I have a nylon brush in my parts washer that I use to scrub parts. I always scrape as much as I can before I put the part into the parts washer. I also have some brushes that have brass bristles and some that have wire bristles. It all depends on what the part is made of. You don't want to damage the part under the grease while cleaning it up. I use stoddard solvent in my parts washer.
