Solvents to clean old grease and oil - Model Railroader Magazine

For organic solvents  starting with the mildest and working up

 1. Alcohol.  Sold as shellac thinner or high strength Isopropyl alcohol.  It will burn but it's a lot safer than gasoline.  Evaporates completely, leaving no residue.  If alcohol is strong enough to do the job I stick with it.  Unlikely to damage plastic, paint, floor tile.

2. "Mineral Spirits"  Sold as paint thinner or charcoal lighter.  Good grease cutter.  Safer to handle than gasoline.  About the same strength as alcohol for cleaning. Leaves a slight oily residue.  Unlikely to damage plastic, paint, floor tile.

3. Methyl Ethyl Ketone.  (MEK for short) Very active solvent.  Will dissolve paint, plastic, floor tile, linoleum, lots of other things.  Spills can be very very messy.  Active ingredient in styrene cement.  More flammable than alcohol or mineral spirits but still not as bad as gasoline.  For use in extreme cases or removing lacquer from metal.  MEK is so active that I seldom use it, fearing that it will attack the object rather than just cleaning it.  It eats all kinds of plastic.

4.  Googone.  Sold in stores for removing price tag stickum.  Good track and wheel cleaner.  Non flammable.  Surprisingly effective on many types of crud.    

5. Hot soapy water.  Good preparation for painting, assuming the object is waterproof.