INDUSTRIAL DEGREASER

Remove Stubborn Oil and Grease to Achieve a Clean, Paint-Ready Surface

Oil and grease left on metal surfaces cause paint to peel, blister, and fail within months of application. Workshop floors stained with hydraulic fluid become hazardous and resist standard cleaning products. Galvanised roofing sheets arrive from the factory coated in protective oils that must be removed before any primer or topcoat will bond properly. Rhinoluxe Industrial Degreaser is a solvent-based surface preparation cleaner that dissolves petroleum grease, machine oil, and workshop contamination on mild steel, galvanised metal, and concrete. The hydrocarbon solvent blend cuts through stubborn oily residues that water-based cleaners leave behind, and rinses off with clean water to deliver a verified grease-free surface ready for the next coat.

Key Benefits

Solvent-Based Penetration for Petroleum Grease. The hydrocarbon solvent blend dissolves non-polar oils and greases at a molecular level, reaching contamination trapped in the pores and surface profile of steel and concrete that water-based alkaline cleaners cannot mobilise.

Water-Break-Free Surface Verification. Rinsing is complete when water sheets continuously across the surface without beading or pulling into droplets. This built-in quality check confirms the substrate is clean enough for primer application, removing the guesswork from surface preparation.

Dual-Use for Substrates and Application Equipment. The same product cleans greasy metal, oily concrete floors, and used brushes and rollers after painting. One SKU covers the preparation bay and the tool wash station, reducing inventory for contractors and maintenance teams.

Water-Washable Cleanup. Despite its solvent-based chemistry, the product rinses off with large volumes of clean water after scrubbing. This simplifies on-site cleanup without requiring additional solvents for disposal of the contaminated residue.

Direct Compatibility with the Rhinoluxe Coating System. Industrial Degreaser is the first step in the Rhinoluxe surface preparation sequence. Follow with Rust Remover where oxidation is present, then prime and topcoat with confidence that the adhesion foundation has been properly established.

Guides & How-Tos

Learn more in our advisory guides: the complete degreaser guide, the industrial degreaser guide, how to remove oil stains from concrete, and surface preparation before painting.

Technical Overview

Rhinoluxe Industrial Degreaser is a professional-grade, solvent-based cleaner and surface preparation product formulated with a hydrocarbon solvent blend containing xylene at less than 10%. The product is classified as a non-drying surface degreaser, meaning it does not cure or form a film on the substrate. It must be fully scrubbed in and rinsed off before any coating is applied.

The solvent system works on the principle that non-polar hydrocarbon solvents dissolve non-polar petroleum contamination. This gives the product a direct chemical advantage over water-based alkaline degreasers when dealing with machine oils, cutting fluids, mill oils on new galvanised steel, and baked-on workshop grease. The solvent penetrates the microscopic surface profile of the metal or concrete, dissolves the grease into solution, and the subsequent water rinse carries the emulsified contamination away from the surface.

Surface cleanliness is confirmed using the water-break-free test: after the final rinse, water poured over the surface must sheet uniformly with no beading. Any beading indicates residual hydrophobic contamination and the scrub-and-rinse cycle must be repeated. This aligns with ASTM F22 methodology for verifying the absence of hydrophobic surface films before coating, bonding, or conversion treatment.

Technical Specifications

Complementary Products

For optimal performance, use Rhinoluxe Industrial Degreaser as part of the complete surface preparation sequence:

• Rhinoluxe Rust Remover — Apply after degreasing to dissolve rust and passivate mild steel before priming.
• Rhinoluxe ZP4 Zinc Phosphate Primer — Anti-corrosive primer for degreased and passivated steel in harsh coastal environments.
• Rhinoluxe Red Oxide Primer — Standard anti-corrosive primer for prepared mild steel surfaces.
• Rhinoluxe MultiPrime — Multi-surface primer for galvanised steel, aluminium, and mixed substrates.

Technical Guidance

Apply the product undiluted to your contaminated surface and work it in thoroughly using a hard scrubbing brush or block brush. Do not use a paint brush — the bristles are too soft to generate the mechanical agitation you need to break the grease bond with the substrate. On heavily contaminated surfaces, give the solvent 2–5 minutes of contact time to penetrate baked-on deposits before you start scrubbing.

Rinse your surface with large volumes of clean water after scrubbing. Repeat the wash-and-rinse cycle until the metal passes the water-break-free test: pour clean water over the surface and check whether it sheets uniformly or breaks into beads. Beading means grease remains and you need to repeat the cycle. Skipping this verification step is the single most common cause of premature paint failure on degreased metal.

Allow your surface to dry completely before you apply any primer or topcoat. Coating over a damp substrate traps moisture beneath the paint film and leads to blistering, particularly on galvanised roofing in humid coastal areas like Durban and Cape Town. Bare steel in high-humidity environments is susceptible to flash rust within hours of cleaning, so plan your degreasing and priming schedule to avoid leaving bare metal exposed overnight.

Never apply the product to hot surfaces. Metal that has been sitting in direct sun can reach temperatures above 60°C, causing the solvent to evaporate before it has time to dissolve the grease. Work during cooler parts of the day and ensure the surface temperature is below 40°C for effective cleaning.

This product is flammable. Keep away from all sources of ignition including welding, grinding, open flames, and smoking. Use only in well-ventilated areas. Wear protective gloves and safety goggles at all times during application. Avoid breathing in the vapours. Refer to the Safety Data Sheet for full handling and storage precautions.