Trial Number 0

Aluminum coupons were selected and arranged into sets of three for each cleaner. The substrates were wiped off with Kimwipes and initial weights were taken. Then the coupons were soiled with the respective oil and allowed to air dry for one hour before taking dirty weights. The coupons were cleaned by immersion in the cleaners at 49°C or 120°F. The coupons were allowed 15 minutes for lighter oils and 30 minutes for the epoxidized soybean oil, inspecting them every 10 minutes. Coupons were taken out once cleaning was complete and rinsed in a bath of water, to later be blown off with pressurized air for 5 minutes. After allowing the coupons to dry about five minutes, clean weights were taken.

The MacDermid Adherite cleaner was not effectively compatible with the aluminum coupons and seemed to deteriorate the substrate, darkening the surface as shown in Figure 1. This was the reason for the percentages being over 100% for the Nisseki soil. The same effect was observed on at least three of the four oils. No reaction was observed with canola oil. It proved difficult to clean silicone and epoxidized soybean oil, because a lot of residue was left on the coupons. Blow off with pressurized air did very little except spread the oil along the surface.

The best cleaner was likely Polychem’s Polyspray Jet 790P as it performed consistently across all soils. The next best cleaners were Chemetall Inproclean 3800 and MacDermid Keykote 84, respectively.