Carburetor Cleaner

[Sonny Black]

I agree, Lacquer thinner for cleaning parts like carb, etc. work great.

 

[YY1]

I'm lovin that sander/bucket "ultasonic" setup.

I always challenge people to hold sanders by the sandpaper side, turn them on, and see how long they can hold it.

The vibrations usually cause their hand to imeadiately turn upside down and release the sander as if they have no control.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Well I picked up some degreaser today. Got home emptied my old carburetor cleaner, rinsed the bucket out good and got all the crud off the bottom. Dumped in one gallon of degreaser and noticed an immediate puddle on the floor. The crud in the bottom was coverin up a rust hole. I swear, if it's bad luck I'm gonna have it.

 

[benno440]

NEK MINNIT............. Mad scientist RustyRatRod wont be down for breakfast lol

 

[daredevil]

NEK MINNIT............. Mad scientist RustyRatRod wont be down for breakfast lol

thats lol funny

 

[HT413]

Well I picked up some degreaser today. Got home emptied my old carburetor cleaner, rinsed the bucket out good and got all the crud off the bottom. Dumped in one gallon of degreaser and noticed an immediate puddle on the floor. The crud in the bottom was coverin up a rust hole. I swear, if it's bad luck I'm gonna have it.

Well after berating the old degreaser for a good week, looks like it had the last laugh.

 

[Cranky]

Yeah, my Safety Clean barrel got a small rust hole in it too.....used a heavy duty black garbage bag as a liner and so far so good but I did put a piece of metal over the hole first.

I worked in a refinery for over 25 years and saw plenty of guys using MEK (and other chem products) to clean their hands and tools. Some of them are no longer coming down for breakfast...

 

[RustyRatRod]

Well I went with a non MEK and non sodium chloride based cleaner this time. I'm hoping with heat it will do a good job.

 

[HT413]

Yeah, my Safety Clean barrel got a small rust hole in it too.....used a heavy duty black garbage bag as a liner and so far so good but I did put a piece of metal over the hole first.

I worked in a refinery for over 25 years and saw plenty of guys using MEK (and other chem products) to clean their hands and tools. Some of them are no longer coming down for breakfast...

Not saying it's a good idea to wash your hands with it, but neither MEK nor acetone have been labeled as cancer causers. In fact, MEK is the active ingredient in non-acetone nail polish remover here in NJ and is available in any store that carries that sort of thing. I'm only sayin it so guys who use it dont freakout lol.

 

[Cranky]

Not saying it's a good idea to wash your hands with it, but neither MEK nor acetone have been labeled as cancer causers. In fact, MEK is the active ingredient in non-acetone nail polish remover here in NJ and is available in any store that carries that sort of thing. I'm only sayin it so guys who use it dont freakout lol.

Right but it's not exactly harmless either and shouldn't be used frequently as an everyday cleaning agent without protecting your skin or lungs. Don't know how much of it is in NA nail polish but even if it was 100%, I would think you are still dealing with a very small amount. Phenol is another product that is used in many 'finished' products we use like Campho Phenique. That stuff smells exactly like the chemical does but there's only like 1% (I think less) phenol in it. Phenol is a very deadly chemical and we were not even allowed into the unit without wearing a full slicker suit, rubber gloves and face shield....and that was just to walk through the unit. One drop of 100% phenol on the skin will burn a nice size hole in you and working on any equipment required using breathing air along with the slicker suit. It sucked working in that unit in the summer time here. The rules even changed when taking a MEK sample. You had to wear a respirator for that even.
Here's an EPA fact sheet on MEK. http://www.epa.gov/chemfact/f_mek.txt One of the things in the fact sheet says: Laboratory studies show that exposure to large amounts of MEK in air causes animals to give birth to smaller offspring.
Studies also show that repeat exposure to large amounts of MEK in air causes adverse liver and kidney effects in animals.

How much is 'large amounts'? I dunno but I don't use anything anymore without at least using protective gloves. Heck, even Varsol burns my hands these days if I don't wear gloves and it didn't do that when I was younger. You have to think about any kind of a solvent that dissolves grease and oil will do the same to the oils on your skin and then it will be much easier to enter your pores and your body. Being exposed to something even mildly hazardous over short term usually isn't a problem but over a period of years is what you need to worry about. Also, MEK is highly flammable in both vapor and liquid state so to me, it's not a good choice as a parts cleaner.

 

[D575]

I used to take home 111 solvent in 5 gallon cans that was good stuff.

 

[Cranky]

I used to take home 111 solvent in 5 gallon cans that was good stuff.

111-trichloroethane....yeah, we used the snot out of that stuff at work but they finally took it off the store house selves lol. Good stuff and very fast drying but it too has some exposure problems if too much...
Symptoms of acute exposure to l, l, l-trichloroethane include dizziness, incoordination, and drowsiness. It has been subject to a carcinogenesis bioassay by NCI and found not to be carcinogenic (2). However, chronic, low-level exposure to l, l, l-trichloroethane has been found to cause decreased memory and impairment of the central nervous system (3).

http://www.pactox.com/library/article.php?articleID=26

 

[67 coronet]

i just tried the new wd40 rust remover soak and it worked prety dam good.not sure if bad for aluminum or zinc since i already tossed the jug.

 

[D575]

111-trichloroethane....yeah, we used the snot out of that stuff at work but they finally took it off the store house selves lol. Good stuff and very fast drying but it too has some exposure problems if too much...
Symptoms of acute exposure to l, l, l-trichloroethane include dizziness, incoordination, and drowsiness. It has been subject to a carcinogenesis bioassay by NCI and found not to be carcinogenic (2). However, chronic, low-level exposure to l, l, l-trichloroethane has been found to cause decreased memory and impairment of the central nervous system (3).



http://www.pactox.com/library/article.php?articleID=26

Well, I guess that explains my memory problem.

 

[satman72]

111-trichloroethane....yeah, we used the snot out of that stuff at work but they finally took it off the store house selves lol. Good stuff and very fast drying but it too has some exposure problems if too much...
Symptoms of acute exposure to l, l, l-trichloroethane include dizziness, incoordination, and drowsiness. It has been subject to a carcinogenesis bioassay by NCI and found not to be carcinogenic (2). However, chronic, low-level exposure to l, l, l-trichloroethane has been found to cause decreased memory and impairment of the central nervous system (3).

http://www.pactox.com/library/article.php?articleID=26

Sounds like the beer I drink!:sad4: