PSA: Caution Using LA's Totally Awesome Cleaner

Based on comments received about using LA’s Totally Awesome cleaner discoloring engines, I can no longer recommend this product to people for this purpose. Use your best judgement and test on a scrap piece first.

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[dmrcflyr]

What I neglected to say in the video is that the WAY others were using LA’s could also be the issue. I did not wish to get into that and accuse people of not knowing how to use it or assuming how, but that is a factor. Perhaps people were using it full strength or with too much heat in the cleaner. I am not discounting that the results some are having is not a result of "operator error”.

[jaimejaimeChannel]

Very straight-ahead advice, thank you. I don't clean engines, but so far I have been very impressed with this cleaner. And cheap??? CHEAP!!!

[fabiohaddad]

Regardless of the case and brand in question, I learned to always evaluate the methods and products to be used, as a rule, always from the weakest and least aggressive product to the strongest. This reminded me of a guy who bought a collection of engines in the mid 80's, he sent them all to a sand blasting company to "clean" and the result...

[IllFlyIt]

My recently purchased bottle discolors. I can’t soak parts for any length of time. If I do the aluminum starts to make bubbles.

I’ve been using a toothbrush though and that works and as a precaution I’ll wash the parts with water afterwards. It still works very well.

[SomeGuyInSandy]

I had one case where new LATAC discolored a OS engine. I used the same stuff to clean another OS engine as well as an old Super Tigre and both came out spectacular! The difference is that the first time I used a half and half LATAC to water mix, where the last time I only added Three tablespoons to the ultrasonic cleaner full of water, about a half gallon. I'm pretty sure that using too much of the stuff is the culprit.
edit: I forgot to mention that the last time I also added two tablespoons of lemon juice to the mix to help brighten the aluminum. I'll be using this formula from now on!

[luisgarza]

I think they changed the formula, the newest batch has a very strong smell similar to ammonia, used the test strip on older batch vs new batch and showed newer more alkaline, un fact stongly alkaline.

[Asphalt_iggi]

Correct. I used my last LATAC 1 gallon container. I went to dollar store and they had the smaller quart bottles. I bought 4 small bottles.
I started to clean engines as usual like before. It discolored one engine. I thought I had portion of water to LATAC off. Started cleaning another engine, and it too discolored.
I have the same ultra sonic cleaner Dave has from Harbor freight.

[mikeeiben]

I've had some engines discolor also. I thought that maybe I mixed it too strong or let it get too hot. I plan to try Simple Green on some junk parts to see if it works better.

[joeyd]

Great video David. I've been using Simple Green Extreme aircraft 1:3 at 70 degrees C and no discoloration. My last batch of LA grayed a 61 sf head.

[deweylee]

David I think most people are using it full strength without adding any water. I set the question to you a little over a year ago and you done a video on how to use it. I use it now and have absolutely no problems at all.
The way you said to use it then was half and half. I dump one of the smaller bottles in the ultrasonic cleaner and then fill the bottle with water and dump that in. That fills my ultrasonic cleaner to the full mark every time. I have the same one that you. So please mention again to everyone that they can't use it full strength because it will make a motor look as if gun blue had been applied. I truly believe that this is the problem that these people are running up against. I think that they are just filling up the ultrasonic cleaner with straight LAs. Please readress this topic and see if they are using it correctly because I have r really found it to be an excellent product and mixed like you said over a year ago it preforms absolutely great and I just cleaned an engine 3 days ago with a brand new bottle. Thanks David.

[Extragoldberg]

Thanks for the update Dave. I have a bottle that is probably two years old. Didn't discolor the aluminum, but did do a number on my blue OS LA .46 (took much of the blue right off!). Oh well.

[David-hmic]

Like yours, my Awesome is at least 2 years old. The only time I've used it undiluted was to spritz some on an engine, let it sit a few minutes and scrub with a toothbrush, rinsing thoroughly afterward. In an ultrasonic cleaner I fill it almost full with water. Then I dilute 1 part Awesome to 10 parts water and place the engine parts and the cleaning solution in a zipper type freezer bag. That way I don't have to fill my 6 liter capacity machine completely with cleaning solution. I do use heat, 140°-160°F and let it run for 20-30 minutes. No idea if Awesome has changed but I share your concerns that it may be the WAY others are using Awesome.

I've degreased model engines with Simple Green but have not tried soaking in it or using it in the ultrasonic cleaner.

[felishiadarling]

I assure you, I have used it adding it to my oil and running my engine driving regularly for a day or two, drained it, rinsed it with awsome, then completing an oil change in my 4.0 inline 6 of my Jeep. I have also taken my oil pan off, creeped under and directly sprayed the entire inside of my engine and wiped it clean using awesome undiluted. Yes, this was in 2018. I am a commercial driver and have been living on my tractor traveling across the country for the last few years since. Recently I have retired and picked up a couple of bottles. I used it on other things and have not noticed a difference. I hope what you’ve been hearing isn’t the case, because this stuff was totally awesome before and so far hasn’t started disappointing yet. I hope maybe their engine was just really dirty and not in a lack of quality. We shall see, tho.

[chrisstafford]

I too have had this problem. I have found that with the ultra sonic cleaner and several cleaning cycles with heat seems to cause the discoloration. When I cleaned with one heat cycle and removed it, it didn’t seem to be as bad. I usually cleaned the second and third if required with no heat. But I always removed immediately. Prolonged exposure could possibly be the culprit. Thanks for all your guidance.

[RajunCajun]

If you use it on aluminum parts, yes it will change the color! Do not put it on polished aluminum it will make it look milky! But it's still cleans like awesome!

[keithgoode]

Bummer!! I will have to try it soon on an old engine. Just bought a new jug recently.

[jamesfenton]

I bought a bottle 8 months ago at Lowe's. It looked exactly like the bottle in the video above and I used it on several engines. It took the shine off the engines and made them darker so not too happy with it. Not sure how their mfg date works but mine was 17299.

[TheWirkkalaShow]

I use it for all kinds of stuff and it’s just excellent. The only thing to watch out for is that it will eat adhesives. I used it to clean a set of wheels and it melted off the stick on magnets. Otherwise it’s just great. It can discolor shiny or polished aluminum but most generic cleaners will do that too so it’s not very relevant, just something to be mindful of.

[eagletousey]

Thanks for sharing Dave. It happened to me also one engine, discolored the other one didn’t and also find that the older engines, discolor more so than newer ❤️ 🦅

[alanreynolds]

Funny this video David I have used my bike chain cleaner for years never had a problem in my ultrasonic until the other day and the only thing I changed was the temperature which was increased !!