Originally Posted By: Carnoobie
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Brake cleaner is usually very safe for rubber and plastic. I wouldn't risk carb cleaner.
Believe it or not, oven cleaner (cold acting, not the kind where you spray the oven then turn it on) works well on thickly accumulated grime.
Oh I heard brake cleaner is bad for rubber no? If not ill try it out. Do i let it sit and can scrub with a toothbrush?
CRC Brakleen brand in the RED can is very safe on rubber and plastics, as are other brands that contain only tetrachloroethylene. Its basically pure dry-cleaning fluid, which is safe on synthetic clothing, after all. It evaporates fast, so spray and brush more or less at the same time. Its also handy for grafitti removal since it will take off cheap spray paint or paint marker without removing underlying well-cured paint. And its great for cleaning electric motors and components (CRC sells "Lectra Motive" electric parts cleaner too, which is chemically the same as "Brakleen" but costs a little more... don't be fooled!)

Its a great solvent, its non-flammable and not highly toxic. But don't breathe it too much, its got long-term effects from repeated exposure and if you expose it to extremely high temperatures (actually apply flame to it), it will decompose into some real nasty stuff. NEVER spray it down the carb/throttle body of a running engine the way you can use carb or throttle body cleaner, because highly toxic gasses will come out the tailpipe! Its good to clean stuff in prep for soldering to make sure the solder adheres well, but you have to be SURE its all evaporated before applying flame.