Does anyone know if denatured alcohol is interchangeable with other solvents? I have to spray some Zinser BIN primer but the can says I have to clean the sprayer afterwards with denatured alcohol. The sprayer is borrowed from a friend, so I don't want to experiment with it. The Borg don't seem to sell this and neither do the other local hardware stores. Maybe I will have to try a painting store.
Blair
De natured alcohol is usually just methylated spirits, which is wood alcohol with a small amount of a foul tasting additive to stop you adding it to Coca Cola.
Blair asks:
Lowe's here sells alcohol. So do drug stores, WalMart, other places. If it ain't medical alkie, it's denatured. All 'denatured' means is that a chemical to make it taste awful, or be poisonous, has been added.
Charlie Self
"The income tax has made liars out of more Americans than golf." Will Rogers
Grain alcohol, not wood alcohol. No need to denature wood alcohol, it's bad enough already.
Hi Blair, It ( denatured ethanol) is hard to come by in Canada. I buy mine from a chemical supply store for $12 a gallon. What is usually substituted for DA is methanol which is usually available at the Borgs or paint stores labeled as shellac solvent. Cheers, JG
ps- I believe that ethanol is a better solvent for shellac than methanol
Blair wrote:
Is this stuff not legal in Canada? Ask in a paint store.
I can get denatured alcohol at *any* BORG, paint store, hardware store, heck, even my local Wal*Mart, here in the US. It's usually about $9 US a gallon, more for boutique brands.
Ammonia will also nicely clean up BIN, but will attack some metals.
If you're spraying a small area, BIN comes in spray bombs.
Barry
Blair, Where do you live?
My local HD sells it by the gallon. I don't remember the brand name, but it was the rectangular metal cans - Blue colored label. Or at least used to be . . . maybe plastic now.
I use it regularly for cleaning my epoxy tools, and for minimal dilution,etc. I don't use much because I'm very careful about all solvents . . . also CHEAP.
I also know that HD also sells a number of solvents that are MUCH MORE 'hazardous' then DN Alcohol !! Just look in the 'Paint Department' where they have the 'Brush Cleaners', 'Mineral Spirits', 'Adhesive Removers', etc.
Regards & Good Luck, Ron Magen Backyard Boatshop
the other local hardware stores.
Take some of your primer and check if it is miscible with the solvent before you load the sprayer.
Not in the USA. Denatured alcohol usually refers to ethyl alcohol.
You don't need to add a denaturant to methyl alcohol. The straight quill will kill you
Get the 91% rubbing alcohol instead of the the more common 70% alcohol which has more water in it. Look in the pharmacy section. You could use grain alcohol (or even moonshine for that matter) which is more expensive. But, stay away from wood alcohol (methanol).
Not the whole story, but enough to make note of the general differences for everyday use:
Just a note that Rubbing alcohol is the weakest of the list of solvents, in other words it takes more to dissolve/remove less
You are correct but too tentative. It's quite simple. Ethyl alcohol is the drinking kind and it is heavily taxed in the USA (inedible alcohols are not taxed). The purpose of denaturing is too make ethyl alcohl inedible (not taste bad but actually poisonous). It's been a long time since I reviewed this, but there are many government approved formulas (about 80, if I remember correctly) to denature ethyl alcohol. Once it is denatured the manufacturer doesn't have to pay the alcohol tax. Methy alcohol is poisonous as are propyl, butyl etc. which are not heavily taxed. The whole pupose of denaturing is to reduce the government tax and thereby reduced the cost.
I'm not trying to be a smart-a$$, but are you sure? I found it, by the gallon, at Home Depot, Lowes and Ace Hardware. It's alongside the other solvents - mineral spirits, etc.
It looks like a permit is required to sell denatured alcohol in Canada. See:
You were Ok on 1 through 3. (Spelling error in 2)
You lost considerable credibility with item 4.
No shit? Did I not CLEARLY state "not the whole story .... "? What other "trade" was under discussion?
Gimmme a break ... are you now self appointed spell checker for the forum?
Not at all ... but _you_ did with that statement.
Under discussion was denatured alcohol used a SOLVENT. Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 1, Part 21, Section 21.35, specifies 100 gallons of ethanol to five gallons of methyl alcohol. Formula No 3A is one of the formula authorized for many, if not most, of the uses of denatured alcohol as a SOLVENT, per the discussion in this thread.
Also make note of my lead off disclaimer in my first sentence ... of course it's not the whole story, or the only formula, but some of you guys seem to expect a chemistry lesson in a discussion clearly not calling for one.
Whether they "suggest" it or not, either can be used as a solvent for shellac ... but they will take longer to dissolve the flakes, and they extend the drying time, which can be a good thing.
Methyl alcohol is nasty stuff and I prefer not to deal with it in the home shop. Isopropyl is _much_ friendlier to use as a solvent. I actually prefer
99% isopropyl for shellac, for the price, and for the extended drying time it gives ... especially when spraying.HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.