Although its not so environmentally friendly I find White Spirits (Turps Substitute) is really effective at removing most deposits found inside hub gears and is an excellent cleaner of any dirty oily parts...
Hilary Stone, Bristol, England
Peter Brown wrote:
> Mark Stonich wrote:
>
>
>
> How do people who overhaul a lot of SA hubs deal with "varnish" on
>
> the internals?
>
>
>
> Here in the, US old bikes with SA hubs are quite common. In most
>
> cases they are very low mileage, so the hubs show little wear.
>
>
>
> But they are usually gummed up with dried up lube. I soak the bits
>
> overnight in a citrus degreaser, and then use a stiff bristle brush
>
> but it seems to take a lot longer than it should.
>
>
>
> You are in too much of a hurry Mark. I leave parts with dried up
> lubricant
> for as long as a week in Tetrosyl, which I presume is similar to your
> citrus
> degreaser. It is usually then "blown" off with a pressure gun
> containing
> Tetrosyl without having to use anything abrasive. My 89 year old
> friend,
> who still works on S-A hubs as he has done for the last 68 years, still
> believes in paraffin, and he too leaves things for several days.
>
>
>
> Peter Brown, Lincolnshire, England