Carb cleaner vs. brake cleaner

[wafrederick]

Brake cleaner is also good for something else,killing small bees nests.Spray them with brake clean,the bees go dead quickly.If you don't have a can of the spray to get rid of bees on hand,use brake cleaner.

 

[treasureseeker]

I did that work but the bees that got away were back at the nest by the next day.

 

[diggerrick]

Carb cleaner works for bees too - it'll take them right out of the air.

 

[bgott]

If you are just trying to wash the dust out of brakes, or brake fluid from a leaky wheel cylinder, the best brake clean you can get is a water hose. If you have an axle seal leak, though, you are back to the store bought stuff.

 

[oldtools]

Brake cleaner will only melt certain plastic and rubber. Here is a handle on my cm plastic tool box and a plastic seal.

 

[bgott]

Brake cleaner will only melt certain plastic and rubber. Here is a handle on my cm plastic tool box and a plastic seal.

Years ago the hot set-up was a Makita 7.2 volt rechargeable flashlight/drill kit. I found out the hard way that the plastic the flashlight was made of was impervious to brake cleaner, the plastic the drill was made of wasn't.

 

[subarub4]

Question If I ran out of brake cleaner can I use CRC throttle body cleaner to clean off my flywheel?

 

[ImportTuner]

Question If I ran out of brake cleaner can I use CRC throttle body cleaner to clean off my flywheel?

You probably could but throttle body cleaner is alot more expensive than brake cleaner ...

 

[ptschram]

Surprised someone has not mentioned this already:

Do NOT use brake cleaner to clean parts prior to welding. The off gases can kill.

And once again, bad info is spread around.

Only the halogenated products will from hazardous components on decomposition, and Phosgene is NOT the only hazardous compound formed on thermal decomposition of halogenated solvents.

 

[subarub4]

You probably could but throttle body cleaner is alot more expensive than brake cleaner ...

well I have pretty much a half of can of throttle body cleaner left compared to having none of brake cleaner left

 

[matthew]

So are there different applications or reasons for using chlorinated versus non-chlorinated brake cleaner?

 

[bmwpower]

Question If I ran out of brake cleaner can I use CRC throttle body cleaner to clean off my flywheel?

I would say yes, but in my experience you will get poor results unless the flywheel is only slightly dirty. Brake cleaner tends to stay around a little longer before vaporizing, helping in the cleaning process.

 

[subarub4]

I heard soap and water does good too as long as you rinse it get well after you are all done?

I know I did that to my brakes since they were very oily from the factory.

 

[ptschram]

So are there different applications or reasons for using chlorinated versus non-chlorinated brake cleaner?

The chlorinated won't burn, but will contaminate used oil.

They will both remove oil and grease from brake parts and not leave a residue that will negatively impact braking performance.Curmudgeons who whine about the "good old times" will always claim the chlorinated stuff is better!

Exposure to halogenated solvents in academic and industrial environments pretty much killed my kidneys. I can't stand to be around many solvents as I've become so sensitized to them.

 

[whiskeyding]

Got brake clean in my eye once. That was a fun night thought I was blind I one eye