is anything better than laquer thinner?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Mar 27, 2005
Messages
323
Location
iowa
i shag used car part on ebay sometimes. i recently started using laquer thinner to clean them. it works pretty well. is anything better? i am wearing out toothbrushes at an alrming rate with this stuff.
 
i have been trying to find a better brush to no avail. alot of the things that i clean are plastic and any metal brush mars them.
 
Biodiesel made from waste vegetable oil works great. It's easy on the hands, non-toxic, and dissolves grease great.
 
Cleaning stuff is an art and a science - the days of the old washer-woman are over..

Plastic/nylon is one of the items requiring special care..Seems as if everything today is some kind of plastic..
I'll try this lacquer thinner, its cheap enough , but what do you use it on ??
 
I would go with the bio diesel. Safer for both you and some plastics. Got an ester linkage to give it an edge, and a low vapor pressure to reduce inhaling fumes and catching fire. it also won't evaporate before you have it clean. May need something to clean it off.
 
If you can find a real boar bristle tooth brush, it would be unaffected by the laquer thinner. Just like acid brushes being made out of horse hair.
 
Lacquer thinners are a blend of sometimes many different solvents, and some blends are "hotter" than others. Here's an example of a lacquer thinner blend...

INGREDIENT(S) CAS Number % (by volume)
TOLUENE 108-88-3 43.0
ACETONE 67-64-1 23.0- 27.0
ALIPHATIC PETROLEUM DISTILLATES 64742-89-8 18.0- 22.0
METHYL ALCOHOL 67-56-1 11.0
ISOBUTYL ISOBUTYRATE 97-85-8 1.0- 3.0

Plastics in general don't holp up to some of these ingredients...especially cleaning brushes with nylon bristles. As said above, most natural bristle brushes will hold up well. If you want something that still cleans well but not quite so hot, you could try Xylol or Toluol (toluol is hotter) or even kerosene. I like Toluol as a good all-around cleaner for parts...does not flash off as quick as most lacquer thinners.
 
i tried MEK on some things and liked it. until it ate a mercedes speedometer cluster that had some paint overspray on it. destroyed the plastic shroud on it. ouch.

anybody got a stash of carbon-tet out there?
 
I tried painting my interior trim with various plastic paints and it still chipped, so I used laquer thinner to strip the paint off, amazing stuff!
 
Whoa! Guys, do NOT use such flammable compounds for parts cleaning. Over a 20 year span you WILL have a fire. Diesel fuel is a fairly safe solvent in small quantities. Laquer thinner, no way. WD-40 is a great parts cleaner for valuable mechanical and electrical parts.It will not harm plastics and is pretty safe for rubber. When using laquer thinner beware of spontaneous combustion with the rags. The flash point is way too low for safety.
 
Methalene Chloride is a great cleaner degreaser and is not explosive as a vapor. The fumes are toxic as are most of the others, however this stuff disolves so well that most of the time a good soaking and a quick brush off is all that is required. Makes short work of cosmolene too. It evaporates quicker than lacquer thinner I believe so it is good to have a covered container.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top