Oven cleaner?

bennylava

bennylava

New member
I'll probably get flamed for asking this, but it attracted me cause its cheap! I've never done it, and it kind of seems like a bad idea. But you never know until you ask. So anybody ever used oven cleaner as an engine degreaser? Oven cleaner is some mean sh!#. Definitely to be used in a well ventilated area. Its only 99 cents. Flame on!
 
I've never used it as an engine degreaser, but back in the day I used it on same nasty crap that I couldn't get rid of on some wheels lol......it worked
 
Try a small spot and see. Should work well on the metal parts, but I'd think it'd be pretty harsh on any plastics.
 
Not flaming but I would never use it.

1. Oven cleaner will destroy aluminum.
2. Oven cleaner will destroy plastics.
3. Oven cleaner will soften/strip paint.
4. Oven cleaner may ruin rubber gaskets, seals, belts, and hoses.

Now, obviously not every oven cleaner will do every one of the above but I'd rather just not take the chance.

Before you question whether your car has any/all of those I'll direct you to the radiator. If it's a (somewhat) modern car the radiator and hoses have all 4 sections covered.
 
RDKC said:
Not flaming but I would never use it.

1. Oven cleaner will destroy aluminum.
2. Oven cleaner will destroy plastics.
3. Oven cleaner will soften/strip paint.
4. Oven cleaner may ruin rubber gaskets, seals, belts, and hoses.

Now, obviously not every oven cleaner will do every one of the above but I'd rather just not take the chance.

Before you question whether your car has any/all of those I'll direct you to the radiator. If it's a (somewhat) modern car the radiator and hoses have all 4 sections covered.
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That's not necessarily true. If you use "No Lye" cleaner such as Easy Off in the blue can you will not have many of those issues. I use it on model cars when I booger up a paint job and need to strip it without damaging the underlying plastic. Additionally, Easy Off in the blue can is my go to for super neglected (clearcoated) wheels that wont come clean with Sonax FE.

- Patrick
 
It is great for exhaust. I have used it multiple times on my bike after my brother has rode it. He always seems to get his heel on the pipe.

I would be cautious using in the engine bay.

If you do use it be sure to have proper PPE (eye protection, gloves, and mask).

Sent from my D6708 using Tapatalk
 
It's a bad idea for all the reasons RKDC stated. One place I will use it is to remove anodizing from Aluminum before polishing it. Regular Easy-Off is really nothing but spray Lye.
 
bennylava said:
I'll probably get flamed for asking this, but it attracted me cause its cheap! I've never done it, and it kind of seems like a bad idea. But you never know until you ask. So anybody ever used oven cleaner as an engine degreaser? Oven cleaner is some mean sh!#. Definitely to be used in a well ventilated area. Its only 99 cents. Flame on!
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I've been part of a Dirt Track Sprint Car team since the 80's. Back when we had to run iron blocks, we'd use it as an exterior engine cleaner to get the nasty grunge off a motor before sending it off to the machinist. Also, it would strip both vinyl lettering and sign painter's enamel off body panels and wings. It has its uses, but I wouldn't spray it anywhere near something I didn't plan to refinish.

Bill

Lernerville2005.jpg
 
Sounds like I won't be using it. However I will say that it does sound like there could be a time limit thing, going on here. Like as long as you only left it on for say, 30 seconds, you'd be ok. I'm not going to test that, its just the impression this thread gives me.
 
bennylava said:
Sounds like I won't be using it. However I will say that it does sound like there could be a time limit thing, going on here. Like as long as you only left it on for say, 30 seconds, you'd be ok. I'm not going to test that, its just the impression this thread gives me.
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Bad idea. Damage is done on application. Just the depth of the damage increases with time. In Billy Jack's example you're talking about an engine that's going to a machine shop and more than likely jet washed and well, it's a race motor not a show car. And his experience was Iron blocks. Most cars these days are either all aluminum or iron block with an aluminum head.

Think about it. You're spraying on an Alkali that will burn human skin. How much is too much?
 
I used easy off for road paint removal. It was the only thing that worked when other things did not. I tried clay, nano towels, kerosene, mineral spirits, compound petroleum jelly, nothing removed it. Easy off after about 5 minutes removed it, I foamed, washed, polished and coated after. Here was the passenger wheel area:

 
Ccrew said:
Bad idea. Damage is done on application. Just the depth of the damage increases with time. In Billy Jack's example you're talking about an engine that's going to a machine shop and more than likely jet washed and well, it's a race motor not a show car. And his experience was Iron blocks. Most cars these days are either all aluminum or iron block with an aluminum head.

Think about it. You're spraying on an Alkali that will burn human skin. How much is too much?
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Well to be fair, purple power burns my skin, and its sold as engine degreaser. Again I won't be using over cleaner, just saying. Although that one member seems to think that the non-lye blue can stuff would be ok.
 
bennylava said:
Well to be fair, purple power burns my skin, and its sold as engine degreaser. Again I won't be using over cleaner, just saying. Although that one member seems to think that the non-lye blue can stuff would be ok.
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No, he said a certain type won't harm plastic or clear coated wheels. He didn't mention anything about rubber, silicone, bare aluminum, or anything else.

However, I've used it to clean wheel barrels before. Of course the wheel was off the vehicle and I didn't allow any on the face of the wheel. I've also used it for retrofitting headlights. For the shrouds if you want to get the chrome off you simply spray them with oven cleaner and let them sit. It takes all the "chrome off" and leaves the plastic completely unharmed (I left it on for a few hours.) You're enginr has a lot more than just plastic under the hood though. I would be mostly concerned with how it reacts to rubber and silicone.

I certainly (and most others here probably) understand the temptation of something that's 99 cents and has a ton of cleaning potential lol.
 
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