Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion cleaning painted can/sign

I am a little late jumping in on this post, but no one has mentioned this one yet..

I bought a parts washer a few years ago at a swap meet, filled it up with solvent (available at most parts stores)not the water base type, and have cleaned countless cans in it, works very well.
For some of the real sticky cans, I have soaked a red rag with solvent and let it sit for several days on the can to loosen up the old oil or grease.
It is not as Hot as brake clean or lacquer thinner, so you can let it soak in and loosen up the old oil and grease, especially on the inside.
Be careful with real early 1/2 gallon and gallon cans, or anything with weathered or loose paint, but I think this applies to any of the cleaning techniques.