Cleaning Solvents

[SteveL]

$20 for a gallon is cheap indeed for 99%, ACE has gallons for $33 but I can pick that up locally and avoid shipping costs(I always try to buy local first). I still have a gallon of denatured alcohol left over from rod building that I have been using for bearings, seems to work ok. I have been removing the shields before they get dunked. Dawn, simple green and vinegar works for everything else. I really try to avoid acetone

I never thought of buying 99% IPA at Ace.   Unfortunately our Ace doesn't carry it, though they could probably order it.

Here's the link to $20.99 per gallon 99% IPA (free shipping on orders over $40):

https://artnaturals.com/1-gallon-isopropyl-alcohol.html

[Tiddlerbasher]

IPA is one of the preferred solvents for alcohol based hand sanitizer/scrubs (with a moisturising agent).
At the start of this pandemic I had a chat with a dermatologist about this and the result was making my own mix - 95% pure IPA and 5% sweet almond oil.
I now supply the whole family

[SteveL]

I'm not opposed to IPA for cleaning most parts, it is just that it costs the same or more than more effective solvents. Based on the info above, I shouldn't soak bearings with nylon races in IPA.

Brief contact of nylon with IPA as in diluted TSI might be OK.  When I bought TSI321 I tried 3 jars diluting with 99% IPA, mineral spirits and acetone. Soaked some bearings, spun the bearings, spun spools on the bearings, and decided I liked the results with mineral spirits and/or acetone better.   Diluted the remaining 99% ipa to 90% for household use.  

Hand sanitizer and sanitizing a cut with IPA is a lot safer than getting it on your hands for a prolonged time while cleaning several reels.  Skin contact is probably safer than with acetone or MEK,  not so sure about mineral spirits or naphtha, but gloves and ventilation are still the safest choice.

[steelheadtom]

Thanks for the input....I'm a retired tradesman here in California, and over the last 15 years of my career, the solvents we used for cleaning materials have been banned by the state...MEK and most recently, Denatured Alcohol..Thiugh it's the best cleaning agent I used in my work, MEK is highly toxic, as I've been told..the absorption rate thru the skin and tissues is almost instantaneous, having a direct and major affect on the liver....so, I suppose I've been in the ballpark by using WD40, then a good rinse with IPA....Happy New Year, and Tight Lines to All!!

[SteveL]

Thanks for the input....I'm a retired tradesman here in California, and over the last 15 years of my career, the solvents we used for cleaning materials have been banned by the state...MEK and most recently, Denatured Alcohol..Thiugh it's the best cleaning agent I used in my work, MEK is highly toxic, as I've been told..the absorption rate thru the skin and tissues is almost instantaneous, having a direct and major affect on the liver....so, I suppose I've been in the ballpark by using WD40, then a good rinse with IPA....Happy New Year, and Tight Lines to All!!

If they still allow mineral spirits, WD40 is about 50% mineral oil and 50% mineral spirits with a few additives.  If you are cleaning parts, that 50% mineral oil isn't helping and WD40 costs a good bit more than mineral spirits. Plus you won't have to rinse afterward.  I still use WD40, but I only buy a spray can every year or so.

[Rancanfish]

I use what Sal suggested to me quite awhile ago.  Paslode Electronic tool cleaner from Home Depot.  Made for cleaning all our battery drills, etc.  No harm to plastic, no foul odor, not deadly to my liver.  It's a spray so I do bearings with it too.

Sal taught everyone something.

[wfjord]

I primarily use mineral spirits as I can tolerate the odor and fumes more than that of other solvents and it's worked well for me. I avoid the nastier solvents that are more rapidly absorbed into skin.  On a few occasions I've used naphtha or denatured alcohol, but still prefer the mineral spirits -- and a final wash & scrub with dish detergent.

I also made some small scrapers out of pieces of hardwood upon which I burnished and scorched the edge on a fast, hard stone grinding wheel to harden it. Works great on removing hardened stuck-on gunk and doesn't scratch the metal on a reel.

