"Wayne" makowicki wrote in message
...
As I posted above the cleaners I use (purple power or other deagreasers)
work fine and don't cause rust if properly cleaned. In the past I used
solvents most of the time now I only use them once in a while. My shop is
in
my basement no way am I going to spray a fire hazard around.

The only reason I suggest to not use water based cleaners is the rust
problem. If you're spritzing the surface with a spray bottle and wiping
things down, rusting is not a serious consideration. I've done that as
long as I've owned machines. The place you get in trouble is when you
flood wash a machine with a water based cleaner. It gets everywhere, and
replaces lubrication with water. If you don't remove all the cleaner, and
your machines are run intermittently, you're asking for problems. All
depends on how well you get the machine dry, and how deeply you are getting
the cleaner.

Washing a machine down with coolant is a different matter. It has corrosion
controlling additives which prevent the same kind of damage. Washing a
precision grinder down with coolant was routine where I was trained, and
I've always done the same thing on my lathe when running the coolant.
Works great, with the only problem being that the coolant is rather
aggressive, eating away the paint slowly.

Assuming you do want to use a hydrocarbon for cleaning, there's nothing that
works as well as Stoddard solvent. Aside from having to put up with the
smell, it's really quite safe to use. The best part is it doesn't do any
damage to precision surfaces, a guarantee you can't get when using water
based cleaners.

Harold