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John Ackerman
Joined: 19 Jun 2006
Posts: 130
Location: Prescott, AZ
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 Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 6:02 pm Post subject: Solvents. Was:Favorite greasy belly cleaner ? |
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| Quote: | | Do you guys have a favorite cleaner for the "greasy belly" ? I've heard ofthe Stoddard cleaner which is supposed to be pretty evil stuff... |
Generally, organic solvents are to be treated with considerable respect. i.e. Don't breathe them. Don't get them on your skin. Some are _relatively_ innocuous, like ethanol. Some are downright dangerous, like benzene, acetonitrile, and a whole long list of others. However, _as_organic_solvents_go_, Stoddard solvent does not strike me as too bad. It's a lot like naphtha paint thinner, but it evaporates and flashes (catches fire) at a higher temperature and hence is much safer to use inside buildings. Chemically, it's a mixture of relatively non-reactive hydrocarbons. Ten to twenty percent of those hydrocarbons are aromatic (related to benzene and toluene, etc.), though, and that might reasonably cause some worry, especially about increasing the likelihood of contracting cancer. A quick and superficial Google search shows up several sites that appear to say there's no evidence for increased cancer risk due to Stoddard solvent exposure. Maybe. caveat emptor. Because of fire danger, it's a whole lot safer than using gasoline; similar to kerosene, I'd say. On the whole, it's good stuff, used properly.
If we use solvents, (and, practically speaking, we must) we need each to set our own standards for exposure limits.
There are OSHA limits that are useful in assessing comparative toxicity, but who can measure 1 ppm of something in the shop air? Not me!
Flammability is pretty well known for most solvents. Your insurance company probably won't approve of most of them for fire reasons.
As a used-to-be chemist, and a cancer survivor (probably caused by solvents, so they thought at the time) here are some personal standards. YMMV. It's worth your effort to establish your own. I'm not suggesting these are even acceptable. Disclaim, disclaim. I have no connection to anybody selling solvents except to occasionally buy some at the hardware store.
1. Use gloves every time you handle solvents, except maybe a quick alcohol wipe. That's triple true for epoxy work. I prefer nitrile gloves because they slow down most solvents better than other kinds of gloves that let you retain some finger sensitivity and dexterity. I think latex is next to useless against the solvents we use.
2. Don't use acetone, MEK, oil and grease remover or lacquer thinner indoors if you can help it. If you must spray paint indoors, open the garage doors. Outdoors, keep your snoot away from the vapors and your skin away from the liquids.
3. _Do not_use gasoline as a solvent indoors, and only very reluctantly outdoors. Get some Stoddard solvent if you're tempted to use gasoline. Acetone is a serious fire hazard to, as are many organic solvents.
4. A well-fitted (yes, fitted) respirator with a fresh activated carbon cartridge is very good at cutting solvent exposure, but completely impractical for me because of the difficulty of knowing the cartridge is effective. I have a supplied-air respirator which is much more practical and probably more effective, used correctly. I seldom use either.
5. Wipe up spills immediately, and put solvent-wetted paper towels where you don't breathe the vapors - outside mostly, sometimes in a closed container.
Others have posted about Simple Green- the danger in the ordinary kind is that it contains a chemical base, and will thus expose aluminum to attack by dissolving its protective oxide layer. Even painted aluminum will have cracks in the paint, and liquids will pretty much all wick into cracks and crevices to do their nasty deeds and will be reluctant to come back out. The reformulated stuff is allegedly free of the problem.
On Dec 18, 2007, at 3:35 PM, Gerry Filby wrote:
[quote]--> RV10-List message posted by: "Gerry Filby" <gerf(at)gerf.com (gerf(at)gerf.com)>
(Its a little off topic since it relates to my RV-9)
Do you guys have a favorite cleaner for the "greasy belly" ? I've heard of
the Stoddard cleaner which is supposed to be pretty evil stuff. Simple
Green apparently has issues if used on bare aluminum. There's such a range
of products on Spruce that I don't know where to start ...
Gerry
http://www.n747wg.com
(Haven't opened the box yet.)
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GenGrumpy(at)aol.com
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| Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 6:34 pm Post subject: Solvents. Was:Favorite greasy belly cleaner ? |
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There is a Simple Green Aviation formula that you can get in concentrated form, then dilute for the task at hand.
