Trial Purpose:
Laboratory evaluations of alternative aerosol cleaning products
Date Run:
12/13/2006Experiment Procedure:
Basic cleaning performance testing was conducted using ASTM G122 as the bases for cleaning.
Six products were selected for testing based on previous testing on the selected soil. One product was used to 5% using DI water and 500 mlsThe other five products were used at full strength. Each product was then poured into an EnviroCaddie aerosol spray system and pressurized to just under 95 psi using Nitrogen. Eighteen preweighed aluminum coupons were coated with a collection of brake/engine soil collected from an automobile shop. The coupons were allowed to sit for one day before a second weight was recorded. Three coupons were cleaned with each solution for 30 seconds via the aerosol spray system. Coupons were not rinsed and were air dried at room temperature for 5 minutes. Following drying, final weights were recorded and cleaning efficiencies were calculated.
Trial Results:
All six products removed over 89% of the brake soil in under 30 seconds of spray cleaning. A couple of the products took longer to dry or left a small amount of liquid at the bottom of the coupons. Wiping the water off the coupons resulted in cleaning efficiencies above 99%. The table below lists the amount of soil applied, the amount remaining and the efficiency for each coupon cleaned.
| Cleaner | Initial wt | Final wt | % Removed | Observations |
| 278 SuperSolv | 0.5905 | 0.0306 | 94.82 | |
| 0.5332 | 0.0403 | 92.44 | ||
| 0.3372 | 0.0424 | 87.43 | ||
| DS 104 | 1.1535 | 0.0249 | 97.84 | Wet at bottom |
| 0.1811 | 0.0306 | 83.10 | ||
| 0.5954 | 0.0251 | 95.78 | ||
| D Greeze 500 Lo | 0.2987 | 0.0237 | 92.07 | |
| 0.5740 | 0.0068 | 98.82 | ||
| 0.5692 | 0.0179 | 96.86 | ||
| Solsafe 245 | 0.1652 | 0.0220 | 86.68 | Wet at bottom |
| 0.2401 | 0.0246 | 89.75 | 99% with wipe | |
| 0.3442 | 0.0311 | 90.96 | ||
| Brakleen-Non Aerosol | 0.2832 | 0.0141 | 95.02 | |
| 0.2766 | 0.0064 | 97.69 | ||
| 0.2372 | 0.0047 | 98.02 | ||
| Brake & Parts Cleaner | 0.3012 | 0.0047 | 98.44 | |
| 0.2709 | 0.0113 | 95.83 | ||
| 0.2435 | 0.0054 | 97.78 |
Success Rating:
Preliminary compatibility tests on substrate coupons encouraging for at least one cleaning chemistry. More in-depth laboratory testing necessary.Conclusion:
Some of the alternatives may need to be wiped dry. Despite the residue, all cleaners removed over 89% of the brake soil.
