Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
What type of soap? & an update
Steven McKinley from Calgary
>I have a 605 1/2 that needs cleaning and I always read to clean the plane with a scotchbrite pad in warm soap and water. Question, what type of soap? I was just going to use a liquid dish detergent, is that okay?
By the way, I've finished japanning my 607. I just need to do a little rub out with steel wool and rubbing compound and I'll be done. I'll post some pictures and details when that's done.
Re: What type of soap? & an update
GolfSteve in Calgary
>I've used Simple Green to clean up some old planes - works great. Just remember to completely dry the planes off because they will rust easily after being cleaned.
Re: What type of soap? & an update
Steven McKinley from Calgary
>Hi Steve,
did you use the concentrate in water, or just the spray applicator?
Re: What type of soap? & an update
Ernie Miller Topeka
>I just use dish soap it is made to remove the toughest cooking oils so it works good on planes.
Re: What type of soap? & an update
Roger Nixon
>I use Murphy's Oil Soap. It is a soap made for cleaning wood.
Brillo pads
Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA
>I use Brillo/SOS pads, the steel wool impregnated with some kind of soap. I figure if it can clean off the burnt-on meat on the frying pan, it should do fine with planes - and it does, by golly.
Ratio is about one pad per plane, but they're cheap. And by the way, I no longer do this work in the kitchen sink, out of respect for LOML's sensibilities and equal respect for my hide.
Re: Brillo pads
Ernie Miller Topeka
>You need to stop by for lunch on saturday I will be baking a plane to harden japanning. I ain't scared of my wife. I have a toaster oven and will be doing it on the back pattio.
Re: What type of soap? & an update
GolfSteve in Calgary
>I use the spray applicator, full strength, let it sit for a while, then start scrubbing.
Re: What type of soap? & an update
Don Thompson, Cutler Ridge, South of Miami FL
>There was a thread on this subject on the Old Tools List the other month. Some folks seemed to agree, IIRC, that Gunk is a good gunk remover - it does not require much harmful abrasion.
One fellow said that he uses soap and water, and then rinses in water, and then rinses in alcohol to wash off the rust-causing water.
Re: What type of soap? & an update
Ted Shuck
>I missed the one about using an alcohol rinse. That is a *very* good idea. Alcohol and water will mix completely, then the water will have very different properties. The surface of the water is reduced and its tendency to adhere to the metal surfaces is reduced as well. The water-alcohol mixture will also evaporate much more quickly.
Ted
Remembering how he used to put rubbing alcohol in his ears after swimming to get the water out...
What about WD40?
Bob Hutchins in Central TX
>I read somewhere that the "WD" stands for "water displacement". The product was created to displace water. I know its not really a lubricant.
BobH
Interesting side note
Dan Donaldson
>As was mentioned, dish soap cuts grease very well. If you have grease to remove, an interesting item to know is that some bicycle racers use Dawn dishwashing liquid to clean up the greasy parts of their bicycles, and there is at least one state that buys Dawn by the truckload to clean up oil spills on the roads.
I think Dawn is a detergent, not a soap.
Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX
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