You just can't say enough bad things about handling acetone. It's fat soluble, so it travels right through skin into the blood. It does significant nervous system and brain damage. Fumes are quickly absorbed through the lungs or skin. Liquid is quickly absorbed through the skin. It's too dangerous for use as a cleaner like this.

Paint thinner/mineral spirits is about the limit for solvent cleaning, and even then you should wear neoprene (not latex or vinyl) gloves, plus an organic vapors respirator unless there's a great breeze blowing away from you. It turns out that just about all the organic solvents that will do a great job on the crud will also do a great job on you.

Meanwhile, most detergents will do the job eventually, given a little mechanical help with a scraper and/or a stiff parts-cleaning brush.

The spray engine cleaners, like Engine Brite, work fine on oily/greasy stuff. Downside is the cleanup after. You can't legally send the washwater down the storm sewer or the domestic sewer. Not many have a grease/sludge trap or the ability to scrub the petro stuff out of their driveway or garage-floor washdown water.

 

I thought mineral spirits was just plain old gasoline.

 

Upper block is Reynolds 390 AlSi17Cu4Mg. Lower part is called Silumin IIRR.

 

thanks Erkka

 

"Mineral Spirits" is plain old "paint thinner" from HD/Lowes/etc.

Gasoline is a definite no-no for parts cleaning. Besides all the additives that are on the carcingenic ****list, there's that little issue of fire/explosion. Maybe that's one area where acetone has an advantage over gasoline-- Big slow blue flame for acetone, much faster blue to orange flame and a possible BOOM with gasoline.

Just a reminder too-- flame inhalation is ALWAYS fatal. Flame sears all the little air sacs in the lungs, and you suffocate in minutes. Don't try this at home!

 

Marine Clean is the stuff. It is non flammable and low fumes. Do not get on skin.

 

- Just curious, what would an overabundunce of Acetone do to an Engine?

 

simple green.....non diluted......spray bottle.....hose it off

 

I keep forgetting to try this with my Jeep. They say to only use a couple of ounces per 10 gallons of gas.
http://www.pureenergysystems.com/new...00069_Acetone/

 

Hi Jim_H,
Good website.

Do you remember the 'Roundup' balloon Thread?-.... Uh-huh.

 

Wanted to post an update. The guys at the machine shop I went to recommended "Super Clean" made by Castrol. Comes in a purple bottle. Works like magic!!!! Some of the grease was so cooked on and hard that I couldn't scrape it off. Couple squirts of Super Clean, let it sit for about a minute, or brush with a toothbrush, and the cooked on oil melts right off! The oil/etc. that Simple Green (full strength) and mineral spirits couldn't get came off without any effort using Super Clean. I was told not to let it stay on the aluminum for too long or it might discolor it, so I worked small areas at a time. If I had this stuff in the first place, I would have sprayed it all over, go over it with a larger brush, then blast it with the pressure washer. Would have saved me plenty of time.

So, a big to Castrol Super Clean.

Rich

 

Super Clean is VERY strong. NEVER use it on anything that is coated. Even diluted, it ruined the clearcoat on my motorcycle wheels. It will discolor/bleach black plastic and turn it milky gray.

 

Bill is right Superclean in the garage is a DISASTER waiting to happen sooner or later someone uses it on a car and the paint is damaged ,rubber trim spotted .... really is nasty stuff. Sure the warning label states all that BUT WHO READS labels ?

 

I used superclean on Tbelt covers. Worked fine! Still are black as were supposed to I used superclean on the readiator hose, the result was not as appealing, turned greenish-greyish color. But I think they still can be used...

Klim