Favorite blade cleaner?

[Erik Loza]

What about when you want to clean off acrylic? I have been cutting a fair bit of it and boy does it leave residue.

I've never personally cut acrylic but have done a lot of edgebanding with PVC tape. If it's anything like that, I blow off the loose stuff with compressed air. If you are getting those boogers of melted-on plastic, I would mechanically remove them. Wire brush, etc. Since there is no sap or resin, they can be removed mechanically, not chemically. Assuming we are talking about the same thing.

Erik

[Al Launier]

I use Lestoil in the lid of a 5 gal. bucket. Pour some into the lid (cup for router bits), place the blade into the Lestoil, let soak for a while, then brush/rinse off. I've been told in the past from a differentWW forum that Simple Green will affect the braze that secures the carbide teeth.

[Jerrimy Snook]

We have found that Ammonia based window cleaner works well.

[Ted Phillips]

I like the Goof Off non-toxic degreaser from the Borg. It isn't the regular acetone-based Goof-off, it is a citrusy degreaser in a pump squirt bottle. Easy on the hands and doesn't release tons of VOCs.

[Mike Manning]

Thanks for the recommendations on the Awesome. Bought 64 oz from Dollar General today for $3. I'll fill one of the Delta spray bottles I buy from Tru-Value and see how well it works next week. Will report back.

[Brandon Conover]

I've used the CMT blade cleaner for years. A bit pricey but it seems t work.

[marty fretheim]

I had a bottle of GOJO hand cleaner in the shop and tried it on a gunked up blade and to my surprise it removed it completely and quickly. Must help with the pumice in there. Just a little bit of gojo and a light scrub with an old toothbrush. Then to the sink for a good rinse and blow dry with air gun. There are enough harsh chemicals in the shop nice to not have to deal with oven cleaner anymore.

[Chris Parks]

Favorite saw blade/router bit cleaner? Go.

Boiling water and a brush, it works.

[Nick Decker]

+1 on the CMT stuff. Doesn't take much.

[Larry Frank]

I use a spray can of Easy Off oven cleaner and good gloves.

[Robyn Horton]

Zep Heavy Duty Citrus Degreaser right now , smells like orange . Once got a small bottle of Freud Fresolv at a wood show it worked good but couldn't find it anymore. The Zep and Freud smell almost identical

[Ellen Benkin]

I used Simple Green and didn't have a pan so I got a paint roller pan. Not elegant, but it worked very quickly.

[Bob Wingard]

I had a batch of something called "ED'S RED" mixed up ... it's a gun-cleaning formula that is basically equal parts of MINERAL SPIRITS + ACETONE + KEROSENE + ATF. Worked great at cleaning guns & parts .. easily removed plastic wad buildup from shotgun chokes, etc. Since I had a couple of gallons mixed up for my ultrasonic cleaner, I thought I'd try it on some dirty blades ... worked as well as anything I've tried, and cheap to make. Filter it after use, and return it to the batch ... never seems to lose it's ability to clean. You can easily find the formula for ED'S RED online ...

[Ric Flanders]

Purple Power from the $1 store. Safe, effective and reusable. But if you leave the blade in too long, it will take off the printing on the blade.