Is Supertech Brake Cleaner Discontinued?

[HomeTheaterMan]

I use a fair amount of brake cleaner and the Supertech stuff at Walmart has been the best deal I've found. Up until the last couple of months. It's been out of stock the last several months at our local store. Now I notice they've taken it off of the website. Does anyone know if it's been discontinued? Or is our store just always out?

 

[Bighead38]

Local Autozone hasn’t had the good red brake Kleen in a few months either.

 

[MileHighRover]

My local store was out for a while. Last time there a few days ago they finally had it back in stock. I bought a few cans. COVID-19 delays, I'm sure.

 

[TheLawnRanger]

That would not be good. I don't want to pay thrice as much for the name brand that does the same thing.

 

[ForrestT]

Bought 3 cans last week and 3 cans yesterday. It’s still around.


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[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Mine here in Virginia has been sold out of all that stuff and including oil too. My auto parts stores just restocked when I visited today but I hate buying stuff there because it’s so expensive I prefer to get oil and fluids at Walmart but can’t cause they are out.


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[lolaetype]

Try a farm and ranch supply store like Atwoods, Tractor Supply or Olsens, to name just a few chains. I buy carb cleaner and brake cleaner at Atwoods for about what I pay for Walmart's store brand. Seems to work about the same.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Try a farm and ranch supply store like Atwoods, Tractor Supply or Olsens, to name just a few chains. I buy carb cleaner and brake cleaner at Atwoods for about what I pay for Walmart's store brand. Seems to work about the same.

Yes I second this I have 2 Rural King stores near me and they sell the name brand and their store brand I mean it’s hard to screw up brake clean lol or carb cleaner I have used both and can’t see a difference at my shop they get in cases of the CRC brake clean and stuff


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[Indexmill]

Lowes has the red Brakleen for $3.00 a can.

 

[MoonRise]

I have noticed a difference in different spray brake cleaner brands.

Read the label. The contents are NOT all the same.

Last time I looked, the Supertech at Wallyworld was mostly methanol. Didn't clean all that great for me.

The old red can chlorinated brake cleaner has been pretty rare for a while. I used to see a few cans sometimes at an auto parts store or Wallyworld.

The green can brake cleaner is mostly acetone, I found it cleaned and degreased better than the methanol-based Supertech.

YMMV and all that.

 

[M6erfan]

I bought a few cans a couple weeks ago.

 

[pbon]

Makes a great hand sanitizer.

 

[bonneyman]

Makes a great hand sanitizer.

Just don't play with matches....or it'll become a great hand remover!

 

[ex-x-fire]

Check out the Mopar brake cleaner, its priced good or our Indy shop wouldn't buy it. Each can lasts a long time too.

 

[wkndwarrior29]

Zoro has a nice selection of cheap brake cleaner. Find a coupon and get to the free shipping threshold and it's usually cheaper than Walmart.

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[highland512]

Yes I second this I have 2 Rural King stores near me and they sell the name brand and their store brand I mean it’s hard to screw up brake clean lol or carb cleaner I have used both and can’t see a difference at my shop they get in cases of the CRC brake clean and stuff


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@ $1.99 a can it's hard to beat Rural King price on the store brand brake clean. I buy it by the case.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

@ $1.99 a can it's hard to beat Rural King price on the store brand brake clean. I buy it by the case.

Yeah it is hard to beat and it works fine.


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[mikegt4]

x3 for Rural King. $1.99 for house brand and $2.99 for CAM2 brand. They both come in a unique round top can which makes you wonder just who made their house brand. Save a buck/can, surprisingly enough they both work the same.

 

[Coach James]

I was in Wal Mart today and they had Supertech brake cleaner in 12 ounce cans. They were $2.99 each.

I can get 14 ounce cans of Autozone brand for $2.49. The one nearest to me also has both the red and green CRC in stock.

Tractor Supply carries travelers brand. It's $4.49 for a 15 ounce can.
Coach

 

[Indexmill]

Just don't play with matches....or it'll become a great hand remover!

Surprisingly, red Brakleen is not really flammable. I have a neighbor young teen who like to play with fire so one day we tried shooting various spray solvents into a lit propane tourch flame. The Brakleen did not do really burn. No, carb cleaner on the other hand; OMG!

 

[HomeTheaterMan]

Glad to hear it's not discontinued. It must have just gotten popular. Or they were slow to restock. I went again yesterday and they finally had gotten some in.

I don't have a Rural King in my area. I wish I did. Everywhere else seems to be significantly more per can.

 

[HomeTheaterMan]

Last time I looked, the Supertech at Wallyworld was mostly methanol. Didn't clean all that great for me.

Hmm, interesting. It's worked well for me, but I haven't used a ton of different brake cleaners so you have me wondering if I'm missing out. I originally started out using the CRC in the red cans. I got frustrated as it was expensive and when I got down to about 1/4th of a can, it would stop spraying.

So then I switched to Wearever brand from Advance Auto when on sale. Then the price seemed to go up a bit, so I switched to Super Tech from Walmart. I tend to go through quite a bit of it, so the cheaper price is nice.

Now you have me wondering if I'm missing out and if I should be using something else. What have the rest of you experienced?

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Hmm, interesting. It's worked well for me, but I haven't used a ton of different brake cleaners so you have me wondering if I'm missing out. I originally started out using the CRC in the red cans. I got frustrated as it was expensive and when I got down to about 1/4th of a can, it would stop spraying.



So then I switched to Wearever brand from Advance Auto when on sale. Then the price seemed to go up a bit, so I switched to Super Tech from Walmart. I tend to go through quite a bit of it, so the cheaper price is nice.



