Cheapest Brake Cleaner
- Thread starter gatlibs
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Firebrick43
Well-known member
You get a 5, 10, 20 dollar bill, go down town on the number 7 bus and meet a man named Martinez. His stuff is the bomb.
O wait brake cleaner, yea never mind.
O wait brake cleaner, yea never mind.
anndel
Well-known member
Supertech at Walmart when not on sale at NAPA, AutoZone, etc. Here in Honolulu, if on sale it's 2 cans of Brake Clean for $6. Otherwise it's $4/can of Supertech at Walmart.
signcrafter
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Napa has some stuff that's 2 bucks a can. Think it's called mac's or something. I used to buy that by the case but last year I picked up a sureshot spray can and a 5 gallon jug of brake cleaner. Fill the can and pressurize with air compressor and spray away. Lasts way longer then the cans.
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
What he said above in post#4, Five Gallon containers of parts house brand, CRC, or ZEP Brake Wash, a sureshot sprayer and compressed air supply. 
Reduces trash too by not having all of those empty cans.
Reduces trash too by not having all of those empty cans.
I generally buy CRC Brakleen at Menards. Buying 12 cans gets you volume pricing and you can also buy during a 11% rebate for future use. Swiping the Menards card at the register earns another 2% rebate annually.
Online showing price of $2.66/can after 11% rebate.
Online showing price of $2.66/can after 11% rebate.
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2ndGearRubber
Well-known member
For cans in my area, walmart is tough to beat. For volume sureshot and 5 gallon buckets are the way to go. But sometimes you need to extra power of the can/tube.
TOTO
Well-known member
+1. For cans its Advance for $2/can. I have a commercial account which makes it easier to get at that price.
Also have the same setup for WD40
If you're buying CRC Brakleen brand, look at the amount in the can and not the can size. Places like Walmart and Dollar General will sell it cheaper but it's a 14 oz can rather than a 19 oz can. Same size can, less contents.
emeraldcoupe
Well-known member
man they really stick it to you guys. the supertech is only $1.95 a can here in the lower 48
I used to have a good relationship with my O'Reilly's by where I lived before moving. Now I don't. I used to get a case at the commercial account holder price. I'll definitely look into the five gallons, but for my immediate need (since I've run out of my last case) I might just use Simple Green and elbow grease with some rags to clean the housing around the clutch when I change the transmission.
rijndael
Well-known member
danielbuck
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buy it in jugs, rather than spray cans. But wow, that walmart spray can for $2, I'd pick up a few of those every time I was there, haha!
HomeTheaterMan
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This is what I primarily use as well. It's the best deal I can find and it works well. I'll occasionally use Wearever from Advance if I happen to catch it on sale while I'm ordering other stuff. Both are good.
I'm not a fan of the CRC stuff. Yes, they come in bigger cans, but they constantly run out of spraying power before all of the brake clean is out. So usually about 1/4th of the can is unusable. It's certainly not worth me paying a premium to get more if I can't use it. I don't have this problem with the cans from Walmart or Advance.
I thought about getting a 5 gallon drum, but every time I look into it, I find that it usually costs more than the Super Tech at Walmart, so I end up just going back to Walmart.
youinreverse
Well-known member
I've got a Sure Shot that I fill with tool cleaner from my work. In my experience, it cleans grease and grime off way better than the aerosol cans of brake cleaner.
Willie Makeit
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I buy CRC Brakleen by the gallon and spray it thru a SureShot sprayer.
Locker537
Well-known member
****, I didn't know this was a thing and now I want to buy it.
That's where I've been getting it too. Was gonna buy some on the 11% deal a few months ago, but didn't think I'd be able to get there to pick it up so I waited. The deal ended that night, the new flyer came out and the sale price was actually cheaper than when the rebate was on. Either way still the cheapest I've found for CRC in cans.
Ordered a sure shot sprayer and a gallon of CRC from amazon, a great option and saves a lot of cans going in the trash. There is 319 ml in each can so 12 cans is just over a gallon. Gallon of CRC at Amazon right now is just over $20.
fsae0607
Well-known member
Same here. On the SureShots, you can unscrew the nozzle and remove the little diffuser so you can get a stream spray if you need the "power" that a can offers.
i always use the red CRC can and have been getting at menards but can anyone answer why the aerosol can is non flammable but if you buy the red label CRC brake clean in a gallon jug, it is noted as extremely flammable?
