Club 80-90 Forums

Who knew this is cellulose thinners?

I thought I recognized the smell but I didn't realize until I sprayed some onto paint and the paint dissolved

My carb cleaner can here is xylene rather than cellulose thinners.

Oldiebut goodie wrote:My carb cleaner can here is xylene rather than cellulose thinners.

Chemistry never was my strong point but I'm guessing xylene dissolves cellulose or acrylic paint?

Cellulose thinners are usually acetone based. (The smell of your nail varnish as you put it on. )

Xylene has a nasty habit of dissolving plastic bits - nylon is safe but things made from polystyrene tend to suffer. When I worked at the Fisheries Laboratory in Lowestoft we had a range of plastic solvents and glue that we played with on quiet days to see what we could wreck. (in the name of research of course ) Other quiet days we would go down to the fish tanks where they were breeding fish and watch them being fed.

Ahhhhh..... the smell of xylene in the morning.

I am pleasantly surprised that my lungs are still working OK after over sixty years of what our next door neighbour in the early days described as messing about with stuff in bottles due to the various smells, smoke screens and mysteriously damaged surfaces which resulted from my curious activities as a lad. I am now a bit more careful and now practice H & S activities like wearing a mask when spraying, safety goggles when machining and first time switching on of new projects, repairs etc. remotely or from behind a solid barrier. I am also an albeit late starter in the practice of RTFM (read the flipping manual) and - back on topic - use IPA (isopropyl alcohol not the booze) to clean plastic surfaces as this is safe on most surfaces.
CS

I think surgical spirit is isopropyl alcohol.

always cleaned up engine parts with carb cleaner but never a painted part before

itchyfeet wrote:I think surgical spirit is isopropyl alcohol.

always cleaned up engine parts with carb cleaner but never a painted part before

Well I am not too sure about that itchyfeet. I could be wrong but in my on board smell library I have surgical spirit in the "Smells like Double Bubble chewing gum" section. My reminder clue is that my mates parents used to keep a bottle of surgical spirit on the bathroom window sill and caused a wry smile on my part every time I used the bathroom as the two S's were abraded away and it spelled urgical pirit . But maybe someone knows.

CS

^^^^ you are right just checked a bottle 95% industrial meths