For the totally nasty crust of ages I use the aerosol disc brake cleaner. METAL ONLY! It'll eat any wood finish. And plastic.

And recently I've re-discovered kerosene as a universal cleaner. The gallon cans at the depot are way cheap, has no smell of consequence, and it evaporates quickly enough to be handy but not so quick as to be useless. Even makes for a good soak for too long assembled actions.

have a day

Dr.WtS

Dr.WtS
Mysteries of the Cosmos Unlocked
available by subscription