I just pulled my door lock assembly out and its covered in nasty grease what would be a safe way of cleaning them without using soap and water i thought might lead to rust?

 

I like to use gasoline and a wire brush.

 

maybe some GUNK engine degreaser, or laquer thinner, or carb cleaner, just try different things

 

Carburetor cleaner or disc brake cleaner in spray cans. Do not use gasoline. Recomendations to use gasoline can result in lawsuits. There is another product I've used called Krud Kutter available from Home Depot's paint department. It won't remove heavy buildups of grease but will clean just about everything else.
Jim

 

I have had good luck with water based high PH cleaners.
Castrol Super clean is available at most auto parts stores or at your local super center.
We use some stuff at work called "Grease Kicker", it is for commercial kitchens (it is stronger super clean). It works great on old hydraulic fluid, oil, grease, pencil...etc.
Simple green is also similar, but a little weaker.

All of the above products are very basic (high PH), and will damage your skin. Wear gloves with whatever you use! I wear Nitrle gloves under a set of larger chemical and solvent resistant gloves, overkill... but I work around the stuff often. You can neutralize the stuff with white vinegar, or rinse with lots of water. I like it over petroleum based solvents because in my opinion it cuts grease faster, and requires less scrubbing then using mineral spirits or other solvent. If you are worried about rust, just spray the clean item with WD40 as soon as you rinse it off with water.

You DO NOT want to use any of the water based cleaners on aluminum or any other "white" metals, they will eat it up, also it will dull paint (which is one of the reasons why I use it at work, it will etch old paint so that new paint will stick onto some of the old industrial equipment I work on)

Good luck with whatever you use,
Peter

(If you do use a petroleum based solvent, make sure you do it somewhere where an accidental fire will not cause too much damage, and have a fire extinguisher handy)

 

There is a reason there is grease on your door lock assembly. Why take it off? You'll just have to put it back on. [8D]

 

When I rebuilt my quarter window assembly' and installed new rollers I used laquer thinner and it worked quite well removing the hardened nasty white lithium grease from the tracks, +1 on regreasing them when cleaned up.