acetone substitute

just regular white vinegar? It works?

 

Oh yes - you can often buy "Cleaning Vinegar", which is really cheap, but the standard cooking vinegar is fine too ( just clear it with the cook first, and dont leave grubby prints on the bottle when you return it to the kitchen )

 

It was a big company with 240 workers and lots happening . 24 LAMINATORS AND turned out boats and other industrial glass work as well .

 

Bio-Solv from MAS epoxies is an acetone substitute.

 

Read in System Three Literature, that they would rather people used laquer thinner to clean and prep with rather than acetone. I had some quickfair that didn't kick so the area was cleaned up with acetone. After it dried we reapplied quickfair which discolered after it dried--purple color. Went through this one time later in the build and used the laquer thinner, no bleed thru, looked good. System Three stated that most acetone was reclaimed and had contaminants in it.

 

Theres a thought - I ignored the 'surface prep' part of the original question - but I wonder how vinegar would work in that situation ?

You would have to be pretty desperate to use it for that, but maybe its worth a test for future generations ?

I read a lot of 'doomsday' reports on the use of Acetone in these forums, but if you look at the actual spec sheets and related studies, its nowhere near as deadly as some people portray it.

 

On the contrary rwatson, acetone is one of the safest solvents, used in nail polish and remover for many decades without any health issues.
The human body can actually produce similar chemicals belonging to the "ketone" group if people are on a crash diet to loose weight and eat only proteins and fat (Atkins).

 

... and which cause nausea and lead to kidney and liver problems.

You can actually smell from peoples breath if they produce ketones. (acetone-like smell). My wife ended up in hospital after not being able to keep food inside for days after days. (pregnancy). The ketones do not help in that respect.

Acetone is available in several types, including recycled and "chemically pure" which at least does mean that only a very small amount of impurities can be found (mostly water, as acetone is hygroscopic).
The chemically pure, although sligthly more expensive, is the prefered option for composites.
A lot of companies have a recycling unit for acetone. Be careful with that, both for quality reasons, especially when using both epoxy and polyester, but also from a safety point of view. Make sure you install such a unit in a place where it does little harm if things go wrong.

 

CDK - Whats this On The Contrary ???

If you read my comment carefully, you would see I was saying that Acetone WAS safer than portrayed.ie. " but if you look at the actual spec sheets and related studies, its nowhere near as deadly as some people portray it."

I am concerned that your incorrect interpretation may confuse others.

Herman - your point is well taken, but your comments also have the potential to confuse about Acetone eg "and which cause nausea and lead to kidney and liver problems" - a quick perusal by a casual reader may give the false impression that Acetone is linked to these conditions in normal, careful use.

Once again, for current and future readers, the careful use of Acetone has not been linked to any serious health issues.

I hope that is eminently clear now.

 

Still acetone is doing something: Many workers in the polyester industry have withdrawal problems when they cannot sniff their daily dose of acetone. Same effects as when quitting smoking. (bad temper, restless, etc)

Anyhow, be careful when using it. At least acetone is not as dangerous as for instance MEK, Methylene Chloride, MEKP, Toluene, etc.

 

As opposed to "doomsday reports", nothing else.

But I admit I could have phrased it better.

 

Wow - great insight Herman. Thanks for the info on 'secondary effects' - its something I would not have been aware of, and I used to 'looove' the smell of nail varnish remover.

Indeed, I will be extra careful.

 

Yup, its easy to do, words can take on so many changes between the brain and the fingers.

I would just hate to think that there were any mistakes on the Internet

 

"On the contrary my dear Watson" is a much used phrase from Arthur Canon Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes......

 

Yes indeed -

and also

Holmes confesses: "I made a blunder, my dear Watson—which is, I am afraid, a more common occurrence than anyone would think who only knew me through your memoirs."