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No. Nonononononononononononononononononono. Nope. Negative. No way.
Methanol is way bad. It is extremely volatile. This is a plus for a fast-drying evaporative solvent, and a huge minus if the stuff is poisonous. Why? It's easily inhaled, and absorbed through mucous membranes. What's that? Your nose, your eyes, and to some extent, your skin. It is dangerous to your optic nerve. YOU DON'T HAVE TO DRINK IT FOR IT TO SEVERELY EFF YOU UP. Yes, I was screaming just then.
Do not use the terms methanol and benign without in intervening not. And comparing it to other nasty solvents in the shop is meaningless. It's bad shit all on its own. Period.
Methanol is my last choice as a denaturant for ethyl alcohol. There are other lower alchols which are *less* (and they are by no means benign) poisonous than methanol. Butyl and isopropyl alcohols come to mind.
As a big galoot who has done a good number of projects in shellac (thinned by alcohol), I go out of my way to find denatured alcohol which contains no methanol. I also try to avoid benzene and MEK as much as possible as well. When you buy a solvent, insist on seeing the MSDS on it.
No matter what alcohol you use, make sure you have a well-ventilated environment, and if that isn't possible, wear a respirator certified for VOC's (volatile organic compounds).
Hell, even ethyl alcohol is hardly benign. If you get enough in you (no, you don't have to drink it), it's deadly as well.
Give solvents the respect they deserve, or find yourself dead or with brain damage. Well, for some of us, with even *more* brain damage.
O'Deen