Odd-job
Well-known member
Cans don't go in the trash. Metal recyclers take them.
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
Best price I have found, even without the mail-in rebate !
sweetk30
Well-known member
i dont buy the cheepest . . . . i buy the stuff that works best and happens to be fairly cheep . . . save a lot of time and money this way over just cheep stuff that dont clean .
This seems like a dumb question to me but does brake cleaner in non-aerosol go bad? I bought a gallon of chlorinated CRC Brakleen to use in a "sureshot" (ZEP brand) & the stuff seems more like paint thinner or mineral spirits. It doesn't dry fast, seems oily, & it doesn't smell like brake cleaner.
I got it from Amazon 4 yrs ago but even then it was this way. Haven't tried using it again since. I've been meaning to try the non-chlorinated Brakleen but was afraid it might be the same but shouldn't make a difference.
Then again I don't remember what chlorinated brake clean was like except that it melted some plastics. Chlorinated brake clean has been banned here for a long time. They still sell the red CRC can here but it's still non-chlorinated & exactly the same as the green can, only difference is for marketing purposes for those that remember the different colored cans.
I got it from Amazon 4 yrs ago but even then it was this way. Haven't tried using it again since. I've been meaning to try the non-chlorinated Brakleen but was afraid it might be the same but shouldn't make a difference.
Then again I don't remember what chlorinated brake clean was like except that it melted some plastics. Chlorinated brake clean has been banned here for a long time. They still sell the red CRC can here but it's still non-chlorinated & exactly the same as the green can, only difference is for marketing purposes for those that remember the different colored cans.
MileHighRover
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Walmart's SuperTech is definitely the cheapest stuff I've found. Been using it for years without issue. I've never had something it wouldn't clean. I've used a number of brands over the years and see no difference in the performance. I alway have several cans of the Walmart stuff on hand.
One of the primary active ingredients is acetone and will evaporate very fast if left opened. If the container is shut properly I wouldn't think it would go bad from age. The non-chlorinated eats plastics very well. HDPE and LDPE are highly susceptible to acetone.
edit-apparently acetone family of cleaning agents is absent in chlorinated brake clean which uses all chlorine based agents so maybe its not as shelf stable.
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I'm familiar with acetone, I use it often in the shop. What I should have said is I remember the chlorinated brake cleaner attacking certain plastics much more but I could be remembering wrong as it's been banned here for a long time.
As far as acetone not safe with HDPE & LDPE, I've never heard that before. I been using LDPE luer-lock bottles with acetone for over 20 yrs & never had a failure. The gallon sizes of Brakleen comes in HDPE bottles.
Anyways, still puzzled why the chlorinated Brakleen I have doesn't seem like brake cleaner. Bottle was sealed so I doubt some swapped out the contents & returned it & it was like this right when I got it.
I just did the math, it's only a savings of $7 buying by the gallon vs cans and I'm not interested in buying 5 gal cans. I'll just stick to the aerosol.
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It's probably not polyethylene then. Are your panels a hard plastic? Polyethylene is what they use so that most chemicals don't attack it. It's also why they are hard to glue with common adhesives. Acetone doesn't even turn my LDPE bottles hazy.
Anyways, ok thanks, I'll just toss this bottle out & maybe I'll buy a gal of the non-chlorinated to try just to kill my curiosity. It's gotta be something else & not the chlorine cause I have chlorinated cutting fluids & they don't seem to be affected by shelf life even if not in a sealed container.
Anyways, ok thanks, I'll just toss this bottle out & maybe I'll buy a gal of the non-chlorinated to try just to kill my curiosity. It's gotta be something else & not the chlorine cause I have chlorinated cutting fluids & they don't seem to be affected by shelf life even if not in a sealed container.
Massdieseltech
New member
How much does a 5 gallon jug run? Do you get it from Napa?
To add, I used to always buy CRC Brakleen for the past 20-30 yrs cause I thought it was "better". Last year when I went to buy some none of it was on sale so I just bought the auto store brand cause it was on sale. Well I couldn't tell a difference. So if Walmart has 14oz cans for $2 I'll just stock up on those the next time I go (I hate going to Walmart & avoid it whenever possible).
paulsomlo
Well-known member
I just bought one from Zoro - had a promo code, plus 10% back on Chase Mastercard, plus 4% from Topcashback.
Check your cashback. I have never, in the years of buying at Zoro, had them honor cashback in conjunction with a coupon. It always ends up declined by the retailer.