# Petrol



## snoopin (Jul 26, 2009)

Anyone use petrol to clean there alloys?

I have been told its the best thing to use??


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

erm, no but what a waste lol.


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## snoopin (Jul 26, 2009)

Yeah i thought so... someone told me today to try it..


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## Shinyvec (Feb 12, 2010)

VPower is supposed to be the most powerfull cleaner


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## Drew_B (Feb 3, 2010)

You have to be careful when you set fire to it as well ;-)


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## GJM (Jul 19, 2009)

I've used it before on a car that got covered in specs of paint, imagine it do a good job on tar...tardis is £4 a litre


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

tardis rinses off properly though..


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## JasonH20URF (Mar 30, 2011)

-Kev- said:


> tardis rinses off properly though..


Sure f you gave it a good scrub with something like tardis afterwoods allot of it would remove?


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

if thats the case, use tardis in the first place lol


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## Captain Pugwash (Mar 23, 2011)

used petrol on my alloy when the CV boot bust and it was covered in grease....tried Gunk etc but was still dirty, petrol worked fine though


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## alan_mcc (Oct 28, 2008)

It's a very effective degreaser and tar remover.. bloody unsafe though, and probably highly illegal to let run down the drain. Stick to Tardis and a good wheel cleaner :thumb:


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## bigslippy (Sep 19, 2010)

alan_mcc said:


> It's a very effective degreaser and tar remover.. bloody unsafe though, and probably highly illegal to let run down the drain. Stick to Tardis and a good wheel cleaner :thumb:


What he said ^:thumb:


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## -Raven- (Aug 26, 2010)

Petrol works great, not sure about the 'harshness' of it though on paint. Are your alloys clear coated?

Tardis is mainly just Xylene and white spirits, and you'll find many panel wipe brands that are pretty much the same. 

I'd personally only use petrol as a short term measure until you can get a product designed for the job.


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## Paddy_R (Jan 10, 2007)

I've only ever used petrol to remove tar as it's the best and most cost effective way. 1ltr of petrol (£1.40ish) will do about 2 cars. Also can't see it doing much damage as people spill it down the sides of their cars on a regular basis with no ill effects. I do however wash each panel off as soon as I have de-tarred it just incase.


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## trv8 (Dec 30, 2007)

Would White Spirit work on tar spots. Seems cheap alternative if it does.


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## t180black (Mar 26, 2011)

*4 Star*

Hi mate,

You only need petrol to get rid of tar spots, other than that a regular wheel cleaner will do the job. :thumb:


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## Strothow (Oct 29, 2009)

trv8 said:


> Would White Spirit work on tar spots. Seems cheap alternative if it does.


Yes, but you would be just as cheap to get a tin of tardis.

I know i wouldn't want petrol spraying all over my car and then running down the drain, total uneccesary risk, and as Alan says, illeagal!


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## RedUntilDead (Feb 10, 2009)

If I dont have a dedicated tar remove to hand, I will use a bit of petrol (its works far better anyway) I have a petrol lawnmower so always have a petrol can full.
Not recommended for regular or "safe" use. Be careful as it will remove certain paints, smart repairs and dry plastics ect


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## DesertDog (May 15, 2011)

I use petrol every time as a good tar remover.

At 30p a litre for 98 grade, it beats the pants off the fancy ass products which are essentially all benzene based anyway. And which cost X10


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## bero1306 (Jan 24, 2011)

snoopin said:


> Anyone use petrol to clean there alloys?
> 
> I have been told its the best thing to use??


Soak your alloys in petrol then light it. All dirt gone. :lol:


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## DesertDog (May 15, 2011)

bero1306 said:


> Soak your alloys in petrol then light it. All dirt gone. :lol:


Magnesium alloy doesn't absorb petrol. And burnt petrol tends to leave rather a bad mess whatever it's touched.

A bit of a *** post really, bero...


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## Turkleton (Apr 18, 2010)

DesertDog said:


> I use petrol every time as a good tar remover.
> 
> *At 30p a litre for 98 grade,* it beats the pants off the fancy ass products which are essentially all benzene based anyway. And which cost X10


Stop teasing


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## Paddy_R (Jan 10, 2007)

But how much is his water? Mine in NI is included in my rates and is essentially free. But i'd love 30p a litre petrol would make running the ST a bit easier.


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## maraalfa (Sep 22, 2011)

type[r]+ said:


> Petrol works great, not sure about the 'harshness' of it though on paint. Are your alloys clear coated?
> 
> Tardis is mainly just Xylene and white spirits, and you'll find many panel wipe brands that are pretty much the same.
> 
> I'd personally only use petrol as a short term measure until you can get a product designed for the job.


What we use in the oil industry to clean oil is usually xylene or if you dont mind the hs issues toluene, methylamene works well to, petrol is a weak solvent compared to these so yes the tardis main ingredient is your best bet and if you want to play a bit try adding some surfactant, try and find a liquid soap to blend, i reckon xylene mixed with fairy washer fluid at say 20:1 should be pretty effective. Careful with plastics, shouldn't let it contact or if it does keep the exposure time short.


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## maraalfa (Sep 22, 2011)

DesertDog said:


> I use petrol every time as a good tar remover.
> 
> At 30p a litre for 98 grade, it beats the pants off the fancy ass products which are essentially all benzene based anyway. And which cost X10


gee thats expensive, i only used to pay 2p a litre in libya and about 1.5p a litre in venezuela.....


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## WaxOnWaxOff (Sep 12, 2010)

bero1306 said:


> Soak your alloys in petrol then light it. All dirt gone. :lol:


Thank you, Barry Scott :lol:


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## dubber (Oct 2, 2011)

Shinyvec said:


> VPower is supposed to be the most powerfull cleaner


:lol::lol:


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## ferted (May 7, 2011)

Paddy_R said:


> But how much is his water? Mine in NI is included in my rates and is essentially free. But i'd love 30p a litre petrol would make running the ST a bit easier.


My dad went to Kuwait a few years ago (between the 2 Gulf Wars)
Petrol was about 24p a litre and water was about £7 for a 5 litre bottle
Not that he had to pay for water as the RAF supplied it all


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## paulyoung666 (Jul 6, 2011)

1 tiny spark .....


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## stewbacca3 (Nov 28, 2011)

I have used petrol on a microfibre cloth to remove tar before I learned about Tardis. The only downside is that it evaporates very quickly but works really well on tar. I would suggest petrol for use as a degreaser (e.g. removing old oil and grease from metal components). 

Im pretty sure tardis contains the naphtha fraction from crude oil so its just as dangerous for the environment as petrol and probably as flammable.


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## DesertDog (May 15, 2011)

ferted said:


> My dad went to Kuwait a few years ago (between the 2 Gulf Wars)
> Petrol was about 24p a litre and water was about £7 for a 5 litre bottle
> Not that he had to pay for water as the RAF supplied it all


A 5 gallon bottle of water (which goes on the cooler/dispenser) costs 8 Dirhams....£1.35 or 7.13p per litre.

So, not quite as cheap as water, but about on a par with Coca-Cola.


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