white spirit on hubs?

[young Ed]

just rebuilt front hub of old hubs and cleaned the old sh*t grease out with try toilet roll and then cleaned the hubs up finally with white spirit on a bit of toilet rolls. could the white spirit damage any part of the hubs if i just dry the hub with dry toilet roll afterwards? just asking before i use it on all future hub rebuilds as it does a great job!
i can really recommend it.gave me a mirror finish ready for plenty of new grease! before you say don't need a mirror finish so unnecessary waste of time it does mean you can properly inspect the hub under a magnifying glass for any scratches, scoring or other damage.
Cheers Ed

 

[400bhp]

Cant see a problem, so long as its dried off.

 

[young Ed]

that's what i thought but wasn't sure. does a great job you should try it!
Cheers Ed

 

[Crankarm]

White spirit?!!! Errr ………. this is for oil based paints. You should use a degreaser e.g. engine degreaser and rinse with water and dry before refilling with grease.

 

[Dusty Bin]

white spirit is a solvent - if degreasing is your aim, then it will do the job.

 

[Biker Joe]

white spirit is a solvent - if degreasing is your aim, then it will do the job.

Very much agree.

 

[cyberknight]

White spirit?!!! Errr ………. this is for oil based paints. You should use a degreaser e.g. engine degreaser and rinse with water and dry before refilling with grease.

WD 40

 

[MontyVeda]

it's great for cleaning mucky parts, and also a cheap alternative to single malt

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

White spirit for cleaning chains is very effective, but you do need to hang them to dry overnight or it'll be in the rollers and destroy any new oil applied.

 

[Dusty Bin]

White spirit for cleaning chains is very effective, but you do need to hang them to dry overnight or it'll be in the rollers and destroy any new oil applied.

No, it will evapourate, leaving a very slight oily residue. Gotta love these urban myths...

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

No, it will evapourate, leaving a very slight oily residue.

Read my post properly, 'tis what I said.

 

[Dusty Bin]

You're right. I blame three bottles of Weston's Vintage...

 

[vernon]

White spirit for cleaning chains is very effective, but you do need to hang them to dry overnight or it'll be in the rollers and destroy any new oil applied.

No it won't. It will temporarily thin the oil but it won't destroy it.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

No it won't. It will temporarily thin the oil but it won't destroy it.

Of course it does for cycling purposes, it's a hydrocarbon derived degreaser. Used in industry specifically for its degreasing properties.

 

[vernon]

Of course it does for cycling purposes, it's a hydrocarbon derived degreaser. Used in industry specifically for its degreasing properties.

It's a hydrocarbon solvent. Used in abundance it will wash off grease. Used sparingly it merely temporarily thins the lubricant. Any residual white spirit will simply temporarily dissolve the lubricant, evaporate and leave the lubricant behind and if anything the thinned lubricant will be drawn into the rollers. That's how motor cycle chain lubricants work - spray on a water thin mix of solvents and grease, let the solvent evaporate and the grease remains in its naturally thick form. It's a lot less fuss than reducing the viscosity of the lubricant by heat to aid penetration.

The technology is no different for bike chains.

Ask a tribologist. I did.