For at least 30 years I have used alkaline detergents to clean a variety of objects, old and new. I'm not sure how well known this stuff is but I was given some by a painter and decorator to try and never looked back. It's hard to explain how good this stuff is... you just have to try it and then you understand. It's good on paint, plastics, metals and combinations of these. Theoretically it should be diluted but as with the X246 I recently received, I used it neat with a green scouring pad that was already a little worn. If there's a stain or a mark that it doesn't get rid of, it's probably impossible! I tried to source 443 recently but couldn't find it anywhere so I opted for the closest I could find. It sometimes gets described as 'traffic film' remover but essentially it's just an alkaline cleaning agent.
The only possible down side is that you always have to buy it in large volumes as shown. There again, the 443 lasted me 30 years until it needed replacing!
yes, its called traffic film remover more commonly and its mainly used in power washing. I buy it in 25l drums and its cracking stuff. Beware it does contain caustic soda so it isn't all that nice on the skin. I also find that Lidls or Aldis sometimes have small cans of BBQ cleaner for cheap and that is EXCELLENT STUFF. Again I believe it is caustic so both cleaners should not be in prolonged contact with aluminum.
Is this like a "butyl" degreaser? One that has https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-Butoxyethanol I use a degreaser that has that and either sodium or potassium hydroxide It works swimmingly, but will zap paint if used straight. But for removing say 40 years of parafin/kerosene varnish it can't be beat.
Hi ColinG, We've got something similar called "Alkaline Degreaser" here. Said it contains Potassium Hydroxide, some Formaldehyde and the rest are proprietary chemicals. Besides, we've got supposedly pure caustic soda flakes that come in unlabelled containers freely for sale here. All of them are nasty, cheap and easily available to the general public. While the enforcement of health & safety regulations, environmental laws, etc are still as such, i will definitely continue to use them as they are so darn powerful and effective.
