I thought I would tell of my continuing adventures in keg cleaning. I have a good system now.
Now that I have a Bucket Blaster, the insides of kegs bend to my will easily, but the outsides of used kegs are another matter. I came up with two things that worked, after messing with various solvents and other ideas.
First, a steam cleaner does a good job getting tough plastic stickers off. You steam a little and peel a little. It will also soften the glue residue so you can rub it off, but it's not the best thing for it.
Second, turpentine. This turned out to be the best solvent I found. I didn't try absolutely everything. I didn't fool with MEK or naptha, for example. But I tried a few things, and turpentine was way better than anything else. It beat Goo Gone, acetone, WD40, and mineral spirits, to name some contenders.
I put a little on a paper towel and rub sticky areas with it. It takes about 5 minutes to finish a keg, but it will get all the tape and sticker residue off. It's easy, but you can't rush it. The solvent softens a little layer, the paper towel rubs it off and exposes another layer, the solvent softens that, and so on.
It will also melt the rubber on the ends of the keg, but that's a bonus. If you use a paper towel and a very small amount of turpentine on these parts, it will remove the cruddy top layer of rubber and leave a smooth, relatively shiny layer behind.
Third thing, as people here have predicted, Bar Keepers Friend really grinds off oxidation, or whatever that grey and black stuff is, once the goo is out of the way. Takes like 10 seconds per keg.
Not claiming my way is best, but it definitely works without struggle or scratching kegs.
Now that I have a Bucket Blaster, the insides of kegs bend to my will easily, but the outsides of used kegs are another matter. I came up with two things that worked, after messing with various solvents and other ideas.
First, a steam cleaner does a good job getting tough plastic stickers off. You steam a little and peel a little. It will also soften the glue residue so you can rub it off, but it's not the best thing for it.
Second, turpentine. This turned out to be the best solvent I found. I didn't try absolutely everything. I didn't fool with MEK or naptha, for example. But I tried a few things, and turpentine was way better than anything else. It beat Goo Gone, acetone, WD40, and mineral spirits, to name some contenders.
I put a little on a paper towel and rub sticky areas with it. It takes about 5 minutes to finish a keg, but it will get all the tape and sticker residue off. It's easy, but you can't rush it. The solvent softens a little layer, the paper towel rubs it off and exposes another layer, the solvent softens that, and so on.
It will also melt the rubber on the ends of the keg, but that's a bonus. If you use a paper towel and a very small amount of turpentine on these parts, it will remove the cruddy top layer of rubber and leave a smooth, relatively shiny layer behind.
Third thing, as people here have predicted, Bar Keepers Friend really grinds off oxidation, or whatever that grey and black stuff is, once the goo is out of the way. Takes like 10 seconds per keg.
Not claiming my way is best, but it definitely works without struggle or scratching kegs.
.
