So i was taking apart a bike of mine and decided to soak some parts in degreaser overnight. I wake up this morning to my bucket of parts covered in some wierd stuff. Some of the parts( ft & rr derailluer, chain) covered in gritty whitesh-grey stuff. It’s like caked on. Some of it flaked off, but not all of it. The brake calipers i had soaked are just COVERED in a black grit that will not budge at all. This is an entire 10 speed Ultegra group practically ruined. The parts dont spring the way they should, and they look atrocious. Upon further examination of the cheap-O degreaser i used it says do not use on aluminum parts! What the hell. It’s called Greased Lightning Auto & Shop Cleaner/Degreaser and i bought it in a gallon jug at PepBoys. It says it contains alkaline builders and surfactants, which im guessing is whats caked itself on my parts.
I am by no means a chemist, or a genius for that matter. Does anyone know what the hell i can do to solve my dilemna? In the meantime. DO NOT USE THIS STUFF ON ANY BICYCLE PART! What did i do!?
I’m no chemist either, but it sounds like it oxidized or reacted with the aluminum in some way. I’m guessing some parts might be able to be disassembled and buffed, cleaned, whatevered to work again… maybe email the company for tips: http://www.greased-lightning.com/
Well i’m glad i made you laugh,but what the hell kind of degreaser does that kind of thing!? Like i was just stunned. Not even angry, not yet anyway. Thats what i get for not buying Finish-Line Degreaser. And you probably all thought, as i did, that it’s all the same stuff. $4.99 at Pep-Boys no more
I hate to say it, but your stuff is probably trashed. I’ve learned this the hard way as well. Not with bicycle stuff, motocross parts. Cheap grade cleaners like that are rough on aluminum stuff. Thats to say the least. I would try emailing the company. Its worth a shot. The worst they can do is tell you to pound sand. But, your probably SOL. You can try cleaning the stuff up. But the derailuers are probably trashed. Look at as an excuse to either upgrade to DA or the new ultegra sl?
If you’re only going to toss the parts anyway, you could try soaking them or rubbing them in an acidic solution or cleaner (I’m thinking even vinegar or coke and aluminum foil - saw something like it on Mythbusters!). If it happens to be a build up of alkalinity you might be able to redissolve or neutralize it. But keep one important thing in mind - I am just guessing here, so don’t try this if you think the parts might be salvegable some other way.
UGH. Well the thing is. I have two bikes. One bike is spec’d full DA and is like my baby, which is generally my Sunday bike and the other was my race bike( this is road im talking) with full ultegra which i put alot more miles on and generally train and race-on. So i probably wouldn’t upgrade anyway. It’s a total loss. I don’t mind buying a chain or casette, but rear der., front der. and brake calipers to boot!? I emailed them. Let’s see what they say.
It’s odd because it doesnt seem like the actually finish of the parts are ruined. It’s just caked on. The plastic bucket was covered in the grit as well. But it flaked off the plastic alot easier. It also seemed to flake off the pulleys easily too. It’s just CAKED ON the metal. I’ll post pictures tomorrow.