Any good OTC All Purpose Cleaners or Degreasers?

S

simracer

New member
Just wanted to check and see if there was anything worthwhile at some of the local shops. About all I see is Simple Green, Purple Power and Greased Lightning. Let me know if there's something good. If not, I'll just place another order for Meg's APC+ and Super Degreaser in the sample sizes. With just two cars to detail (and truth be told, the minivan doesn't get the same treatment as the Bimmer) even the sample sizes lasted me quite a while.



If it does come down to mail ordering, is Optimum's Power Clean better enough than Meg's to justify the extra expense?



Thanks all! Hope you guys are all enjoying some nice detailing weather. It's been hot for so long here in Oklahoma that I've only recently been able to be motivated to get back on my detailing schedule. That and the fact that they're doing interstate construction not far from where I work, so even when the car is clean, it's covered in a sheet of dust by the end of the day.
 
I use simple green diluted at a 1:5 ratio with water. I bought one of the larger bottles of it to mix in a spray bottle. I usually just use it for the front bumper, mirrors, and sometimes along the lower panels and let it sit a few minutes before washing.
 
If you want to wait before ordering, you can do basic APC cleaning with LA's Totally Awesome. Heck, for a buck at a dollar store, you can pick up at least one bottle and experiment. I use it for clean ups around the garage and stuff like cleaning up wheel wells most of the time diluted so it stretches even more. Definitely a worthwhile product.
 
Optimum's Power Clean. P21S Total Auto Wash (APC) or Wurth Citrus Degreaser in no particular order
 
Just got OPC last week and only tried it a little bit so far. I've got a gallon to play around with so I can experiment at different ratios. The big litmus test for me is going to see how it fares on the undercarriage.
 
I've had various luck with off the shelf stuff. It works sometimes, other times it doesn't. APC+ works great for me, even at 20:1, though I keep 5:1 for tough stuff. Its ~$15/gallon, its one of the best values out there considering it works so well.
 
The first that comes to mind is Meg's APC+. Your local body shop supply store will have it in inventory or will order it in for you, Sim.
 
Zep citrus apc/ degreaser from HD is wonderful and quite cheap. It can be diluted out and can be bought in both a spray bottle and a gallon jug. I also like Greased Lightening from Lowes. Excellent extremely cheap OTC products that in my opinion just as good as the Megs stuff.



Jenn
 
One of the nicer features/characteristics of Meg's D101 All-Purpose Cleaner (the green stuff) is that it can be used on wide variety of car surfaces and fabrics, and if diluted correctly even cleans coated leather pretty decently.



I would not use Purple Power or Super Clean (formerly Castrol's "That Purple Stuff") on fabrics or carpets. (Works great for cleaning foam polishing pads/applicators and cotton chenille washing pads, though)



DON'T even get me started on OTC Simple Green. If you follow my post on this subject, you'll understand why. It was originally designed to clean coffee roasters. It works great for cleaning coffee pots and coffee cups. I DO use it on countertops that have coffee stains on them, but cars? Not any more since I've been educated by this forum. Simple Green Heavy-Duty is available at Home Depot for about same price as Megs APC and about twice that of OTC Simple Green but I have not tried it.



The OTC cleaner that has been forgotten is LAS Totally Awesome available at the Dollar Store. It's cheap and works fairly well. For a dollar you can try it yourself and make your own evaluations and conclusions.



I have used an Orange Degreaser Soap from a local soap company here in Green Bay,Wisconsin. It's not something I'd use on fabrics, but on plastics or vinyls, its hard to beat. I bought it to clean walls before painting as a Tri-Sodium Phosphate (which is still available) replacement/substitute because the soap company has sold it to fire and flood restoration clean-up companies. It works very well diluted 10:1 on tobacco stained walls , finished woodwork, vinyl or linoleum flooring, and glass windows, and yes, it does work well on car plastics/vinyls and greasy door jams. They make it locally and I am not sure how it would compares to Zeps Orange Degreaser available at Home Depot. The active degreasing ingredient, D-limonene, has its pros and cons.
 
Lonnie said:
I would not use Purple Power or Super Clean (formerly Castrol's "That Purple Stuff") on fabrics or carpets. (Works great for cleaning foam polishing pads/applicators and cotton chenille washing pads, though)
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Roger that. Foam pads come out surprisingly clean.



The OTC cleaner that has been forgotten is LAS Totally Awesome available at the Dollar Store. It's cheap and works fairly well. For a dollar you can try it yourself and make your own evaluations and conclusions.
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I haven’t forgotten it. I mentioned it earlier. I get at least a gallon’s worth every time I check out the dollar store. I dilute it for clean ups around the garage and outside so my supply is always indefinite. Good stuff. At full ratio it can at least make a dent in some heavier automotive clean-ups. Not a bad choice for spot MF cleaning, pad cleaning,etc. Also, the 32 oz bottles are excellent for use with sprayers. They’re worth half the price of the product alone. I have a large stash of them. It’s worth saving them. The rest of the LA’s Totally Awesome product line up is mediocre, at best IME but you can’t really complain about them.
 
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