Best cleaning agent for diesel/oil soot?

MikeT · Unread post by **MikeT** » 05 Sep 2007, 10:33

Can anyone recommend a good detergent or other cleaning agent to remove the deposits that accumulate around the boot and filler cap area?

Neat washing up liquid doesn't work, nor does halfords car shampoo - even Gunk doesn't lift it off the bodywork.

caveman_si · Unread post by **caveman_si** » 05 Sep 2007, 11:15

Petrol?

I remember being told that if you want to clean petrol deposits use diesel and if you want to clean diesel deposits of something use petrol. Never tried to use petrol myself as my jest wash gets its all off.

Also try wd40 its good for getting things clean. Give its a soak in the stuff and then try wiping off.

Unread post by **CitroJim** » 05 Sep 2007, 11:35

Mike,

Try white spirit or an electronic cleaning solvent. I use Electolube ULS and that is great for cleaning up Diesel.

Some foaming cleaners used in the IT industry are also fantastic greasebusters. Once I used it to clean up a really crusty cooker hood

MikeT · Unread post by **MikeT** » 05 Sep 2007, 12:55

If petrol works, I presume it too will leave it's own residue - what's best for removing that after? WD40 didn't work for me. I don't have any of the other products suggested but I've got a splash of carb and brake cleaner in tins.

Jim, do you know what the active chemical is in Electolube? I can ask the chemist as it would be cheaper no doubt.

I've just come home to find cooking oil is pretty good at dissolving tarmac driveways

XantiaMan · Unread post by **XantiaMan** » 05 Sep 2007, 17:16

Traffic film remover. My 'petrol' cap area is mint

MikeT · Unread post by **MikeT** » 05 Sep 2007, 17:23

Aha! Sounds good to me. Again, any idea what the active ingredient is?

XantiaMan · Unread post by **XantiaMan** » 05 Sep 2007, 17:32

MikeT wrote:Aha! Sounds good to me. Again, any idea what the active ingredient is?

Same stuff as bleach basically, you can get a similar effect using a cheap kitchen cleaner (Asda do one with added bleach for about 70p)

Gareth

PicassoPigeon · Unread post by **PicassoPigeon** » 06 Sep 2007, 12:29

Use a nice bit of neat Stardrops (58p Asda) and a microfiber cloth (£1.99 for 2 large ones in Lidl) It gets just about anything off and you can use it all around your house for cleaning as well.

davek-uk · Unread post by **davek-uk** » 06 Sep 2007, 12:51

Has anyone tried Magic Erasor http://www.jmldirect.com/Magic-Eraser-PM4712/ for car cleaning?

My poor white Xantia gets very dirty and one evening I had the bright idea of cleaning it. I clean my car every 6 months or so - whether it needs it or not! I was scrubbing and screeching the sponge and the muck still wouldn't budge. The other half said "Try this with just water" and handed me a piece of Magic Erasor. I used it with the hose to give a constant supply of clean water, and WOW! what a result. Women can be useful...

Simply rub the car all over and all the muck comes off - so simple. No scrubbing and scraping at tree and fly deposits. No using petrol to remove the tar (and veg oil) deposits. It really is magic! So much so it encouraged me to put a little wax on as well!!!

MikeT · Unread post by **MikeT** » 06 Sep 2007, 14:39

I found a bottle of Cilit Bang in the back of the cupboard as I recall it didn't accomplish cleaning the oven but I just tried it on the car and it works fine!

I'll look for that Magic Eraser too just to see if it's any easier.

Unread post by **philhoward** » 07 Sep 2007, 21:31

I know someone who swears by TFR for just about everything - in some cases its saved him hours with T-cut on bodywork that just won't get clean with normal washing.

For those who've seen the film in question, then it's the automotive equivalent of "Windex"...

TehAgent · Unread post by **TehAgent** » 07 Sep 2007, 23:51

i found that BMW break disk cleaner works wonders at removing just about everything.

Even used it to get ride of some marks / scratchs on a TFT 19" wide screen monitor.

mbunting · Unread post by **mbunting** » 08 Sep 2007, 10:04

I used CIF the other day on my WHITE 406, it got the back bumper really clean, and left a bit of a gloss - for a 10 year old WHITE car, it looked really good - almost new ( shame about the dents

)

MikeT · Unread post by **MikeT** » 08 Sep 2007, 10:14

Funny how these kitchen products don't do their intended job (at least not for me) yet will clean deposits it's not designed for. Cillit Bang works fantastically on getting the oil sooty deposits and other dirt off my car. It's great on the glass too - can see clearly at night now. Seems the log book is right - mine is white underneath!