Best Way to Stock Up on Brake Cleaner?

"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro) 09/13/2018 at 21:00 • Filed to: garagelopnik, tools, supplies

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I hate spending $4-5 a can. Surely it can be had for less.

Having a parts washer is great, but it doesn’t completely eliminate the need for brake cleaner. I’m okay with buying a 12-pack if that’s a good way to unlock a great deal.

Sometimes I can find store brand cans for about $3 each. And I know Walmart carries their Super Tech stuff at about $2 per can... Is there any reason to avoid the cheap stuff? Is it actually worth spending a little extra on brands like CRC, 3M, etc?

I have to admit, I don’t know anything about brake cleaner formulas except that nowadays there are both chlorinated and non-chlorinated varieties.

And I don’t want to overlook price-per-ounce. A quick search is turning up all kinds of 10oz, 14oz, 19oz etc. results. Makes it hard to compare without an actual price-per-ounce tool. All other things being equal, it would be reasonable for a 19oz can to cost nearly twice as much as a 10oz can.

Do you prefer to stock up, or just buy a can or two when needed? Have you developed any brand or formula preferences?

[UPDATE 09/24/2018- Best deal I’ve found so far is at Menards, at about $0.13/oz . ]

LongbowMkII > Urambo Tauro 09/13/2018 at 21:38

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Generally I stock up when advance has a sale 

dogisbadob > Urambo Tauro 09/13/2018 at 21:40

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Autozone has it on sale right now 2 cans for $7 CRC brand

diplodicus forgot his password > Urambo Tauro 09/13/2018 at 21:42

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I get contact cleaner from these people for work

http://www.btsindustries.com/productsCleaners.php  

Through a distributor, still expensive but less expensive than buying contact cleaner off the internet.

Looks like they have brake cleaners to. Not sure if the distributors will sell to an individual or not

diplodicus forgot his password > diplodicus forgot his password 09/13/2018 at 21:46

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Oh ya if you search for "product name" sds then you can compare what exactly is in each one.

glemon > Urambo Tauro 09/13/2018 at 21:49

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I use a lot of it too, for some reason I end up going to the car parts store fairly often, when I see some on sale I buy a couple cans.  The store brand seems to work as well as the name brand stuff.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Urambo Tauro 09/13/2018 at 21:49

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Napa will run sales too.  And it doesn’t matter the brand really, just look for the best $/oz value.  And stock up when it goes on sale.  I buy a couple cases at a time.

thebigbossyboss > Urambo Tauro 09/13/2018 at 23:16

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We use Ac delco brake cleaner at work.  We buy it by the pallet from a GM dealer in town.

Tohru > Urambo Tauro 09/13/2018 at 23:49

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This is what we use at work:

https://www.amazon.com/Vaper-19419-Spray-Non-Aerosol-Sprayer/dp/B0035FH906

https://www.amazon.com/CRC-Brakleen-Brake-Cleaner-Gallon/dp/B000M8PYRY

Non-aerosol sprayer that you pressurize with shop air, and 5 gallons of brake cleaner. Works out to 17 cents an ounce.

Urambo Tauro > Tohru 09/14/2018 at 00:27

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O h y e a h, I forgot about those sprayers! I actually have a smaller one that I use for ATF/acteone penetrant.

N o t c o u n t i n g t he sprayer , t h a t 5 g a l o f B r a k l e e n comes in at about 15 cents/oz. Not bad ! B u t S u p e r T e c h i s j u s t under 14 cents/oz. S o I g u e s s W a l m a r t ’ s s t i l l t h e b e t ter deal , u nless the CRC has some chemical adv a n t a g e t o i t s o t h a t i t takes less product t o r i n s e s o m e t hing off.

Urambo Tauro > diplodicus forgot his password 09/14/2018 at 00:30

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H u h , looks like CRC’s Brakleen is mostly acetone. I n t e r e sting .

brianbrannon > Urambo Tauro 09/14/2018 at 00:42

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Soap and water is pretty cheap and doesn’t damage rubber and plastic like brake cleaner

nafsucof > Urambo Tauro 09/14/2018 at 04:06

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my buddy buys it by the 4-5 gallon tub for around $100.  they sell a refillable sprayer that you charge with compressed air.  it’s maybe $45.  its a lot up front but damn you can just spray a lot of parts cleaner at things...