Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

In the current issue of TOH was a item on keeping stainless steel (SS) appliances fingerprint free. It was advised to not use common SS cleaners as they contain naphtha "which leaves an oily film that attracts dust and smears every time you touch it". I thought the opposite was true of naphtha, which is why you and Dale recommend it's use in cleaning instruments!

That's a load of hooey.

Actually, naphtha is a de-greaser. So what you end up with is a completely grease-free brushed stainless surface, which immediately fingerprints when you touch it, from the natural oils on your fingers. Naohtha itself leaves no film or oily coating at all--I occasionally get a bit on the chrome, and it evaporates right away.

I'm curious as to what they DID recommend.

3M #14002 StainlessSteel Cleaner in an aerosol can is the hot ticket for brushed stainless surfaces. It's got some petroleum distillate, a foaming agent, a surfactant (breaks down oil from fingerprints), and beeswax. It works like a bandit because as you spray, it foams so it clings to vertical surfaces (I use it on my stainless refrigerator). Then, you wipe with a clean cloth. It cuts the grease and oil, and leaves a nice coating of beeswax in the "grain" of the brushed stainless. This resists further fingerprinting, and when prints do appear, another application and they're history. I use it about once a week, and the refrig looks like new.

On your recommendation I got a can of naphtha to clean the "diaper" bass with and it worked like a champ.

In the piece in TOH the auther recommended glass cleaner with no ammonia or alcohol, "such as the ones made by Restore or Method." it is on page 108 in the November '07 issue.

jingle_jangle wrote:(I use it on my stainless refrigerator).

What?!? I would have thought you'd have a fridge in Fireglo!

jps wrote:On your recommendation I got a can of naphtha to clean the "diaper" bass with and it worked like a champ.

In the piece in TOH the auther recommended glass cleaner with no ammonia or alcohol, "such as the ones made by Restore or Method." it is on page 108 in the November '07 issue.

HA! This type of glass cleaner uses alcohol (ethyl?) to degrease. But, as I mentioned, there's nothing there to discourage or repel future fingerprints. So, it WILL clean very well. But you will immediately re-fingerprint the surface the next time you touch it. The wax in the 3M stuff allows the surface to repel prints.

Time to write TOH!