What happened to Gunk?

[Betsy1969]

It's kind of ironic that as grown ups aware of our own responsibilities we are not allowed to use a lot of products that we know will do the job so are forced into using watered down stuff for reasons of health and safety / environment yet we are allowed to use cigarettes which we know are lethal to both health and environment with impunity. Why don't 'they ' take all the nasty stuff out of them too ?
And it's no good just putting the tax up because the smoking fraternity will always find the money somehow.

Sorry DW I didn't mean to bring it down again

[diffwhine]

So what DID happen to Gunk?

Reading back through this collective rant, I don't think the original question ever got answered!

In all seriousness if it was as nasty as it probably was then its right that it should have been replaced with something less harmful to the environment or me. My point was that if something is being sold to do a job, I would expect it to be at least half capable of doing it. The Tdi engine has an oily layer all over it as is common for most old diesels. It wasn't hard encrusted on - just an oily layer. I could have just as easily sprayed on some brake cleaner and cleaned it off with an old paint brush. I don't mind change, but do object when the change leads to a product being totally ineffective. We all know that removing asbestos from brakes and clutches has saved lives, but the replacement material is definitely not as effective in actually stopping me from putting my Land Rover through the hedge.

Spraying vast quantities of brake cleaner with a high VOC to clean off components seems to be the common workshop solution these days which it itself is environmentally self defeating. I am guilty of that one.

I'm 56 now... If I'm this grumpy now, what on earth am I going to be like when I'm 76?

[diffwhine]

And just to add - I bought a 25 litre drum of concentrated cleaner for my parts washer. It was sold as being water based, so mixed in a 1:10 ratio.

Absolutely and totally and utterly useless. All it did was create a nasty oily scum on the surface, bung up the pump and when I then left it for a few weeks with the lid down, all it did was grow a nice layer of mould inside the tank. I'm convinced I created a new life form in my parts washer, but that's not really the purpose of a parts washer in my mind.

I ended up ditching the whole thing.

[diffwhine]

If anybody wants the remaining 20 odd litres, in all seriousness, they are welcome to it. Free to anybody coming past this way.

If not, I'll palm it off on some poor unsuspecting victim at Newbury.

[Beowulf]

Gunk, what a good word and like the word Hoover becoming the common description for vacuuming, Gunk is oft used as a generic term for describing the very stuff its there to clean off. At least I`ve used it and have heard others use it with that meaning, e.g. "its full of gunk" "I need to clean off all that old gunk".
And so, by taking on the same meaning as gunge, Gunk can be with us so long as we keep using it   

[jonhutchings]

On the subject of how things have changed, and to really scare yourself my wife is reading https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/451300/ultra-processed-people-by-tulleken-chris-van/9781529160222 and I plan to when she has finished it. I'm not a big fan of what can be over sensationalised books about these big issues, but this is a genuinely eye opening and well written (with the right touch of humour) book, which will change how you think about what you eat. We have already made some small simple changes to our diet which was already I would say on the better end of things (two vegetarians who grow a good amount of their own food organically, and only eat eggs from the own chickens etc.)

So much "food" is not actually food anymore - it literally has zero nutritional value for the body, and we only eat it because it has chemicals which stimulate the body in to wanting to eat more.

Anyway back to Gunk does anyone have any recommendations for a good parts cleaner? I have tried various ones of recent years and not really found a good one.

[Alchad]

So what DID happen to Gunk?

I'm 56 now... If I'm this grumpy now, what on earth am I going to be like when I'm 76?

Well, speaking as someone who is only a year or so from reaching that milestone, my experience is that you will continue to get grumpier and then it sorts of plateaus and you begin to realise that no matter how much you grumble it 'ain't worth a mess of beans' as our friends across the pond say. Mind I might have just been worn down to surrender by those b^&*^'s from Evri who always leave my parcels at the top of the drive1/2 mile from the house....grump.

[Exile]

Mind I might have just been worn down to surrender by those b^&*^'s from Evri who always leave my parcels at the top of the drive1/2 mile from the house....grump.

Evri need a whole new thread, all of their own ! 

[Wittsend]

.... at the end of your drive, you're lucky. They normally leave them miles away with a picture of someone else's front door.   

[Oilyrag921]

I went on a first aid course in 1987 which was run by a retired GP. He had spent his life practising in Bury, Lancs and he said that there was a high incidence of bladder cancer amongst the textile factory engineers. His theory was that grimy overalls, stained with oil, not changed often enough together with oily unwashed hands when visiting the toilet were the reason. Since then I started to be very very particular about hand cleanliness and contact with oils.
But what happened to Gunk ? I don't know but old established products just dissapear, I've just cleaned down a 2.25 diesel, with diesel and washing up liquid but I scrape off as much of the thicker grime as I can first.

[Wittsend]

Latex/rubber gloves are now de rigour in the workshop 

... and/or the black skin tight work gloves.

[Ken]

Presumably a manufacturer of a product such as gunk finds that the law changes and bans the chemicals which makes their product effective.
The only way to continue trading is to find a suitable alternative. If there are none they all seem to be carrying on in business hoping no one will notice the product is now no longer fit for purpose. The interesting question is how long can these companies trade on their reputation.
It must be a slow decline to zero sales as customers realise.

[Ian F]

Latex/rubber gloves are now de rigour in the workshop 

... and/or the black skin tight work gloves.

These may be the gloves you are referring to Alan, but I would advise using Nitrile gloves rather than any other. They are the only material impervious to many organic solvents.
As a chemist in a previous life you probably know more about this sort of thing than I do😁😁😁

Ian F



[/quote]

[Wittsend]

You are correct. I used those terms in a "generic" sense.

What we call "rubber" gloves have long since been made of other more durable materials.

My point being that many/all of us now protect our hands when working on our vehicles.

When you think of what we used to do back in the day, it's a wonder any of us are still alive 


 

[diffwhine]

When I was at school, we were frequently put in the fume cupboard during chemistry lessons of we acted up. I wonder if that is the root of all my problems... 

I like the orange heavy duty gloves with the diamond grip. They tend to be more expensive, but they outlast normal gloves by about 5:1. I can usually get through one day of gearbox work on two pairs.