Andrew Shadow
Site Supporter
I know that there a few people on here who have worked in the chemical industry.
For those with that kind of a knowledge base, I would appreciate your thoughts on the below question.
I have, for a very long time, used isopropyl alcohol as a cleaning agent. I use it for everything from cleaning the moly off of the final drive, to cleaning O-rings before installing them, to cleaning electronic parts before and after soldering them. It works well in many different applications, doesn't require a hazmat suit to use, doesn't damage most materials or finishes, it doesn't damage rubber O-rings, seals, gaskets, hoses, etc., is easy to work with, evaporates quickly, and was always very easy to find and was cheap to buy in large quantities. I always bought it in one gallon jugs at hardware stores for 1/3 of the price that it sells for in pharmacies. I recently ran out and went looking to buy some more. For some reason it is hard to find now. Every hardware store/renovation centre that I went to no longer carries it. The one place where I did find it wants an arm and a leg for it. The 70% pure was something like $55.00 for a gallon and I think that the 90% pure was over $70.00.
All of the hardware stores are now stocking methyl-hydrate alcohol instead. This is very reasonably priced at around $12.00 for a gallon. I bought a jug but I have never used methyl-hydrate before so I do not now what limitations I should put on its use. I found out the hard way that it removes paint very efficiently whereas there is no danger of that with isopropyl alcohol. Thankfully it was not on something that caused me much anguish.
Given my above description of what I used the isopropyl alcohol for, below are my questions for the chemical experts;
- Can I use the methyl-hydrate alcohol for the same purposes that I was using isopropyl alcohol for?
- Besides removing paint, what else will it damage that I should keep it away from?
- Will it damage rubber hoses, O-rings, seals, etc.?
- Is it just as suitable for cleaning solder joints before soldering as isopropyl alcohol is? Or does it leave some kind of residue that will affect the solder joint?
If methyl-hydrate is not that good a substitute for isopropyl alcohol, for all of the things that I was using it for, is there something else out there that can as effectively replace isopropyl alcohol for the same uses that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?
For those with that kind of a knowledge base, I would appreciate your thoughts on the below question.
I have, for a very long time, used isopropyl alcohol as a cleaning agent. I use it for everything from cleaning the moly off of the final drive, to cleaning O-rings before installing them, to cleaning electronic parts before and after soldering them. It works well in many different applications, doesn't require a hazmat suit to use, doesn't damage most materials or finishes, it doesn't damage rubber O-rings, seals, gaskets, hoses, etc., is easy to work with, evaporates quickly, and was always very easy to find and was cheap to buy in large quantities. I always bought it in one gallon jugs at hardware stores for 1/3 of the price that it sells for in pharmacies. I recently ran out and went looking to buy some more. For some reason it is hard to find now. Every hardware store/renovation centre that I went to no longer carries it. The one place where I did find it wants an arm and a leg for it. The 70% pure was something like $55.00 for a gallon and I think that the 90% pure was over $70.00.
All of the hardware stores are now stocking methyl-hydrate alcohol instead. This is very reasonably priced at around $12.00 for a gallon. I bought a jug but I have never used methyl-hydrate before so I do not now what limitations I should put on its use. I found out the hard way that it removes paint very efficiently whereas there is no danger of that with isopropyl alcohol. Thankfully it was not on something that caused me much anguish.
Given my above description of what I used the isopropyl alcohol for, below are my questions for the chemical experts;
- Can I use the methyl-hydrate alcohol for the same purposes that I was using isopropyl alcohol for?
- Besides removing paint, what else will it damage that I should keep it away from?
- Will it damage rubber hoses, O-rings, seals, etc.?
- Is it just as suitable for cleaning solder joints before soldering as isopropyl alcohol is? Or does it leave some kind of residue that will affect the solder joint?
If methyl-hydrate is not that good a substitute for isopropyl alcohol, for all of the things that I was using it for, is there something else out there that can as effectively replace isopropyl alcohol for the same uses that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?
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