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I'm posting this as a new thread after Mack had issues with using SG in his ultrasonic cleaner and made a mess out of one of his carb bodies. I did some research, and came up with this.
Be very careful when using this stuff on aluminum. SG is very corrosive on aluminum, and is not allowed as an aluminum cleaner by either the DOD or the aircraft industry (actually, they don't want you cleaning anything on a aircraft with this stuff). For more info on this, go here:
http://www.mechanicsupport.com/aircraft_cleaning.html
In addition to the incident reported at the above site, I was told several years ago about another 'copter that had it's airframe eaten up from the crew using SG to clean the floors. I've been pretty cautious about my use of Simple Green ever since.
There also seems to be a big difference in what alloy it's used on. Some it doesn't seem to bother all that much, some it will start eating in as little as 15 minutes. Seeing how the Japanese have a heavy reliance on 'recycled' aluminum, what kind of alloy you have on any given bike part is probably a crapshoot. And whether it's a casting or a forging/extrusion can make a difference; castings are considerably more porous, and the longer SG is on, the more likely it will 'soak' into the metal.
And if you're diluting it, water seems to only make the effect worse, and some water is worse than others (different minerals/chemicals?); so where you live can affect your results.
So if you're going to use SG, don't leave it in contact for long (ten minutes seems to be the max), and thoroughly rinse it off. One thing that everyone seemed to agree on; don't let it dry on the metal.
All this is for the common, buy-it-anywhere SG. They do make an aluminum-specific type called 'Extreme Simple Green' that does have a few aircraft approvals, but I've never seen it.
'78E original owner
Be very careful when using this stuff on aluminum. SG is very corrosive on aluminum, and is not allowed as an aluminum cleaner by either the DOD or the aircraft industry (actually, they don't want you cleaning anything on a aircraft with this stuff). For more info on this, go here:
http://www.mechanicsupport.com/aircraft_cleaning.html
In addition to the incident reported at the above site, I was told several years ago about another 'copter that had it's airframe eaten up from the crew using SG to clean the floors. I've been pretty cautious about my use of Simple Green ever since.
There also seems to be a big difference in what alloy it's used on. Some it doesn't seem to bother all that much, some it will start eating in as little as 15 minutes. Seeing how the Japanese have a heavy reliance on 'recycled' aluminum, what kind of alloy you have on any given bike part is probably a crapshoot. And whether it's a casting or a forging/extrusion can make a difference; castings are considerably more porous, and the longer SG is on, the more likely it will 'soak' into the metal.
And if you're diluting it, water seems to only make the effect worse, and some water is worse than others (different minerals/chemicals?); so where you live can affect your results.
So if you're going to use SG, don't leave it in contact for long (ten minutes seems to be the max), and thoroughly rinse it off. One thing that everyone seemed to agree on; don't let it dry on the metal.
All this is for the common, buy-it-anywhere SG. They do make an aluminum-specific type called 'Extreme Simple Green' that does have a few aircraft approvals, but I've never seen it.
'78E original owner
if you get some on your skin!!!!
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