Cheap(ish) Drum Color Swap Setup

My small drum cleaning setup

I wanted a way to clean out drums for color swapping similar to @risolve's awesome drum cleaning station, but I didn't have the space or money to put together something that legit.  So here's what I came up with instead.  It mainly consists of three parts: 

a 5 gallon bucket

Bucket Top Parts Washer

a bucket top parts washer

and a large bus bin like they use in restaurants for taking dishes away after meals.

 

The cheaper parts washers have pumps that cannot withstand heavy duty solvents, so instead of using mineral spirits or something similar, I used OilEater cut with water about 1:3.  This won't harm the pump, and it does break down riso ink pretty well, though not as quickly or easily as mineral spirits or naptha.  The parts washer has holes that drain back into the bucket, so it recirculates the same solvent, minimizing waste.  Once you've broken down the ink, you can rinse off parts with water (I used my garden hose), removing any leftover trace of ink.

 

The drum  screen stands up nicely in the parts washer, and you can easily clean the screen and drum this way.  The rest of the drum body fits just within the bus bin, and keeps your area relatively clean.  The wall of this particular bin (the image is linked to the one I bought) is at the perfect height to support the back end of the drum assembly, keeping it upright while you work on it.

 

I also recommend getting some gloves, and some microfiber cleaning cloths to help with the cleaning.  A spray bottle of concentrated Simple Green or similar citrus based cleanser is also helpful to have.

 

Happy cleaning!