Incidentally, this project gave the the chance to test several different home-brew cleaning methods:
1) Boiling for an hour-ish in strong solution of dish soap (twice)
2) Soaking for a day in a paint can full of lacquer thinner (my previously preferred method)
3) Soaking in a 50/50 Pine Sol/Water solution for a couple hours. Internet instructions vary on this. Heat is sometimes applied and it can discolor carbs pretty quickly if left too long. I brought it up to a simmer and then shut down the grill.
None of this was in anyway scientific, but it looked to me like the short dip in the Pine Sol might have done the most good. It really worked loose some of the muddy-looking crap at the bottom of the bowl. For some reason, the lacquer thinner didn’t even touch that stuff. And while I wouldn’t take a bath in it, surely a bit healthier to use than the thinner.
Not mentioned was plenty of scrubbing with mineral spirits or cheap spray carb cleaner, lots of compressed air, etc. This post was just about the various soaks I did.
