[b]Bronk:

I thought W8YE's comment was pretty good, if any error it's on the side of safety. You can't know how badly the case was weakened by the oven cleaner.

Cleaning anything with light metal parts can be a pain, the hot anti-freeze seems to be the easiest way. But the anti-freeze does "Wear out" in use. It isn't the glycol that does the work, it's the additives. And they are expended in use. Just watch, when it stops cleaning restart with a fresh tank full. Or pot full, as it were.

Cleaning aluminum is most easily done with an acid, we used to clean aluminum trailers with a mild hydrochloric acid and water rinse. Made them look new.

The problem with an acid dip is that many model engines have zinc (pot metal) parts - the acid will eat them quickly. Very hard to tell which is which, and of course the acid will attack all the steel parts.

Anti-freeze is cheap, easy to use, and safe, just don't let your kids or pets drink it. You should know better than to drink it yourself.

Final note - "Environmentally Friendly" anti-freeze doesn't work for cleaning, and it doesn't keep your car engine's cooling system clean either. But the "Eco-Freaks" like it.

Bill.