do any drugstore chains still sell lighter fluid? I asked at CVS yesterday and they recommended a tobacconist's, but I'm guessing that's a waste of time, as wouldn't someone who likes good cigars/pipe tobacco be using wood matches rather than a Zippo?
I'd really just like to have some for cleaning small stains in upholstery, but it seems quite hard to find. And I'm guessing that it can't be mail ordered :)
nate
FWIW, Here is one site that ships via UPS
You could also use naptha paint thinner. Essentially the same stuff.
Any hardware store will carry it.
R
they changed the formulation to "reduce odor & lessen possible skin irritation", at least that's the party line, who knows? maybe the EPA or air pollution considerations
you could try various naphthas, which are the "catch all name" for a general group of different flammable liquid mixtures of hydrocarbons
lighter ones (lower molecular weight / density) are probably what you want....lighter fluids being towards the lighter end and hopefully with the fewest impurities
cheers Bob
Mineral spirits
Frank wrote in news:gu71ng$v8f$3 @news.motzarella.org:
It's exactly the same as naptha. Look at the contents of a container of lighter fluid - Contents: naptha.
walmart
My local hardware store told me to try CVS. CVS told me to try the hardware store. I left neither with lighter fluid in my possession.
nate
Go back to the hardware store and ask them for naphtha. It's the same thing.
I have a small collection of Zippo lighters. Check out the site for a location near you.
Yeah, but not all naptha is the same chemically. Naptha isn't a single pure substance; it's a soup of several different hydrocarbons that all have relatively low boiling points, and come off the distillation column in the refinery near each other. If you're just going to burn it, it's probably all pretty much equivalent, but if you're using it as a solvent, you may care what it is chemically.
My own experience is that "lighter fluid" naptha and "paint thinner" naptha are both pretty good are removing the adhesive from sticky labels, while not attacking most plastics (at least over the span of a minute or so). While "camping fuel" naptha is a lot more aggressive at dissolving some plastics; I don't recommend it for sticky labels.
When I'm doing something particularly sensitive to contamination, like cleaning gunk off a lens when water plus detergent (lens cleaner) and alcohol won't touch it, I tend to use Ronsonol lighter fluid. It evaporates with no residue.
You can often buy Xylene from the same shelves as generic "paint thinner", and that's a well-defined single chemical compound no matter who makes it. But it's a pretty strong solvent, and has a strong smell too, so I avoid it when I can.
Dave
snipped-for-privacy@cs.ubc.ca (Dave Martindale) wrote in news:gu8drr$tur$ snipped-for-privacy@swain.cs.ubc.ca:
Long winded version of exactly what you quoted. It's f'n lighter fluid.
If all else fails...try Coleman stove fuel. But be REAL carefull!!!
I always got it at the grocery store. Making a trip there today and will look to see if things related to smoking have changed that much. Of course the old type lighters using that stuff are probably getting pretty rare as the butane ones are so much more convenient.
I would also suspect that barbecue starter fluid is probably the same stuff.
Harry K
Supermarkets also sell it - look in the vicinity of the cigarettes.
Despite what others have suggested (hardware stores, supermarkets, etc) I too have been finding it harder and harder to find Zippo and Rosignol (sp?) in my area. I tried a tobacco shop and the price was ridiculous, especially for the amounts I use.
My last purchase was from the following site. Any order of three or more 12oz cans, including shipping, gets the per-ounce price below anything I can find locally - and I don't have to drive all over town. I'm ready to place my next order...
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