What is Selleys RP7 Heavy Duty Degreaser, and where should you use it?

Selleys RP7 Heavy Duty Degreaser is a ready-to-use, water-based degreaser for cleaning tough grease, grime and oil off engines, machinery, tools and work benches. It comes in a 500mL trigger bottle at working strength, so there is no mixing and no dilution to get wrong — you spray it on, give it time to work, then rinse or wipe it away.

The one thing to know before you buy: this is a cleaner, not a penetrant or a lubricant. It is designed to remove oil and grease from a surface and leave no residue behind. If the fitting you are working on also needs freeing up or protecting afterwards, that is a separate job with a separate product.

Technical specification

Property	Typical result
Colour	Clear pale
Density	1.01 ± 0.01
pH	10.5 ± 0.5
Base	Water-based formula
Hazard classification	Non-hazardous
Odour	Low odour
Packaging	500mL trigger bottle

These are indicative data from the product's technical data sheet only, and are not intended for the preparation of specifications.

What the specification means in practice

Two entries in that table shape how the product behaves on the job.

Water-based, not solvent-based. That is why the technical data sheet describes it as low odour and non-hazardous, and it is why the directions tell you to rinse it off while still wet with fresh water. A water-based degreaser does its work while there is still liquid on the surface holding the loosened oil in suspension. Let it dry on the panel and you have simply relocated the grime rather than removed it.

pH 10.5 ± 0.5 puts it on the alkaline side. That is the working end of the formula, and it is the reason the safety directions ask you to avoid eye contact and prolonged skin contact, and say plainly that it is not suitable for cleaning skin. Wear gloves for a long session under a car, and if any skin irritation occurs, stop using it.

Selleys also qualifies two of its own claims with footnotes worth reading. "Non-damaging" means non-damaging to the substrate being cleaned, and "non-staining" means non-staining to the recommended substrates. Neither is a blanket promise about every material you might point the trigger at — which is why the porous-surface test below matters.

Where to use it

The technical data sheet lists it as suitable for cleaning grease, grime and oil from:

• Metal
• Steel
• Aluminium
• Rubbers
• Plastics
• Automotive paint
• Laminate
• Concrete

The product page adds that it degreases iron, magnesium and copper as well, and describes the product as suitable for automotive, industrial, home and bicycle cleaning.

In practice that covers engines, machinery, tools, equipment and work benches — the greasy end of a garage or workshop. The technical data sheet also notes it removes automotive fluids specifically: brake fluid, transmission fluid and power steering fluid. Those are the spills that tend to sit on a driveway or a bench top and resist an ordinary household cleaner.

Selleys lists automotive paint, bicycle paint, rubbers and plastics among the substrates the product is non-damaging to, which is what makes it usable on an assembled bike or a painted engine bay rather than only on bare metal.

How to apply it

1. Test first on porous surfaces. Try the product on an inconspicuous area before you commit to the whole job. Concrete, laminate and older paint vary more than the material name suggests.
2. Spray directly onto the area to be cleaned. No mixing or dilution — the product is supplied ready to use.
3. Let it work. The formula is fast acting and starts working immediately.
4. Rinse off while still wet with fresh water, and/or wipe with a damp microfibre cloth. Do not let it dry on the surface.
5. For heavy oil or tough soil deposits, allow a longer contact time and agitate with a detailing brush before rinsing and wiping. The extra dwell time and the mechanical agitation together do more than either alone.

If you are working on a vertical surface, remember that a water-based product runs. Work in sections you can rinse before the top of the panel dries.

Limitations — what it will not do

Selleys states one clear performance limitation:

• It may not remove soils or grease that have penetrated into pores. Once oil has soaked into unsealed concrete or another porous surface, a surface degreaser can lift what sits on top but cannot reach what has wicked in below. Expect a lighter stain rather than a clean slab, and test an inconspicuous area first so you know what result you are going to get.

