I keep telling them they're nuts, but the young guys 'round here use oven-cleaner to clean their motorcycles - even the aluminum rims.
As a kid, we used to watch the lye in drano react with aluminum foil to produce, uh, was it hydrogen?
I use the hair dryer to remove sticky labels. Also vaseline seems to help.
Some folks used to use Coca Cola on the outside of the windshield.
What was the deal with a bag of Bull Durham and the windshield?
Got an old sink with the porcelain shot. Boraxo works better than cleanser on it.
OT, but for lighting the lantern, I keep a long, stripped (no paper), twisty tie (from around the celery) to hold the match up inside. Any similar malleable small bare wire would work I suppose. Attach to the bail.
Baking soda is better than toothpaste when camping. No sticky mess and no smell to attract critters.
Some folks put out a bowl with dish soap & water for killing yellow jackets. When they were really bad once I poured syrup from canned fruit on the ground 30 feet away so we could eat in peace - sorta worked.
I don't think people put oatmeal in radiators much anymore.
One winter, had to use an old style popcorn popper (not the hot air kind) to heat up the 90-weight enough to pump it into the tranny.
I don't see how Pledge would work on windows without leaving a film, but remember that stuff they used to call glass-wax? Put it on wet, let it dry, wipe the powder off.