Replacement for acetone?

[Dalzani Lima]

Acetone, in my country is a controlled product and difficult to find. I am currently using an acetone (weakened) that is easily found in drug stores used by women to remove paint from the nails which for aluminum seems to not clean anything at all. All my finger prints remain after cleaning, for example. Is there another product as good as acetone for cleaning aluminum?

Thanks.

[Insaneride]

EVERCLEAR alcohol.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everclear_(alcohol)

Its illegal in some US states. I had some friends working at some atomic weapon test facility in Las Vegas. They used EVERCLEAR to clean everything. They said coworkers were drinking at Christmas parties.

If you cant find EVERCLEAR you can use 90% alcohol from drugstore.

The nail polish remover acetone I used said 100% acetone but reading ingredients, it had some kind of lotion in it also. It didnt work for TIG'n and I gave it away.

[Dalzani Lima]

EVERCLEAR alcohol.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everclear_(alcohol)

Its illegal in some US states. I had some friends working at some atomic weapon test facility in Las Vegas. They used EVERCLEAR to clean everything. They said coworkers were drinking at Christmas parties.

If you cant find EVERCLEAR you can use 90% alcohol from drugstore.

The nail polish remover acetone I used said 100% acetone but reading ingredients, it had some kind of lotion in it also. It didnt work for TIG'n and I gave it away.

Here the gas stations sell ethanol alcohol 95%. Interesting. I'll try. Thank you.

[John T]

Replacement for acetone?.

You can also use alcohol or MEK

Make sure you use gloves if you use MEK

PS:

Everclear is not the kind of alcohol you want

That’s the kind of alcohol you drink.
LoL




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[Kelvin]

Can you get lacquer thinner? Like acetone, it should also dissolve both polar and nonpolar compounds...

[gatemaster]

Use gloves if you use MEK is an understatement. I'm not sure I would handle that stuff even if I were triple-gloved. We use that stuff where I work and we have in the past had issues with a guy nearly going blind because of absorbing too much of that stuff in his system. I don't even like being around the fumes of it.

[Dalzani Lima]

Can you get lacquer thinner? Like acetone, it should also dissolve both polar and nonpolar compounds...

Only on order. In stores only in small quantities for plastic modelers.

Everclear is not the kind of alcohol you want

That’s the kind of alcohol you drink.

Interesting

I can find here easily Isopropyl alcohol, ethanol alcohol 95%, polyurethane thinner. Which of these would be best?

[duramax-rob]

in body paint work we used wax and grease remover cause they said it wouldn't leave any residue behind. might have to shop for an off brand cheap kind. fast dry would work best, low temp use. might work in a pinch

[DougAustinTX]

What you are trying to do is remove residual oily films. What substances are good at removing oils? I have seen a product called Simple Green clean oil pretty well, and it's non-toxic. Mineral Spirits will get car parts clean enough to paint the metal. I think mineral spirits are the same as paint thinner.

[scsmith42]

A great, natural degreaser is d-limonene. It is the fundamental ingrediant in all citrus based solvents. I have not tried it for welding prep though.

[Denis G]

https://www.thefabricator.com/articl...before-welding
One place that I worked for used Oakite 33 in a heated tank (aqueous sol'n), but that was not for aluminum. That company does make industrial aqueous cleaners for aluminum.

[Kelvin]

What do they use for brake cleaner where you live? (Don't use chlorinated solvents on things you plan to weld or heat.)

[Oscar]

What you are trying to do is remove residual oily films. What substances are good at removing oils? I have seen a product called Simple Green clean oil pretty well, and it's non-toxic. Mineral Spirits will get car parts clean enough to paint the metal. I think mineral spirits are the same as paint thinner.

I use simple green as a general purpose cleaner, but I don't think it evaporates enough on its own.

[duramax-rob]

any thing that you have to dilute with water or rinse with water when it dries will leave a mineral residue when dries if not wiped off. also wiping rag should not be dried using fabric softener as it sometimes leaves a residue.

[Insaneride]

You can also use alcohol or MEK

Make sure you use gloves if you use MEK

PS:

Everclear is not the kind of alcohol you want

That’s the kind of alcohol you drink.
LoL




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I wouldnt recommend drinking EVERCLEAR LoL. It is more than twice the alcohol as Jack Daniels so it gets you eFd up really fast. Its cheaper than Jack tho. A 750mL is $22.99. Stil more than acetone.

I would never recommend MEK to anybody for anything. MEK is some bad stuf just look at the MSDS. The OP said acetone is a controlled product so MEK may not even be available.

Dalzani, if you can get 95% alcohol, try that. You should probly run it thru a coffee filter first. Gas stations can be dirty where I live.

You didnt say if you were using for weld prep. Are you? What country are you in?

[John T]

I wouldnt recommend drinking EVERCLEAR LoL. It is more than twice the alcohol .

We take a big jar of maraschino cherries, dump half the liquid out and fill it with Grain (everclear)
let it sit in the fridge until whenever...

"Cherry Bombs"

[Insaneride]

We take a big jar of maraschino cherries, dump half the liquid out and fill it with Grain (everclear)
let it sit in the fridge until whenever...

"Cherry Bombs"

Sounds good, I like cherry bombs.

Steve, 7A749 said mix orange juice concentrate with EVERCLEAR to make Agent_Orange.

[Dalzani Lima]

I wouldnt recommend drinking EVERCLEAR LoL. It is more than twice the alcohol as Jack Daniels so it gets you eFd up really fast. Its cheaper than Jack tho. A 750mL is $22.99. Stil more than acetone.