The safety directions add limits of their own:

• Not suitable for cleaning skin. Avoid eye contact and prolonged skin contact.
• Keep out of reach of children.
• If any skin irritation occurs, discontinue use immediately.
• Remove and wash clothing stained with the product immediately rather than leaving it to sit.

Storage

Store the bottle in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place out of direct sunlight, and store it away from foodstuffs. A trigger bottle left on a sunny window ledge or in a closed car in summer is being stored badly; a shelf in the back of the garage is the right home for it.

Safety information

Selleys does not publish a safety data sheet for RP7 Heavy Duty Degreaser in the sources used to build this page, so no GHS hazard classification, signal word or hazard statements are reproduced here.

That is an absence of published data, not a finding that the product is non-hazardous. It should not be read as an all-clear, and the classification of a similar or neighbouring product should not be assumed to apply — variants within a Selleys range frequently carry genuinely different classifications.

The knowledge base holds safety data sheets for other RP7 products — the multi-purpose lubricating and penetrating spray, and the chain lubricant — but not for this degreaser. Those are different formulations and their data should not be read across to this product.

To obtain it, request the safety data sheet for this product from Selleys directly: 1300 555 205 in Australia, 0800 735 539 in New Zealand, or contact Selleys. For an emergency involving a Selleys product the emergency line is 1800 220 770 in Australia and 0800 220 770 in New Zealand; for suspected poisoning, the Poisons Information Centre is 131 126 in Australia and 0800 764 766 in New Zealand.

Common questions about Selleys RP7 Heavy Duty Degreaser

Do I need to dilute it?

No. It is ready to use and requires no mixing. Spray it on at full strength.

How long do I leave it on before rinsing?

It works immediately, so light grease can be rinsed or wiped straight away. For heavy oil or tough soil deposits, allow a longer contact time and agitate with a detailing brush before rinsing or wiping.

Do I have to rinse it off, or can I just wipe?

Either — the directions say to rinse off while still wet with fresh water and/or wipe with a damp microfibre cloth. The part that is not optional is doing it while the product is still wet.

Will it damage my car's paint, or my bike's?

Selleys lists automotive paint among the substrates it is suitable for, and describes the product as non-damaging to automotive paints, bicycle paint, rubbers and plastics — where "non-damaging" refers to the substrate being cleaned. Bicycle cleaning is one of the applications Selleys lists, so an assembled bike is a normal use rather than an exception. As with any cleaner, test an inconspicuous area first if the paint is old or has been repaired.

Will it clean up brake fluid?

Yes. The technical data sheet specifically lists removal of automotive fluids including brake fluid, transmission fluid and power steering fluid.

Will it get old oil stains out of my concrete driveway?

Partly. Concrete is on the list of surfaces it suits, but Selleys states the product may not remove soils or grease that have penetrated into the pores. Fresh spills come up better than stains that have had months to soak in.

Is it safe to use around the house?

Selleys describes it as a water-based, non-hazardous, low-odour formula, and lists home use among its applications. That does not make it a hand cleaner — it is not suitable for cleaning skin, and it should be kept away from eyes, out of reach of children, and stored away from foodstuffs.

What do I do if I get it on my clothes?

Remove and wash the stained clothing immediately rather than letting the product sit in the fabric.

Does it leave a residue behind?

No. Selleys describes the finish as residue-free, and non-staining to the recommended substrates, provided you rinse or wipe it off while it is still wet.

Can I use it on plastics and rubber?

Yes — both rubbers and plastics are listed uses, and both are named among the substrates the product is non-damaging to. Test an inconspicuous area first on anything old, faded or unfamiliar.

What size does it come in?

A 500mL trigger bottle.

Is this the same thing as Selleys RP7?

No. This page covers Selleys RP7 Heavy Duty Degreaser, which is a cleaning product. Selleys RP7 is a separate product with its own page. Check the label before you buy, because the names are close.