Oven cleaner to clean a vise?

[Bcom]

When i pick up another vise i usually disassemble it and drop it off at the machine shop to soak it in a caustic dunk tank. Well i went and got some generic oven cleaner at wally world and sprayed the vise down with it to see if its gonna work and so it would save me a few $$ rather than pay for dunk tank service. Its sitting overnight right now. May hit it with a garden hose in 12hrs. Anyone else ever try this method of oven cleaner and garden hose?

 

[alfazer]

Yes, great for cast iron and steel, but you need to be careful if there's any aluminium. It starts to gets etched away after more than few minutes.

 

[Bcom]

Yes, great for cast iron and steel, but you need to be careful if there's any aluminium. It starts to gets etched away after more than few minutes.

Really? Thanks for the tip. I knew aluminum gets eaten away in the dunk tank but never knew oven cleaner did the same?

 

[alfazer]

Maybe not a big deal for a quick clean up, but if it's aluminium that's polished or needs to keep accurate tolerances, like a piston for example, you need to take care.

 

[gjz30075]

I think the oven cleaner needs to contain Lye, for it to be a problem on aluminum. Easy Off is a brand that does. The generics may not have Lye.

 

[WWShop]

So is the oven cleaner acting as a degreaser?

 

[Bcom]

Its been over 6 hours. The can said i can clean it off after 6 hours. Im gonna go out now and hose it off. Ill be back to let you know the results.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

I recommend using EZ Off. Although the generic brands are cheaper, they just don't seem to work as well.

 

[Fretters]

So is the oven cleaner acting as a degreaser?

Degreaser & paint remover.

 

[Bcom]

Ok so i hosed off the oven cleaner and it seemed to have taken all the grease off pretty well. It didnt remove any paint but did pretty well on oil and grease.