It cuts grease well and does not harm aluminum. Got mine thru Spruce, although you can order it elsewhere.
grumpy
DO NOT ARCHIVE
In a message dated 12/18/2007 8:10:41 P.M. Central Standard Time, johnag5b(at)cableone.net writes:
| Quote: | | Quote: | | Do you guys have a favorite cleaner for the "greasy belly" ? I've heard ofthe Stoddard cleaner which is supposed to be pretty evil stuff... |
Generally, organic solvents are to be treated with considerable respect. i.e. Don't breathe them. Don't get them on your skin. Some are _relatively_ innocuous, like ethanol. Some are downright dangerous, like benzene, acetonitrile, and a whole long list of others. However, _as_organic_solvents_go_, Stoddard solvent does not strike me as too bad. It's a lot like naphtha paint thinner, but it evaporates and flashes (catches fire) at a higher temperature and hence is much safer to use inside buildings. Chemically, it's a mixture of relatively non-reactive hydrocarbons. Ten to twenty percent of those hydrocarbons are aromatic (related to benzene and toluene, etc.), though, and that might reasonably cause some worry, especially about increasing the likelihood of contracting cancer. A quick and superficial Google search shows up several sites that appear to say there's no evidence for increased cancer risk due to Stoddard solvent exposure. Maybe. caveat emptor. Because of fire danger, it's a whole lot safer than using gasoline; similar to kerosene, I'd say. On the whole, it's good stuff, used properly.
If we use solvents, (and, practically speaking, we must) we need each to set our own standards for exposure limits.
There are OSHA limits that are useful in assessing comparative toxicity, but who can measure 1 ppm of something in the shop air? Not me!
Flammability is pretty well known for most solvents. Your insurance company probably won't approve of most of them for fire reasons.
As a used-to-be chemist, and a cancer survivor (probably caused by solvents, so they thought at the time) here are some personal standards. YMMV. It's worth your effort to establish your own. I'm not suggesting these are even acceptable. Disclaim, disclaim. I have no connection to anybody selling solvents except to occasionally buy some at the hardware store.
1. Use gloves every time you handle solvents, except maybe a quick alcohol wipe. That's triple true for epoxy work. I prefer nitrile gloves because they slow down most solvents better than other kinds of gloves that let you retain some finger sensitivity and dexterity. I think latex is next to useless against the solvents we use.
2. Don't use acetone, MEK, oil and grease remover or lacquer thinner indoors if you can help it. If you must spray paint indoors, open the garage doors. Outdoors, keep your snoot away from the vapors and your skin away from the liquids.
3. _Do not_use gasoline as a solvent indoors, and only very reluctantly outdoors. Get some Stoddard solvent if you're tempted to use gasoline. Acetone is a serious fire hazard to, as are many organic solvents.
4. A well-fitted (yes, fitted) respirator with a fresh activated carbon cartridge is very good at cutting solvent exposure, but completely impractical for me because of the difficulty of knowing the cartridge is effective. I have a supplied-air respirator which is much more practical and probably more effective, used correctly. I seldom use either.
5. Wipe up spills immediately, and put solvent-wetted paper towels where you don't breathe the vapors - outside mostly, sometimes in a closed container.
Others have posted about Simple Green- the danger in the ordinary kind is that it contains a chemical base, and will thus expose aluminum to attack by dissolving its protective oxide layer. Even painted aluminum will have cracks in the paint, and liquids will pretty much all wick into cracks and crevices to do their nasty deeds and will be reluctant to come back out. The reformulated stuff is allegedly free of the problem.
On Dec 18, 2007, at 3:35 PM, Gerry Filby wrote:
| Quote: | --> RV10-List message posted by: "Gerry Filby" <gerf(at)gerf.com (gerf(at)gerf.com)>
(Its a little off topic since it relates to my RV-9)
Do you guys have a favorite cleaner for the "greasy belly" ? I've heard of
the Stoddard cleaner which is supposed to be pretty evil stuff. Simple
Green apparently has issues if used on bare aluminum. There's such a range
of products on Spruce that I don't know where to start ...
Gerry
http://www.n747wg.com
(Haven't opened the box yet.)
(And Get Some AWESOME FREE Gifts!)
November is the Annual List Fund Raiser. Click on
this year's Terrific Free Incentive Gifts!
List Contribution Web Site:
--> http://www.matronics.com/contribution
Thank you for your generous support!
-Matt Dralle, List Admin.
- The RV10-List Email Forum -
--> http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?RV10-List
- MATRONICS WEB FORUMS -
--> http://forums.matronics.com
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?RV10-List eb href="http://forums.matronics.com/">http://forums.matronics.com ============ [/b]
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