SDS - Safety Data Sheets 488 posts, read 1,010,348 times The engine bay hasn't been cleaned since the car was new in 02, here are a few pics before and after cleaning with Gunk engine degreaser and Pledge furniture spray. LOL, WD-40 was substituted with Pledge instead. I think it turned out great but the one thing you have to do is to cover critical components as in the diagram and make sure not to spray degreaser or WD-40 on or in the area of the cabin filter or the car will wreak like gasoline for at least a week or so. The car is an 02 BMW 325i. Not my car but similar, these components were covered. 10,088 posts, read 32,880,755 times 8,406 posts, read 14,824,092 times Originally Posted by M3 Mitch According to their website it's non-corrosive. Isn't wheel cleaner mildly corrosive? I always thoroughly rinse, so it wouldn't become a problem for me. You are so right. Here's my own experience with Simple Green. I was working on my lawn mower and filling oil and gas into it and spilled some on my asphalt drive way.

So I thought I'd spray a little of Simple Green and then hose it off. You are not going to believe this, but it literally dissolve a depth of 1/4" or 1/8" of that oil/gas spot (not exactly sure of the depth but noticeable enough to the naked eye) of my asphalt driveway. There must have been some chemical reaction with the simple green with the oil in the asphalt. I'm afraid to use it now to clean the car. Originally Posted by Tappan Zee It's a degreaser, which means it removes petroleum products. Asphalt is petroleum based. If it's "mildly irritating" to eyes, it's not corrosive. My tapwater is mildly irritating to my eyes in the shower sometimes. Thanks, I made sure to dry it off after using gentle pressure with the hose and did use a little bit of WD-40 for final touches in the end. Originally Posted by vmaxnc Maybe it's not corrosive in itself, but the guys who used it on brake dust on their wheels came to grief. May depend on the temperature it's used at, finish on the wheel, amount of brake dust, pH of the water used, etc. etc.

Bottom line is it did damage the wheels. They may have left it on the wheels too long, maybe let it dry - not positive. Like I said in my previous post, Simple Green reacted with the oil in the asphalt, so I agree with you that asphalt is petroleum based.qfl air purifier All, I'm saying is I'm afraid to use this stuff now on my car. sanuvox p900gx portable air purifierMoreover, I think I can safely assume that we agree that it's not safe on asphalt, so why would I want to work with something that would "eat up" my asphalt driveway whether it's noncorrosive on my car. airvax air purifier amazonIf you're happy with the product, by all means use it on your car. But from my experience, I'm not using it. How many homeowners have asphalt driveways, I would say quite a few of us do.

And what is the likely hood that the average homeowner would the read MSDS, specially after reading biodegradable on the bottle's label. Even after reading the MSDS, what is the likely hood that the average homeowner will put two and two together and say "hey I can't work on my car with this stuff cause of my asphalt driveway because it's a degreaser" Bottom line, my experience is different from yours and I don't want to risk anything else, who knows what else this stuff can do. Thanks for the sharing the MSDS. Keep using this stuff if you're happy with it though. Certified Brake Cleaner powers off grease, oil and dirt from brake partsNon-flammableCleans and dries fast525 gSpray solvent mixtures are widely sold for cleaning and degreasing of automobile brake and engine parts. A wide variety of formulations are available, often under very similar product names. Common products contain contain tetrachloroethylene (also known as perchloroethylene, or PERC, CAS#: 127-18-4) and dichloromethane (DCM, also known as methylene chloride, CAS#: 75-09-2).

Chlorinated compounds like these are often preferred for hot part cleaning because they are not flammable. PERC and DCM are probable carcinogens and listed on California’s P65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. They are also regulated by OSHA as carcinogens. A wide variety of other toxic effects are described in the Scorecard (sponsored by GoodGuide) pages for PERC and DCM. Regulatory changes aimed at reducing chlorinated chemical use have led to increased use of non-chlorinated brake cleaning products. Some of these options were evaluated in a 2006 study by the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) on PERC alternatives. The TURI study identified important performance characteristics of aerosol brake cleaners and considered cost, performance and safety of several alternatives. TURI found that many of the non-chlorinated alternatives included toxic organic chemicals that were little better for human and environmental safety than PERC. Common ingredients include toluene and hexane which, in addition to their human health hazards, introduce the risk of flammable vapors.

A water-based cleaner was identified as both safer and not flammable, but its technical performance was not evaluated. The California Department of Toxic Substance Control investigated alternatives to chlorinated solvents in automotive cleaners in the early 2000s. Some of the health risks of common aerosol cleaner alternative solvents are described in an excellent brochure from the California Department of Public Health (a separate brochure on n-hexane is also available). Follow-up work in San Francisco (Department of Public Health) investigated trends in automotive cleaner use ca. 2005, looking at products available in retail shops and in use at automotive service facilities. Portable aqueous brake washers were in use, but described as “not as effective” as organic solvent-based cleaners. The report suggests some possible safer alternative products: Internet research turned up three aerosol brake cleaners which are composed entirely of chemicals ranked as being less hazardous than most by the IRCH [from Scorecard] ranking system.

Zep I.D.Clean, which was listed on the manufacturer’s website as a degreaser and parts cleaner, contained only D-Limonene as an active ingredient. Two acetone based products included Gunk Ultra Low VOC Brake Cleaner and Wurth SCAQMD Brake and Parts Cleaner. Carbon Dioxide was listed as the only other ingredient on the MSDS. The Institute for Research and Technical Assistance (IRTA) investigated brake cleaner replacements in 2005. A presentation by Dr. Katy Wolf (director of IRTA) mentions specific cleaners and performance tests and also covers general degreasers and carburetor cleaners. Both water-based cleaners and non-water-based cleaners were tested in California automobile service facilities. While not the best performers, water- and soy/acetone-based cleaners were generally judged adequate for brake cleaning purposes. Some product manufacturers participating in improved cleaner development are mentioned in the project report. Denver Pollution Partners have a two-page guide to brake cleaning products.

The guide recommends re-fillable canisters and offers recommendations for several brake cleaning products they consider as improvements over conventional chlorinated-solvent cleaning products. Some environmental and cost benefits may be obtained by alternative cleaning methods. Many brake cleaners are available in bulk and can be applied using refillable containers rather than aerosol cans. These containers are often charged using local facility compressed air. Cleaning of some parts may also be accomplished in spray or immersion cabinets, e.g., see the U.S. EPA Region 9 Aqueous Parts Cleaning brochure. In an effort to avoid use of chlorinated solvents, brake cleaner manufacturers have developed products with new formulations. Many of the non-chlorinated cleaners contain organic solvents that are very hazardous to human health and the environment. In some case, the solvents are flammable mixtures, which may require changes in some automotive cleaning procedures. Be sure to reconsider job safety aspects when changing away from chlorinated solvent cleaning products to flammable products.