I think that was one of my textbooks when I was in school.groebuck said:I remember an old old book back when I was a kid about cleaning hints (I think my mom was trying to tell me something).....The person who wrote the book swore by 1 cup of kerosene added to one gallon of water as a "waterless wash." Basically the writer said you dip in a cotton cloth in the mixture start from back to front and rinse in the bucket after every pass. She did this once a week and swore the finish was shiney and beaded like the car was waxed...
anyone ever hear of this?? !!

In all seriousness, kerosene is an excellent parts cleaner and it was used quite extensively for removing tar from vehicles when I was a kid. We didn't have all the specialized products and it was not uncommon to actually wash the tar spattered areas with a rag soaked with kerosene. We then proceeded to wash the car with whatever product we had. No Dawn. It wasn't even invented yet.
Also, on the flammability. Kerosene will burn, but it is not explosive like gasoline. Anyone that cleans parts with gasoline is an accident waiting to happen.
Charles