Cotton Waste
 

Any ideas where to get old fashioned engine cleaners best friend cotton waste?

Liberon sell it, but it is not cheap. They produce it for French Polishing purposes, I came across it in my local hardware shop and bought some for polishing the brass bits. I dont know where you would get larger quantities.

I have often wondered , nothing like it on an engine .

Yes a google search comes up with this For applying french polish... Engineers cotton waste cane in bales!!

Sounds like yet something else that at one time was reasonably priced now sold as a luxury product !.

Not bought any waste since the mid 80's, and as you say used to come in a large sack, very handy it was to, once it had soaked up all the oil it could be used to light up.

Cotton waste is available wholesale, perhaps this is a business opportunity for someone.

https://www.europages.co.uk/companie...n%20waste.html


We used to use it in engineering I don't think "health and safety" liked it much, we changed to rags sometime in the 80's.

'Shoddy' is a thing of the past. Most cotton waste is not recycled, and what is goes abroad. Cotton felt can still be obtained but can leave a lot of bits ( but so could shoddy ). Cotton felt can also contain wool. For cleaning, rather than polishing, I have used 'mutton cloth' - my family were butchers and sold imported lamb wrapped in ' mutton cloth'. There are sellers of these alternatives on Ebay.

Thanks I have already e mailed Europages links and waiting for a reply. Possibly have to buy a container load!

I'll let you know the response...

I think that there may be some confusion here . Surely ' shoddy ' was a fertiliser or soil conditioner made from textile waste , I think wool , not the same thing at all as bleached waste ?

I have googled it . Shoddy was recycled woolen fibre , re spun into an inferior fabric . The waste from shoddy production , including seams and the like , together with short fibres from carding , was marketed as a slow release nitrogen manure and mulch , and was a great favourite among market gardeners . It is still used to grow the best rhubarb , but is now hard to get with the decline of the woolen industry .

Younger members would think that Scrim, Mungo and Shoddy were a firm of dodgy solicitors, and wouldn't remember the 'Rag and Bone' man. I thought shoddy came from cotton and mungo from wool waste. It was cotton shoddy that was used in some engine sheds.

I’ll second Clive’s use of mutton cloth, it’s a very efficient material if folded at first and opened out during cleaning.

I do recall someone from Keighley and Worth Valley Railway telling me it could still be purchased. I will ask the question when I’m next in contact with them.

I saw Mutton Cloth on the shelf today at Galleywood Motor Spares

But to return to the original question , where can we get reasonable quantities of cotton waste , the real stuff , at a reasonable price , because there is nothing like it for cleaning and wiping and soaking up all the muck on an engine .

I have sent off several e mails to the companies advertised on the Europages. Only one reply From a firm in Ireland so far which was negative.

Are there any working cotton mills in the UK as the term cotton waste is exactly that I believe it is the sweepings off the floor. Most of the advertiser were cotton recyclers so tbh cotton waste to them is shredded clothing I suspect

This company do what i would call Waste, still priced as a luxury product compared to times past though !.

It's under "Polishing Rag Wipers"


https://www.smartora.co.uk

Eureka.

Thanks Rod

Still not the right stuff , that is just a fankle of threads . The stuff which I am thinking of was a mix of thread and flock , bleached .

What I remember of cotton waste was prominently white with different coloured strands, and you had to pull it apart we used it to pack tractor air filters.

I have a tin which contains graphite impregnated cotton wasn’t, The instructions on the tin say it is for gland packing eg valves and taps. I use it on the water glass taps on my engine.

Had a call from Smartora earlier today. Guess what... they have had a run on sales of Cotton Waste and I have to wait for the next shipment !!

Hey ho that’s life... feel certain my post on TT must have caused a spike in sales for them!!

A reasonably good source of old rags is 'freecycle'. It's a website where people offer or want items. I've often put a call out for any old towels / bed linen / quilts / curtains. I must have four bin bags of cleaning rags in the garage attic at the moment.

It's free to sign up

Well worth the wait! Bale of cotton waste has arrived. 25kg last me out hopefully !!

[IMG]http://www.steamscenes.org.uk/tti/20/141_0323.jpg[/IMG]

We used to get that at work (over 30 years ago) and it got stopped because we used to find sewing needles in it occasionally. :eek:

Many thanks for the heads up, I will holler if I find any...

Joking aside, thanks for pointing this out. Cheers JW