I would never recommend MEK to anybody for anything. MEK is some bad stuf just look at the MSDS. The OP said acetone is a controlled product so MEK may not even be available.

Dalzani, if you can get 95% alcohol, try that. You should probly run it thru a coffee filter first. Gas stations can be dirty where I live.

You didnt say if you were using for weld prep. Are you? What country are you in?

Use gloves if you use MEK is an understatement. I'm not sure I would handle that stuff even if I were triple-gloved. We use that stuff where I work and we have in the past had issues with a guy nearly going blind because of absorbing too much of that stuff in his system. I don't even like being around the fumes of it.

I'm in southern Brazil. I do not think I can find MEK here and according to wikipedia is a very critical and dangerous component for the handling, so I prefer to stay away from this MEK.
Also I will not drink EVERCLEAR. I do not think I find this here and I do not like alcoholic drinks. I do not like the taste, I do not know why.
Yes as I said earlier I can get 95% ethyl alcohol and 98% isopropyl (more expensive) but easily found. I do not know the amount of impurities present in the fuel alcohol sold at the stations here. Although my car is hybrid (alcohol and gasoline) I never filled with alcohol. So okay I'll filter it first.

in body paint work we used wax and grease remover cause they said it wouldn't leave any residue behind. might have to shop for an off brand cheap kind. fast dry would work best, low temp use. might work in a pinch

Yes I already have degreaser for painting. I have never used it for cleaning aluminum because I do not know its chemical components except it has benzene. I can try.

A great, natural degreaser is d-limonene. It is the fundamental ingrediant in all citrus based solvents. I have not tried it for welding prep though.

I do not know this product but I've seen it in some stores here.

I did a little video trying to clean some of the aluminum finger prints. First with degreaser for paint and then with nail polish acetone. No luck in both. I have the impression that the fat of the fingers reacts chemically with the aluminum or the oxidized layer. I do not have 95% alcohol now but I will do a test soon.



Since I can not get pure acetone here, I began to wonder if pure acetone would solve this problem. The reason for my post.

Thanks all.

[Sandy]

In the U.S. any ethyl alcohol not specifically manufactured to be sold for human consumption must be deliberately poisoned to prevent consumption and/or punish one for doing so. The cheap corn liquor you purchase at the hardware store can and will (by government mandate) kill you. Any consumable alcohol will be priced according due to government taxes and will be cost prohibitive for swabbing and cleaning.

Your country may vary.

[Dalzani Lima]

In the U.S. any ethyl alcohol not specifically manufactured to be sold for human consumption must be deliberately poisoned to prevent consumption and/or punish one for doing so. The cheap corn liquor you purchase at the hardware store can and will (by government mandate) kill you. Any consumable alcohol will be priced according due to government taxes and will be cost prohibitive for swabbing and cleaning.

Your country may vary.

It is not different here...

"Fuel alcohol and household alcohol have higher alcohol content than beverages, however, these alcohols can not be ingested because they have additives, known as denaturants, which are responsible for changing the taste of alcohol, to prevent them being ingested Some substances used as denaturing agents are: methanol, ethanal, denatonium benzoate and even gasoline."

According to the law supermarkets can not sell alcohol with concentration above 46%. But specialty stores can but only for people over 18 years.

[Kelvin]

I would look for whatever NON-chlorinated solvents they use in Brasil for cleaning brake pads or for cleaning fiberglass boats for painting. These are two solvents that, unlike ethanol or methanol or isopropanol, will dissolve most contaminants likely to be found on your metals. Just make sure they don't contain chlorinated hydrocarbons, or when you heat them, they can create poison gas.

Ethyl, methyl and isopropyl alcohols are pretty tame in comparison...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solven...lassifications

[Insaneride]

Dalzani, wipe in one direction only. Rubbing back and forth just smears the fingerprints.

[Dalzani Lima]

I would look for whatever NON-chlorinated solvents they use in Brasil for cleaning brake pads or for cleaning fiberglass boats for painting. These are two solvents that, unlike ethanol or methanol or isopropanol, will dissolve most contaminants likely to be found on your metals. Just make sure they don't contain chlorinated hydrocarbons, or when you heat them, they can create poison gas.

Ethyl, methyl and isopropyl alcohols are pretty tame in comparison...

I did a google search but could not find a specific solvent to clean fiberglass or break pads. There are several. and each uses what he thinks is the best. Please, could you provide more information?

Dalzani, wipe in one direction only. Rubbing back and forth just smears the fingerprints.

No matter how I do ... It just does not clean.

Thanks All.

[pgk]

Everclear in Michigan used to be 190+ or - proof or 96% by volume, now days at least the last time I checked it's more like 151 or 75% by volume, I would think the any Alcohol Iso, or ethanol you could by that is 90% or higher by volume should do the trick?

[Dalzani Lima]

I bought ethanol 96.5% in a gas station. It seems to clean better than nail polish acetone or paint degreaser but unfortunately after evaporating leaves something behind. Probably the remnant of water present in the alcohol and more other unknown substances.
Behavior analogous to the pattern observed with a water drop after evaporating on a surface. The drop leaves a mark with the size of it.

The same does not happen with nail polish acetone or the paint degreaser that, after evaporating, leaves nothing.

Maybe I'm putting a lot of value on this and should simply continue to use nail polish acetone as I've been doing.