Stainless Steel Frame Care

[MaintenanceGuy]

Hello all, just your local Maintenance Guy here. Recently my location has undergone an attempt to clean the frames of all our equipment (wraps, mitters, dryers; all stainless steel) but we are having difficulty clearing away all the gunk (severe buildup). Does anyone have any recommendations for chemicals or applicants to use to make our lives easier? Currently we are just using parts/brake cleaner which is working just not as well as we would like. Have attempted to use our water and chemical pressure washer to no avail.

 

[MEP001]

You need to use something that removes water deposits. Brake parts cleaner is not meant for that.

 

[MaintenanceGuy]

In addition to the water deposits there's a half inch layer of grime and tire shine residue which is what we're having the most difficulty with

 

[$!cmad3k]

You can use a product like aluminum brightner but you will have to dillute it to make sure you dont burn the stainless.

 

[Greg Pack]

The bulk of what you are seeing on your equipment is likely alkaline scale. Try aluminum brightener or dedicated wall cleaner like Arcadian's nu-wall. These products contain hydrofluoric acid so take precautions. Chem manufacturers do have some newer products that don't contain HF. Quest has a product called SAW and Arcadian has one I think is called C3. These are safer to use.

 

[SDaWG11]

Hello all, just your local Maintenance Guy here. Recently my location has undergone an attempt to clean the frames of all our equipment (wraps, mitters, dryers; all stainless steel) but we are having difficulty clearing away all the gunk (severe buildup). Does anyone have any recommendations for chemicals or applicants to use to make our lives easier? Currently we are just using parts/brake cleaner which is working just not as well as we would like. Have attempted to use our water and chemical pressure washer to no avail.

you sure it’s SS and not aluminum?Steel wool does wonders on grime and buildup on aluminum framing.

as others mention, more than likely it’s water scale buildup among other things, but you need to tackle the buildup with a proper chemical to help with any manual scrubbing.

Work on small sections with different chemicals products until you properly identify a product that helps remove your build up. It might be difficult to rely solely on the pressure washer and you may need to try an increase hands on approach with compatible scrubbing pads/steel wool for the metal you are working with.