[cmdrzog]

Goop Hand Cleaner works if applied w/ a brush (acid brush) and allowed to sit for a an hour or 2. Scrub with a soft toothbrush and then soak in a solution of water & Dawn(or Ajax dish soap) . Remove parts, brush again and rinse.  I usually do 3 or more reels at once (separate soak bowels), all reels are older
Penns or Ocean City or older spin reels. While one batch is soaking the first batch can be assembled.
Goop Hand Cleaner also works for installing rod grips and is epoxy compatible.  Been using it over 30years w/ no complaints. Cleans greasy hands too and is dirt cheap.

[SteveL]

I use what Sal suggested to me quite awhile ago.  Paslode Electronic tool cleaner from Home Depot.  Made for cleaning all our battery drills, etc.  No harm to plastic, no foul odor, not deadly to my liver.  It's a spray so I do bearings with it too.

Sal taught everyone something.

MSDS indicates it is contains primarily Heptane and Ethane.  Assuming bearings contain nylon races,   Heptane has excellent compatibility with nylon, while ethane has severe effects on nylon.

Route(s) of Entry: Inhalation, eye, skin and ingestion.

Health Hazards (Acute and Chronic):
   Inhalation – irritation of respiratory tract.
   Eye – irritation; possible damage from large doses.
   Ingestion – irritation of gastro-intestinal tract.
   Skin – possible irritation from large doses.

[handi2]

My cleaning solvent is Mineral Spirits in an old Big Red parts washer. I use it for cleaning the reels and its parts. Brake Cleaner spray on bearings. It doesn't stink like Carburetor cleaner and it dries fast.

[SteveL]

My cleaning solvent is Mineral Spirits in an old Big Red parts washer. I use it for cleaning the reels and its parts. Brake Cleaner spray on bearings. It doesn't stink like Carburetor cleaner and it dries fast.

The chemical compatibility page is a bit wacky on the ingredient in CRC Brake Part Cleaner.  The same chemical can go by two different names -- one is listed as excellent compatibility with nylon and the other is listed as fair.  It is supposed to be the same chemical.  Contact time may be so short it wouldn't matter anyway.

By chance, I have two identical nylon washers, two small jars, acetone and 91% Isopropyl.   I think I will see what a week's worth of soaking will do in each.  Acetone is supposed to compatible with nylon while Isopropyl is not.  

I also have about a hundred new $0.10 Zebco 33 bearings, so I might as well put one in each jar.

[Midway Tommy]

Never had a bit of problem soaking nylon bearings, washers or bushings in lacquer thinner or acetone.

My go to degreaser for anodized, painted and/or plastic parts is Original GOOP Hand Cleaner (no pumice). It does a good job, especially with a little brush persuasion, then a warm water Dawn bath. 

[54bullseye]

I use what Sal suggested to me quite awhile ago.  Paslode Electronic tool cleaner from Home Depot.  Made for cleaning all our battery drills, etc.  No harm to plastic, no foul odor, not deadly to my liver.  It's a spray so I do bearings with it too.

Sal taught everyone something.

I like the Paslode to !! Sal turned me on to it a few years ago. If you google it you can find some cheap prices if you buy 4 cans. John Taylor

[fwm0103]

Kerosene is what I use to clean / degrease.

[oc1]

Polar and non-polar liquids are not easy to describe.  Better to look it up where you can see diagrams.

The saying "like dissolves like" means that a non-polar solvent is best to dissolve a non-polar substance and polar solvents are best for dissolving polar substances. 

Alcohol, ammonia and anything dissolved in water is probably polar.  Hydrocarbon liquids like acetone, naphtha, mineral spirits, kerosene, gasoline, etc. are non-polar and so is grease, oil, fat and other organic stuff.  Oil and water do not mix because oil is non-polar and water is polar.

Soap molecules have a polar end and a non-polar end.  So, soap dissolves in water and also dissolves hydrocarbons, grease, fat, etc.

One thing that has always bothered me is that alcohols usually contain water and they absorb water from the air.  Vinegar is mostly water.  Ammonia is a gas that is dissolved in water so it can be handled.   Water readily dissolves into soap.  Solvents with water evaporate slowly.  Hydrocarbon solvents do not and can not contain water, are more volatile and evaporate quickly.  So, if you use a polar solvent are you more likely to leave moisture behind inside the reel?