What it comes down to is that there are not a lot of different cleaning materials out there. There are, however, very nearly infinite variations on a very, very few themes. Nothing is magical. And nothing is special in any meaningful way. There are companies that invest heavily in "proprietary" formula, some of which actually work well, and some of which do not. But every single one of them will start with what is most likely the same 20 or so basic materials. And nothing is secret. Do you really think that no other manufacturer has never dumped a drop of DeOxit into a gas chromatograph? Or a drop of Cramolin Red? Or any other solvent, chemical or material?

What is, more importantly, what is not in these magic formula is not magic. The Virgins that do the mixing only on Walpurgis Night are the stuff of legends, not fact-based. Nor do we have to be Mr. Wizard as we approach this. We need to understand some basic chemistry, understand the materials at hand and in use, and understand how any chemical reactions as may take place start, and more importantly, finish. Not a complicated process. We need to understand how chemical mix, what happens to the mix over time, and when applied, how they operate. Not a complicated process, either.

We have choices. Unlike Jeff, I am not in the fee-for-service aspect of the hobby. So, I do not have to warrant anything. Were I to, you bet that anything I used on my bench would be a supportable name-brand product designed for the use-at-hand. So, I may hand-mix a Cramolin-Red analog to my own needs. Or use some glacial ammonia to strip a really nasty part down to its bones. To me, the alternative is landfill - so "kill-or-cure" is not an idle statement.

But I do know my chemistry - at least as it applies to "heads" of various natures.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA