03-06-2021, 09:02 PM
I've been giving this some thought. I've heard reports that putting in a dishwasher works well, but not tried it - like the OP, the dishwasher is me...
So failing that, I do like the suggestion of Alubrite. I'd also suggest alloy wheel cleaner, for cars - after all, the stuff is designed to be compatible with aluminium.
Alkali solutions are good for cleaning oil, grease, etc owing to their saponification effect - the oils are turned to soaps. Unfortunately, aluminium tends to react with alkalis, chemically, it likes behaving as a non-metal rather more readily than as a metal.
Sodium hydroxide is a no-no. Sodium carbonate is much weaker as an alkali, but just as it will attack the aluminium far more slowly than caustic soda, it may well have a similarly slow effect on the muck. What's wanted is something aggressive to muck, but not to aluminium. Hence the wheel cleaner suggestion. Another may be engine degreaser, eg Gunk.
Whatever, my attack would be to use those, and then be sure to remove all traces - finger over the end of a tap comes to mind to get a powerful squirt between tha vanes and in the crevices. Then oven-dry for several hours at 50 deg C.
Another option might be to soak in paraffin, which just dissolves grease and oil.
Finally, when dry, relubricate the bearings - I use clock oil for a sliding bearing, and molybdenum disulphide grease thinned down with paraffin for ball-bearings, applied with a small medical syringe to get it where it's needed. The paraffin evaporates of course, but by then the grease is where it's needed.
So failing that, I do like the suggestion of Alubrite. I'd also suggest alloy wheel cleaner, for cars - after all, the stuff is designed to be compatible with aluminium.
Alkali solutions are good for cleaning oil, grease, etc owing to their saponification effect - the oils are turned to soaps. Unfortunately, aluminium tends to react with alkalis, chemically, it likes behaving as a non-metal rather more readily than as a metal.
Sodium hydroxide is a no-no. Sodium carbonate is much weaker as an alkali, but just as it will attack the aluminium far more slowly than caustic soda, it may well have a similarly slow effect on the muck. What's wanted is something aggressive to muck, but not to aluminium. Hence the wheel cleaner suggestion. Another may be engine degreaser, eg Gunk.
Whatever, my attack would be to use those, and then be sure to remove all traces - finger over the end of a tap comes to mind to get a powerful squirt between tha vanes and in the crevices. Then oven-dry for several hours at 50 deg C.
Another option might be to soak in paraffin, which just dissolves grease and oil.
Finally, when dry, relubricate the bearings - I use clock oil for a sliding bearing, and molybdenum disulphide grease thinned down with paraffin for ball-bearings, applied with a small medical syringe to get it where it's needed. The paraffin evaporates of course, but by then the grease is where it's needed.
