Which solvents do you guys use for general cleanup of epoxy and other uses. I've used both denatured alcohol and acetone. Are there advantages or disadvantages to either one? Anything else recommended? Thanks.

Jim

I use 91% iso alcohol. Works for me for the past 14 years

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Super Tight Lines......Don

Same here. Unless you allow epoxy to get pretty far down the line, IPO is all you need.

I do use U-40 Brush Cleaner for finishing brushes. I've found nothing better. It barely evaporates. You put a little in a jar, wipe the brushes with a paper towel to remove excess epoxy, then sit them in the cleaner until you need them again.

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Hi Jim,
I use mineral turpentine, I think that's mineral spirits to you guys, for epoxy clean up. Doesn't harm anything which acetone can. Use isoprophyl fo blank cleaning and other stuff also. It also works well on epoxy. I only use acetone for brush, mixer and mixing glass cleanup.

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia

Isofor me as well, U-40 for brushes but i will add that surgical wipes are very handy. I get them in boxes of 100 for a very low cost and the ones i get are lint free so they are great for small cleanups.
I do keep acetone in a room outside the house, but cannot think of any thing i have had to do that i could not do as well with hot water, Isoprop or U-40.

I normally start with 91% isoprophol, if that does not work I move up to DNA to acetone and if that will not remove the mess I break out the laquer thinner. Its not very often that I use anything above iso alcohol on a blank. I'm not sure what each manufactuer uses to finish their blanks but I have seen it come off of some blanks if lightly wiped with a paper towel just dampened with DNA and I surely do not want to take a chance of breaking down any resins used to bond the fibers in the blank.

When I can I try to show info from some source other than my brain cells. I offer the below as "food for thought".

"Denatured alcohol is ethanol (ethyl alcohol) that has been made unfit for human consumption by adding another chemical to it. Denaturing refers to removing a property from the alcohol (being able to drink it), not to chemically altering or decomposing it.
There are hundreds of ways ethanol is denatured. Denatured alcohol that is intended for use as a fuel or solvent typically contains 5% or more methanol. Methanol is flammable and has a boiling point close to that of ethanol. Methanol is absorbed across the skin and is highly toxic, so when I recommend people not use denatured alcohol for making perfume or bath products, my reason is that you usually don't know what has been added to the ethanol."

Kleen Strip, one of the most common brands of DNA, is rumored to be 55% methanol. Moral of the story, know what you are buying and obtain the MSDS. Don't trust a label like "DNA" as meaning the product is 100% ethanol.

Link for MSDS;
[www.wmbarr.com]

Russ in Hollywood, FL.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/2012 05:05PM by Russell Brunt.