thanks all for recc's on degreaser..

[thejimrose]

about 8 hours spent detailing the new to me s4 this weekend.. and i haven't
touched the interior, engine bay or trunk. man i'm slow! washed 2x, hit all
the creases w/ 'tarminator' - smells like mineral spirits but great for
pulling up old dried wax. debadged, maguiars scratchx on the scratchy spots
- stuff is great for minor rubs, light scratches like the wedding ring
marks under the doorhandles. cleaned the jambs [FILTHY}, clay bar, wax,
treat all exterior rubber, strip the glass and rainx it all. scrubbed the
wheels [barrels too] and wheel well's. all in an unshaded driveway on a 90*
day here in sunny san jose. WHEW.

for degreaser, wound up using what i had around, castrol purple something
or other. claims to be non caustic, safe for paint and biodegradeable. hit
the  suspension, wheel well liners and wheels with it undiluted. let it sit
a few minutes [maybe 5-10] and scrubbed / rinsed. didn't pull up all the
brake dust from the caliper nooks and crannys [silver 6 piston alcon's show
everything]. it did get the ohlin's nice and clean and no issues w/ the
alloy bits that i can tell.

will probably switch over to simple green - lots of thumbs up and it's
cheap and easy to get. i can't really see paying to ship something like a
degreaser via mailorder. i love the tip about the tire cleaner in the
engine bay. also will try some of that foaming amsoil stuff - sounds
brilliant and there's an amsoil shop right down the road. for wax if any
are not familiar the zaino stuff really is brilliant. so easy to use, works
on glass, rubber, etc. workable in direct sunlight and doesn't dry white.
smells nice too. why didn't someone think of this sooner?!

cheers!
jim