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Degreasing with Rexco 70: Why Foam Beats Liquid in a Workshop

On By A.C.T. Hardware / 0 comments
Cartoon illustration of a mechanic spraying foaming degreaser onto a greasy gearbox casing in a Singapore workshop

Most degreasing failures are not about the chemical. They are about gravity.

Spray a thin liquid degreaser at the side of a gearbox casing, an engine block or a motor housing, and most of it is on the floor before it has done anything. The grease that actually bothers you is rarely on a flat horizontal surface — it is on the sides and the undersides, where a liquid has a few seconds of contact at most.

Rexco 70 Multi-Purpose Degreaser solves that by foaming. The foam clings where you sprayed it and keeps working for minutes instead of seconds.

How it works, and why that matters

Rexco 70 is not a pure solvent. It is a blend of surfactants, detergents and emulsifiers with a foaming agent.

The practical difference is that a solvent dissolves grease and then you have dissolved grease sitting there, while an emulsifier lifts grease into suspension so it can be wiped or rinsed away and taken with it. That is why Rexco 70 leaves a surface genuinely clean rather than smeared.

It is non-corrosive, non-staining and non-conductive, and it is both acetone free and chlorine free — which means it is safe on most painted, plated and anodised surfaces that an aggressive solvent would attack or dull.

Where it earns its place

Machinery housings. Gearbox casings, motor bodies, compressor housings, pump bodies. The classic vertical-surface problem.

Engine bays and components. Lifting years of oily film off a block or a bellhousing so you can actually see what you are working on — and so you can spot a leak rather than guess at one.

Tools. Oily hand tools, chucks, vices, and the layer of grime that builds on anything in a workshop in this climate.

Chains, before lubricating. A chain has to be clean before fresh lube goes on, or you are making grinding paste. Rexco 70 is the cleaning step; Rexco 25 is the lubricating step. Our motorbike maintenance guide covers the full sequence.

Kitchen extract and canopies. Commercial kitchen grease is exactly the vertical-surface problem again, and the foam is what makes it practical.

Industrial and household both. It is rated for both, so the same can handles a workshop bench and a greasy hob surround.

How to use it properly

Shake the can. Spray the foam onto the surface and leave it — the dwell time is the point, so do not wipe it straight off. Agitate stubborn areas with a stiff brush while the foam is still working. Wipe off with a clean rag, or rinse where rinsing is appropriate.

Work top down, so runoff goes over surfaces you have not cleaned yet rather than ones you have.

On a heavily caked part, two moderate applications beat one heavy one. The first lifts the top layer; the second reaches what was underneath.

Catch the runoff

This is the part most guides skip, and in Singapore it matters.

Oily degreaser runoff should not go into a surface drain. Drains here lead to waterways, and discharging oil and chemical waste into them is both an environmental problem and a regulatory one for a business. Put a drip tray or an absorbent mat under what you are cleaning, and dispose of the waste the way your premises are supposed to.

If you run a workshop, this is a question worth getting right once rather than being asked about later.

Where it is the wrong can

Not for electrical contacts. It contains surfactants and it is designed to be wiped or rinsed off, which is the opposite of what a contact needs. Use Rexco 18, which evaporates completely.

Not for brakes. Anything that needs to leave no residue at all goes to Rexco 82. Rexco 70 is a cleaner you remove; a brake cleaner is one that removes itself.

Not a lubricant. It strips oil, which is its job — so anything you degrease will need lubricating afterwards. Degreasing a hinge and walking away gives you a squeak in a week. Follow with Rexco 50.

Test on finishes. It is non-staining on most surfaces, but on an unknown painted, powder-coated or plastic finish, try a hidden area first.

Sizes

220ml and 500ml. For a workshop, the 500ml is the sensible buy — this is a can you get through faster than you expect once you have one.

For the whole range, see our guide to what each Rexco number does.

Come and get one

645 Geylang Road, Singapore 389575 — +65 6546 7446
2 Gambas Crescent #03-19, Nordcom Two, Singapore 757044 — +65 6255 3446

WhatsApp +65 8978 9808, or browse the full Rexco range.

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