long it will hurt the paint finish.

[mikesc]

MSDS..to answer my own question above..re "what is in it"
http://es.greased-lightning.com/Multi-Purpose_Cleaner/Greased-Lightning-Multi-Purpose-MSDS.pdf

So "fun stuff" if any splashes get in your eyes, nose mouth, or if you have even slightly sensitive skin..and don't smoke near it..

Nothing in there that you can't find separately in any old style drugstore..apart from the (2-methoxymethylethoxy)propanol
34590-94-8

Amongst the rest of what is in there..well if you are looking for a water based degreaser..one of the ingredients is our old friend SODIUM HYDROXIDE..( in CAPS BECAUSE ) you also know it as caustic soda..


A milder degreaser ( still want to keep it out of your eyes though ) would be "washing soda" or Sodium carbonate..

Which I think you can get pretty much in Drugstores or their equivalents anywhere in the word..in crystals in a 1 kilo packet for less than $5.00 of your "local money"..and 1KG makes a lot of degreaser..wear gloves anyway..it makes your skin feel "soapy" when you mix it with water, that soapyness is it slightly attacking your skin, it is a mild Alkali..don't drink it, snort it, inject it, nor get it in your eyes..and don't let the kids , nor the animals play with it..

Or ..you could use the stuff that you can buy to get the grease of your alloy wheels and car paintwork*..Goes by many many names..is pretty much the same ( in the non "pro use only versions" as what gets sold as Universal floor cleaner, or similar names ( like you'd use to clean your kitchen floor with ) will also work..Don't let the kids drink it ( it isn't as bad as caustic soda, but it won't do them any good, and keep it out of your eyes ) ..also the bug removers that are sold as screen wash for the car will degrease most things without damaging the paintwork, as long as you don't leave them on over night..

A gallon of windscreen cleaner ( not the ones with the anti-freeze additives, which are slightly corrosive, even for your car's paintwork , and again are bad for your eyes etc ) costs just a couple of dollars wherever in the world you are ..and can be used to clean your house windows, without leaving smears, cheaper than the stuff that they sell you to clean your house windows ( in the house cleaning products aisle ) without smears..

The safer ( relative term that that is ) ones, are the ones that say to store them at between 5°C and 25°C..any storage requirements marked as "store over over 5°C ( or whatever equivalent "steam" scale you use )"..means that there are no anti-freeze additives..
Anti-freeze type products are bad for you to contact or to ingest..

*Some of these are dangerous, ( most places will not let you buy the dangerous ones, as they contain an ingredient that can used to make GHB, actually your system makes it using what is in some of them to provide the precursor compounds ) , don't experiment, not everyone wakes up..some of those who do, do not wake up the same..ever again..

Edited April 4, 2019 by mikesc

[shoepatcher]

Mikesc,

What do you use to clean machines in France?   I am curious!   I would like to know.

I have rebuilt sewing machines for over 30 years.  I have used all kinds of chemicals from brake cleaner to Carburetor cleaner to paint thinner to kerosene to parts cleaner.  You name it.  Most petroleum based cleaners may etch paint and they are not good for you either.  What is available in the US may not be available in France.  That does not make it bad however.  Most of the time you are dealing with old grease, oil, dirt, rust and who knows what.  They key is getting something that works and is not harmful to you or the machine.  

 

 

[mikesc]

Personally..I use the kind of "soft soap" that is sold to mechanics for cleaning their hands..The kind without the "micro abrasives" as they just get into the water supply and eventually into the fish..and I don't want to eat them in the fish I eat..I live less than a quarter mile from the beach..Fishing villages to either side of us..

Of those that you mention..

 

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I have used all kinds of chemicals from brake cleaner to Carburetor cleaner to paint thinner to kerosene to parts cleaner.

Only one "kerosene", has any definition as to "what it actually is"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerosene

the others are "cleaners" which could mean they have anything in them, or mixtures of anythings..
 

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Most petroleum based cleaners may etch paint and they are not good for you either.

That is my point..petroleum is a defined product,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum

You probably mean some sort of derivative from petroleum ? ,, but which one ..which, ( maybe ) by itself, will not "etch" paint,( "petroleum" will though , which is why you'd wipe crude oil, or "petroleum" off your paintwork ) but what gets put into the "cleaners" with it may well "etch", what they put in with the petroleum derivative doesn't have to "etch", but might..and "cleaners" or any "brand name" doesn't tell you what they put in there..
 

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What is available in the US may not be available in France.

it ( for almost any version of "it" ) almost certainly is not available in France ( and maybe not in the UK, where the OP is ) that is why when you said "greased lightning" , my immediate thought was, what if the OP can't get that where he is, what if anyone reading that is not in the USA ( or maybe in California* can't get "whatever" either, better to ( if you know the ingredients ) to say..( What I use is called "this", where I live, which contains this, and this and this etc, and the "active degreasing agents are " this part and that part etc ) That lets anyone know what they need to be looking for if they cannot get the "brand"..
 

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That does not make it bad however.

I agree completely..:) Many things that you can get ( and frequently very cheaply ) are perfectly safe, and efficient, and I'd love to be able to get them here in France or elsewhere in Europe..I import stuff from all over..Whenever the freight or the customs doesn't make it prohibitive, or whenever the Customs are not going to impound it just "because"..
 

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They key is getting something that works and is not harmful to you or the machine.

Again, I agree completely..But reading the MSDs for greased lightning, there are less harmful ( to "you" and to "the machine" ) things ( some of which I suggested ) that will degrease a machine perfectly well..and if you know for example that washing soda is Sodium Carbonate then you can go to the drugstore and look for it..whereas if I'd said " look for St Marc"** ( which is the biggest by far brand name for what it is sold as in France, you'd likely not find it, unless you lived in France..or maybe Quebec )..Windscreen cleaner ( or the various brands of windshield bug remover ) are usually just Isopropyl alcohol ( makes a good cleaner, don't drink it )..the anti-freeze that they add into it ( in a much smaller percentage than they put in the anti-freeze that goes into your car radiator ) to keep it from freezing in the winter is usually ethylene glycol..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene_glycol
You don't want to drink it, nor leave it ( or any spills of it even a drip ) where your kids or your pets can get any..a very small amount can make them very ill or dead...especially if they have any pre-existing kidney or liver problems..Pets will tend to lick at drips of it ( because it has a sugary taste ) as will kids..

**pronounced san mar

[dikman]

Mike, when I click on the link you provided it takes me back to the start of this thread. Pretty clever......I think? Anyhow, I always like looking at MSDS's, fun things indeed.

[mikesc]

Well I went back and unlinked my links, explained what I did, and why..and then lost my post while I was editing it.. :(((

OK..Fixed the links properly..now they link out like they should..except that they are not "no follow" ( it's the IPS system is set up to make all links "no follow" in case Google wouldn't like it )..Maybe I can manually make them "no follow" too..Off to test..

Edited yet again to add...Hah..The IPS forum software makes all links "no follow" automatically..even when I didn't..so they are..and all is well.. :)

Edited April 4, 2019 by mikesc

[dikman]

I'm glad YOU know what you're doing......

[Colt W Knight]

Warm soapy water ( with Dawn dish soap) used in conjunction with a scrub brush will clean damn near all manners of dirt and grease with absolutely zero health concerns. Just dry it off when you are done to prevent rust.