Blog 

Rexco cans are numbered, and the numbers tell you nothing. People come into the showroom holding a photo of a blue can asking for "the Rexco one", and we have to work out which of six they mean.

So here is the whole range in plain language, in the order you are most likely to need it. We stock all six at both showrooms.

Rexco 50 — the one to buy if you only buy one

Rexco 50 Multi-Purpose Lubricant is the general-purpose can. It frees seized bolts, displaces water, protects metal from rust, quietens squeaks, and lifts light oil and grime.

This is the direct equivalent of the spray most people reach for by habit, and it is the one that belongs in a household drawer, a toolbox and a van. We carry it in 220ml and 500ml — the 220ml lives in a toolbox or a glovebox, the 500ml is the one for a workshop bench.

What it is not: a chain lube, and not a heavy-duty degreaser. Those are 25 and 70 respectively, and using 50 for either is the most common mistake we see.

Rexco 70 — degreaser, when 50 is not strong enough

Rexco 70 Multi-Purpose Degreaser is a foaming cleaner built around surfactants and emulsifiers rather than a light oil. It lifts baked-on oil, grease and dirt off machinery and leaves no residue.

The foam is the point. It clings to a vertical surface long enough to work instead of running straight onto the floor, which is what matters when you are cleaning a gearbox casing or a compressor housing rather than a flat bench.

It is non-corrosive, non-staining and non-conductive, acetone free and chlorine free, so it is safe on most painted and plated surfaces. Available in 220ml and 500ml.

Rexco 18 — contact cleaner, and nothing else

Rexco 18 Specialist Contact Cleaner is for electronics and electrical contacts. It flashes off fast, leaves zero residue, does not conduct electricity and will not corrode what it touches.

In Singapore this is the can that quietly saves equipment. Humidity gets into switchgear, relay bases, PCB edge connectors, motorcycle ignition connectors, control panels and DB terminals, and the resulting green corrosion causes intermittent faults that look like a failed component. Very often it is just a dirty contact.

Two rules. Power off first — the fact that the fluid does not conduct is not a licence to work live. And give it time to evaporate fully before you re-energise.

Do not substitute Rexco 50 here. A light oil film on a contact attracts dust and makes the problem come back. Available in 220ml and 500ml.

Rexco 25 — chain lube, for chains only

Rexco 25 High Performance Chain Lubricant is a synthetic chain lube with anti-rust and anti-fling additives, built for high loading and high water resistance.

Water resistance is the whole reason this is a separate product in Singapore. A thin general-purpose lubricant washes off a motorcycle chain in one afternoon downpour. A proper chain lube stays on the rollers, which is where the wear actually happens.

Also for industrial chain — conveyors, gates, roller shutters, lifting equipment. Available in 120ml and 350ml. The 120ml is the one riders keep under the seat.

We go into bike maintenance properly in our motorbike maintenance guide.

Rexco 81 — carburettor and injector cleaner

Rexco 81 Carburettor & Injector Cleaner is a high-energy solvent for carbon, varnish and gum. It frees a jammed automatic choke and cleans the carburettor linkage so the throttle works smoothly again.

Be honest with yourself about what you are cleaning. On an older carburetted bike or a small engine — a generator, a brush cutter, a water pump that has sat with stale fuel in it — this is exactly the right can, and the difference after a clean is immediate.

On a modern fuel-injected engine, this cleans the throttle body, the linkage and the external surfaces. It is not a substitute for an in-tank injector treatment, because the injectors are downstream of everything you can reach with an aerosol. Anybody who tells you otherwise is selling you the wrong thing.

Available in 300ml and 500ml.

Rexco 82 — brake and parts cleaner

Rexco 82 Brake & Spare Parts Cleaner strips brake dust, oil, grease and road grime off brake components and evaporates completely. No residue, which is the single non-negotiable requirement for anything that touches a braking surface.

It is also the fastest way to clean any oily part before assembly, inspection or painting — which is why mechanics get through more of this than anything else on the shelf.

The safety point, because it matters: nothing oily goes near a disc or a pad. If chain lube has flung onto a disc, clean it off with 82 and let it dry fully before you ride. Available in 220ml and 500ml.

The short version

Something stiff, squeaky or rusty: 50.

Something greasy you want clean: 70.

An electrical contact or a circuit board: 18.

A chain: 25.

A carburettor, throttle body or small engine: 81.

Brakes, or any part you need surgically clean and dry: 82.

A word on storage, because Singapore

These are pressurised aerosols. A can left on a dashboard or in a locked van in the afternoon sun gets far hotter than most people realise. Keep them out of direct sunlight, out of a parked vehicle in the middle of the day, and away from anything that sparks or runs hot. Every one of these cans is chlorine free and CFC free, and 70, 18 and 81 are also acetone free, but "safer solvent" still means ventilation.

Rexco or WD-40?

We stock both and we get asked this constantly, so we wrote it up separately: WD-40 or Rexco — which spray you actually need.

If you have a specific problem rather than a shopping list, these may be more useful: how to loosen a rusted or seized bolt, how to remove rust from tools, and what to spray on a squeaky hinge or a sticky lock.

Come and pick one up

All six are on the shelf at both showrooms, and if you describe the problem we will hand you the right can rather than the biggest 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.