Hello,
I have had excellent results cleaning aluminium and alloy parts using a product called "Met-All". This use to be available through retail stores, but recently I had to order direct from Met-all Industries. The airlines industry uses it to clean aluminum parts on planes.
Regards, Steve Neago "Sightless in Cincinnati due to the clouds and rain"
> Posted on the rec.bicycles.tech newsgroup today about the use of Simple
> Green on aluminum parts:
>
> > Aircraft Cleaners
> >
> > Simple Green and other cleaners that are not listed in the
> > Technical Manuals are taboo for a very good reason - they
> > hurt the metal used to build the machine.
> >
> > It has been brought to the attention of the U.S. Army
> > Aviation Missile Command (AMCOM) Depot Maintenance
> > Engineering Team that numerous units are using the
> > commercial product SIMPLE GREEN as an aircraft wash.
> > STOP! This product has been through Department of Defense
> > (DOD) testing and was determined to be highly corrosive
> > on aircraft aluminum and also a catalyst for Hydrogen
> > Embrittlement in high strength aircraft alloys.
> >
> > While a highly effective cleaning agent for floors and
> > non-aluminum / non-high strength alloy vehicles this
> > product is not approved for aviation usage. If your unit
> > has been using SIMPLE GREEN on a regular basis, it is
> > recommended that a thorough fresh water wash with the
> > approved cleaners per the appropriate airframe maintenance
> > manuals be accomplished as soon as practicable. This
> > should be followed up with a corrosion inspection /
> > treatment and application of approved Corrosion
> > Prevention Compounds (CPCs).
> >
> > Mr. Richard Cardinale, corrosion@amcom-cc.army.mil
> > (361)961-4041, DSN 861-4041
> >
> > http://safety.army.mil/
> > ============================
> >
> > AOPA advised caution with any cleaner and stated that "No
> > cleaner should be left on an aircraft for an extended
> > period; any cleaner should be promptly and thoroughly
> > rinsed off the airframe with water."
> >
> > It's Simple -- Don't Use This To Clean Aluminum
> >
> > A well-known aviation magazine this month published a
> > feature article on cleaning one's aircraft and getting
> > it ready for spring flying. Only one problem -- a product
> > the article recommended as safe for aviation use has been
> > proven corrosive to aluminum. The product is Simple Green,
> > a popular household cleaning liquid. According to the
> > magazine's May issue -- which included a photo of Simple
> > Green and other products -- the liquid "does an admirable
> > job for a fraction of the cost of the aviation cleaners."
> > While that may be true as far as it goes, both the U.S.
> > Air Force and the U.S. Army have conducted tests of Simple
> > Green and strongly urge that it not be used to clean
> > aluminum structures. In one test conducted by the U.S.
> > Air Force, results from which were published in 1989,
> > aluminum alloy samples were immersed in Simple Green for
> > a week then removed, cleaned and weighed. The results
> > indicated that the approximately 3.5-gram aluminum alloy
> > samples experienced a material loss of about 31 milligrams
> > in a diluted solution and a whopping 295 milligram loss
> > after spending a week in the undiluted liquid. The Air
> > Force report summed it up this way: "We do not recommend
> > the use of this product on Air Force equipment containing
> > aluminum." a