Degreasing Old Fixed Spool Reels

[Banksy]

A question from an engineering numpty.

What is the best way to remove old, hardened grease, when servicing a fixed spool reel?
Is there a magic degreasing solution, or is it just a matter of wiping it off using cotton buds and patience?
Petrol?
Meths?
WD40?
Washing-up liquid?
Lemon juice and vinegar?

My searches reveal no answer, it is as though this should be instinctive knowledge to any man!

Or, given my obvious lack of nous, should I send them off to a professional?

[Fredline]

I tend to scrap as much of the old grease off as possible and when the house is empty put the dismantled reel in a bowl of hot very soapy water, a touch of washing soda helps and attack the pieces with an old toothbrush or cheap paint brush. Rinse, oil (lightly) and reassemble.

[Nobby]

Having done a few hundred over the years I had a method. I pulled out all the grease I could with a screwdriver blade and cotton buds, then I dropped the individual parts into a big tub of white spirit.

Then I left them a few hours, cleaned them with old toothbrushes and left them in a seive above the spirit to drain.

This strips all the lubricant out of the castings and can leave reels with damaged paint prone to corrosion, so do beware.

If your workshop is cold it helps to warm the reels up on a radiator indoors first to soften the old grease.

[Stathamender]

White spirit, like the guy in the Mitchell video, and an electric toothbrush. You can get cheap generic replacement heads from Amazon/Ebay for sole use for this for less than 50p a pop.

[Banksy]

Thank you for your help, Gentlemen!
The first reel I have in mind is a Mitchell 300, so I shall need to watch that video at least ten more times before picking up a screwdriver.
To some lucky souls, it is obvious which bit goes where, and why it can only go there.
Not to this numpty!

[Stathamender]

To deal with possible corrosion problems caused by paint loss as mentioned by Nobby I spray the inside of the body with Corrosion X before reassembling and lubricating. Far better than WD40.

[Silfield]

When I worked in Engineering the workshop had an industrial degreasing tank that was heavily used.
We put Jizer in it and it works a treat. Initially it can be a bit pricey but can be used over and over again and can be filtered to get the lumps out. Water soluble as well.

[Liphook]

I've been using a gallon of Gunk for years. I filter it through a fine sieve then a series of paper coffee filters in a sealed system to prevent too much flashing/evaporation. It's surprising how much metal swarf and grain it can hold - talk about visible wear!

[EssexMark]

After trying to remove as much of the hardened grease as possible with a tiny screwdriver I then use Jizer in a spray can. Marvellous stuff I have to say. Water soluble too so after a short while just rinse out the Jizer under a slow running tap ( being careful that nothing falls out into an open plug hole of course!)

[Rockape]

I use a very thin hooked scraper first for the thick lumps, then cotton buds to finish (great for poking down the spool shaft tubes and other less accessable places), I then use a small stiff brush with WD40 in a small bowl (casings, gears, the lot) , and then a second brushing with Isopropol Alcohol to remove the WD40 residue. Serviced well over a hundred reels like that.