I used Dawn powerwash spray to clean my oneway, sprayed it on from the bottle let sit for a brief time and it cleans well.
Richard, can you expand upon that warning? Thanks.Be careful, there is alcohol in that stuff. Success may not be universal.
I was thinking about the effect of alcohol on the paint on an import lathe. I'm a rather unusual, complicated person Earl, it's takes a rare kind of person to know what I am thinking. After 52 years, I still baffle my wife.Richard may have been thinking that a cleaning method that works well on stainless steel ways (i.e. Oneway or Robust) may not be advisable for cast iron ways (most of the rest of the manufacturers). Even if that was not his intent--good to differentiate the way material, especially for folks who are newer to turning. I might be willing to try spray on Dawn on my Robust lathe with steel ways, but i'd not get it near the cast iron ways on my little Rikon 70-220.
Good tip though--for steel ways!!
That's a really important distinction.My experience was on the white lathe tube it came from a school system, I did not use it on the ways of the lathe.
What is alcohol, which evaporates very fast, going to do to a cast iron lathe bed?
I have never hear that alcohol will have an effect on cast iron. Not saying it doesn’t, just never heard that. I can see where it might affect the paint. I would also like a more detailed explanation. I have used denatured alcohol around my lathes, both cast iron and stainless ways, but not as a cleaning agent. Never noticed anything.