Does a Syphon Gun Work Better for Degreasing? Mineral Spirits or Degreaser? 

I’ve tried everything you either need to use the expensive solevent or a power washer that’s the only way to get parts clean fast. I own a auto repair shop I’ve been a technician for 20 years again I’ve tried everything pretty much anything will clean ur parts it’s just how much time you want to spend scrubbing. The best thing I use is a pressure washer hooked up to hot water I do this to clean an engine after fixing a leak, to clean an engine to find a leak and if I’m doing engine work I will lay the parts down and clean them, or if I’m replacing like valve cover gaskets I’ll power wash the covers. I use to waste money on the cans of foaming degreaser which does work but if you get a 3000 psi power washer and use hot water nothing will get this clean this fast just using water. I have a small ultrasonic parts cleaner that gets parts so clean they look new but the machines are expensive. I put clear kerosene in my parts washer from a gas station most gas stations sell kerosene with red dye in it but I feel like the clear stuff works best plus kerosene is like 6 bucks a gallon so for 30 bucks I have 5 gallons in my parts washer I just can’t justify spending 100 bucks for 5 gallons of solvent that will look terrible after one dirty valve cover. I am going to buy a electric power washer because I hate having to get gas, then have to let the engine warm up it would be easier to get an electric because I’m only using it for maybe one minute I know electric power washers don’t work as well but I think if I get the most powerful electric I get it should work fine to get grease off.

I could see this being helpful in areas where you can't necessarily get your brush in to get a good scrub Nothing beats good old elbow-grease though I bought one TJ I can see this being handy cleaning the engine of my car while detailing the rest of my car

FORMULA FOR HOMEMADE "ENGINE CLEANER" 40 years ago I had use of a then "big deal" 18 hp pressure washer, sold by an oil field cleanup supplier, in exchange for bringing it back to working order. They also sold an expensive proprietary detergent to mix 1 part detergent 1 part water then gradually and vigorously mix in 5 parts solvent like mineral spirits or kerosene or diesel fuel as a soak down pre-spray for oily dirty equipment prior to the use of the pressure washer. I adapted their "formula" using household detergent and it has been my go to engine cleaner ever since. I used a magic marker to write this on the outside of an empty white plastic 1 gallon mineral spirits container which is my mix / storage bottle. " ENGINE CLEANER" "1 part water 1 part liquid detergent" (tide) then mix in 5 parts paint thinner" I always used tide but I think dawn would work well also. It emulsifies to a spray-able creamy / clingy consistency when you add a "part" at a time of paint thinner, put the cap on the jug and give a good shake with the addition of each "part". Probably emulsifies best using hot tap water and room temp or warmer detergent and solvent. 1 pint max for each "part" for a 1 gallon jug full mix. It could well be improved with some "magic" ingredient in the "detergent" category or even perhaps "painters" real trisodium phosphate (TSP) or ratio adjustment - if so let all know. PS. best not to be "caught" in the kitchen using the wife's favorite new blender to speed the "mix".

I have a steam cleaner style pressure washer with a down stream chemical line, that thing kicks ass on any built up grease or sludge. Fast too

If you want to make metal look like new, there is only one way to do it. A dry ice cleaning machine is the best, especially on aluminum, but it's a HUGE investment.

I have tried all these. Mean Green seems to work the best for me. And it's cheap too.

This might not work as well as agitation in this application, but you know the adage of using the right tool for the job. For cleaning engine bays, there are definitely places you cannot reasonably get an agitation brush into a space. Other places have so many intricate pieces that using an agitation brush would be impractical, if not impossible. I can think of a hundred engine bay components, from wiring looms through to plastic pieces covered by ignition coils that would work fine with a pneumatic gun, but would not be a candidate in any way for an agitation brush. And then there's the reach. This tool gives you another 14" or so of extra reach down into a tight engine bay. There is no substitution for physical scrubbing. In my opinion, that's the most reliable, but most aggressive cleaning method. I have tried cleaning stainless BBQ grates from baked on debris with any number of chemicals, ranging from mild to extremely harsh, and when all else fails, as a last resort, I break out the angle grinder with the wire wheel. That'll get the crud off for sure, but it's a last resort. The engine bay of my car is fiberglass. I am not going to use some physical scrubbing brush. It'd get the gunk off for sure, while simultaneously destroying the fiberglass. BUT, it wouldn't have crud on it. One man's clean is another man's destroyed.

diesel is the best to clean, I mix it with some universal household cleaner and it works good

Try fume-free oven cleaner. The blue can. Spray on. Let sit for 15 min or longer depending on amount of grime. Starts working immediately. Then hose off, or use just water in the siphon gun. Much better than the purple stuff.

Thanks for the comparison.

Hi Thanks for this helpful video, I have the same gun, but it did not come with the connector. Can you tell me what that is called. Thanks

Always doing great reviews!! Thank you man!✌

Thank you for another great video!!

i want to add to this video ,so i been using super clean full strenth on all my engine jobs ,it doers a very good job ,now if your engine parts look like that u have to use a presure washer first the break loose all the heavy sludge ,theirs no degreasser in the world that will clean those the first not even gas ,ask me how i know ,but after the big stuff is out of the way use the super clean as a clean up full strength and rinse with water this all i use

Aerosolizing chemicals in the shop… seems legit. Lol. Just wear protection. Don’t breath that stuff in.

i honestly have always just found a way to get a big bucket and fill it with boiling water and a powerful dish soap. let the part soak for an hr clean it up in the parts bin and do it again. the boiling water with degreaser o big dollar store bottles of knockoff mr clean. it really strips the grease and carbon build up off once i hit it with the pressure washer its near new looking.

The purple power is so bad for soaking aluminum, it eats it away

Pretty cool!

The problem I assume is you probably want to use the same cleaner or solvent more than once so unless you are putting enough in your parts cleaner I don't think it will be that effective

Can you use mineral spirits to remove stickers from the car?

The odorless mineral spirits isn’t worth a dime

here in the People's Republik Komifornia, i use diesel fuel in my solvent tank, and it does a pretty decent job of cleaning greasy parts. i think it might work well with that sprayer. thanks

Need to try some oven cleaner.

Use paint thinner

does mineral spirits work as good as wd40 and compressed air to keep cast iron parts from flash rusting?

It looks super messy. And you probably shouldn’t breath in all that mist

Most aqueous solvents have a lot of sodium hydroxide (lye) in them. They most def eat aluminum.

cleaning parts costs TIME, no miracle way exist. you trreat it with whatever, let it sit, brush it, treat it.....

Can you just soak them

"Siphon Gun." LOL. It's actually call the Venturi Effect. There are actually 4 factors in cleaning anything. Time, Temperature, Chemical Action and Mechanical Action. Usually the more of any or all of these 4 factors will increase cleaning effectiveness and efficiency.

Dude, you need some serious PPE if your going to be putting that garbage into the sir like that.

Try using gasoline

You wearing a mask with all those chemicals you're putting in the air?

How about using, " S100 "?

dude... stop yelling....