Now you have me wondering if I'm missing out and if I should be using something else. What have the rest of you experienced?

I use whatever but I have had the best luck with 3M brake cleaner it was $4.99 at Napa it works the best and CRC red can is my 2nd favorite.


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[thesilverone]

I stock up on 3M brake cleaner when it's on sale

 

[MoonRise]

Had to pick up something else at the auto parts store yesterday.

Saw that they had CRC green can Brakleen. Checked the ingredients and it has acetone AND methanol (and some other stuff too, besides the propellant gas).

Right next to it was a bigger (20 oz?) can of CRC green can Brakleen, but this was labeled 'Industrial' or something. That can's ingredients list had acetone and some other things but no methanol.

Ah, went to the CRC website. The 'new' stuff I saw is their new "Pro Series" Brakleen non-chlorinated green can.

https://www.crcindustries.com/products/crc/crc-brakleen.html

Their red can is the chlorinated non-flammable, the green can is non-chlorinated but flammable (hell yes, acetone and/or methanol are flammable!).

Always RTFM!

 

[purplezr2]

Menard can be cheap for brake clean, I have seen it as low as 1.79 a can.

 

[Wrench97]

Some states are banning the chlorinated versions(high VOC), be careful with it around fire/heaters etc it can become toxic when burned.

 

[Wrench97]

Had to pick up something else at the auto parts store yesterday.

Saw that they had CRC green can Brakleen. Checked the ingredients and it has acetone AND methanol (and some other stuff too, besides the propellant gas).

Right next to it was a bigger (20 oz?) can of CRC green can Brakleen, but this was labeled 'Industrial' or something. That can's ingredients list had acetone and some other things but no methanol.

Ah, went to the CRC website. The 'new' stuff I saw is their new "Pro Series" Brakleen non-chlorinated green can.

https://www.crcindustries.com/products/crc/crc-brakleen.html

Their red can is the chlorinated non-flammable, the green can is non-chlorinated but flammable (hell yes, acetone and/or methanol are flammable!).

Always RTFM!

It may classify as non-flammable but I've used it for years for a quick test of a fuel or spark issue, yes a motor will start on the red can of brakleen

 

[NUTTSGT]

More than likely with Walmart, there was a price increase so they discontinued until they got a new supplier.

I use the old standby CRC Brakleen in the red can. Just bought a dozen at Menards for $2.99 plus 11% rebate.

 

[SweetD]

My local WM had plenty of the store brand brake cleaner this past Sunday.

 

[Pontiac787]

Chlorinated (Red) is not flammable. Non-chlorinated (Green) is.

 

[FuzzyTiger]

More importantly - which brand still has the super toxic formulation? You know the one that will make mosquitos, flies, bees, wasps, and just about every other pest drop dead if you spray it in their vicinity?

I miss that stuff - it was fantastic. I nailed a wasp with a direct hit with the stuff I've gotten lately and it did nothing but piss it off even more.

Oh - and it also seemed to clean the best too.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

More importantly - which brand still has the super toxic formulation? You know the one that will make mosquitos, flies, bees, wasps, and just about every other pest drop dead if you spray it in their vicinity?

I miss that stuff - it was fantastic. I nailed a wasp with a direct hit with the stuff I've gotten lately and it did nothing but piss it off even more.

Oh - and it also seemed to clean the best too.

The Traveller brand from Tractor Supply is pretty strong and probably pretty toxic lol I don’t know how it would do killing any bees or wasp or anything but it’s more strong than the 3M that I use so I have no doubt it could knock something out it’s one you definitely want to have the door open when you spray it as it almost knocked me out being so strong lol.


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[Corndoggeh]

The Traveller brand from Tractor Supply is pretty strong and probably pretty toxic lol I don’t know how it would do killing any bees or wasp or anything but it’s more strong than the 3M that I use so I have no doubt it could knock something out it’s one you definitely want to have the door open when you spray it as it almost knocked me out being so strong lol.


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Berrymans Brake Parts Cleaner is also really good stuff, I bought a refillable sprayer and fill it with it. Also incredibly strong, I wouldnt spray that stuff without good ventilation.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Berrymans Brake Parts Cleaner is also really good stuff, I bought a refillable sprayer and fill it with it. Also incredibly strong, I wouldnt spray that stuff without good ventilation.

No where near me sells that Berryman brake cleaner Auto Zone sells the Berryman Carb and Choke cleaner and that stuff will also knock your socks off too and it works great also I use it on both my vehicles with carburetors and no complaints from it. It also works well as starting fluid for them lol.


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[humpty]

Makes a great hand sanitizer.

When used for that it is also a great "where was that cut on my hand" finder!

I am going to try the 3M stuff one of these days. I am a diehard CRC red can user but my buddy swears by the 3M, I am curious.

humpty

 

[TT_Vert]

It seems that lowes no longer sells the chlorinated CRC brake cleaner

 

[Wrench97]

Depends on the state I believe.

 

[TT_Vert]

Depends on the state I believe.

I thought it was only illegal in Ca. and one other state. Definitely not illegal in my state. They had it last year.

Dave

 

[Ign]

More importantly - which brand still has the super toxic formulation? You know the one that will make mosquitos, flies, bees, wasps, and just about every other pest drop dead if you spray it in their vicinity?

I miss that stuff - it was fantastic. I nailed a wasp with a direct hit with the stuff I've gotten lately and it did nothing but piss it off even more.

Oh - and it also seemed to clean the best too.

So I know this was asked back in August, but I've got your answer here. Brake cleaners are absolutely not created equal and it IS easy to screw them up. Some like the AutoZone house brand won't even wash away Sharpie. Anyway:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=332108