Surgical versus White Spirit

[KnifeEdge]

I use brake cleaner, sell it in Halfords.

[alistair.howie]

Wow - 2.5 hours and thirteen responses! I love this forum.

Thanks very much to all for the advice, much appreciated. If anyone has any suggested uses for 500ml of surgical spirit, do let me know

[themagician]

sergical versus white spirit

theres only one way to find out ---F- I--G--H--T---!.

[0h5h1t]

another vote for carb cleaner... I've used lighter fluid too which works well as long as you dry the bolt etc.

[SRH990]

I also use lighter fluid occasionally, got the idea from a friend of mine who plays around with mechanical watches, it's in common use to clean the watch mechanisms.

[Brian Gifford]

Pure acetone is available from a lot of independent chemists. I then use IPA after the acetone, as even pure acetone can leave residue.

[Cuppa]

Pure acetone is available from a lot of independent chemists. I than use IPA after the acetone, as even pure acetone can leave residue.

Isoprop 99.9 from maplins is the ultimate should be able to dip
whole units (lecky) in it without any probs squeaky clean!
£12ish @ltr i still reccon carb cleaners the best for general
cleaning i think its not quite as agresive as brake cleaner but
basicly the same!
also will remove stuborne gyro pads double sided mount tape
a treat
as brian said some things will leave a residue (oily film) therefor
renderinng any locktite or bonding inafective (wast of time!).

[Kozmyk]

I keep both IPA and acetone handy though I use IPA mostly.

Pure acetone is available from a lot of independent chemists. I than use IPA after the acetone, as even pure acetone can leave residue.

If your acetone is leaving a residue then it must either be impurities in the acetone or matter not removed from the job in the cleaning process. Solvents that evaporate quickly can be gone before they've completely removed the offending material.

While acetone is fine for metal cleaning it's important to keep it away from plastics as it attacks most plastics quite aggressively.
We used to use acetone for drying metal samples prepared for microscopy with no residue problems.

Isoprop 99.9 from maplins is the ultimate should be able to dip
whole units (lecky) in it without any probs squeaky clean!
£12ish @ltr

Why pay £12 to £15 /litre when you can get 99.9% IPA from Amazon for £3.99/500ml delivered?

as brian said some things will leave a residue (oily film) therefor
renderinng any locktite or bonding inafective (wast of time!).

Most Loctite threadlock is oil tolerant to some degree so minor residue after solvent cleaning should not be a problem.

[unwind-protect]

Pure acetone is available from a lot of independent chemists. I then use IPA after the acetone, as even pure acetone can leave residue.

Won't beer just make them sticky again, though?

[Jamin_00]

Carb cleaner now here too

[alistair.howie]

Thanks again, everyone - the advice is much appreciated.

[Si_B]

If your are using Isopropyl, what method do you use. Just been reading the warning on the back of the bottle and it doesn't look good to be incontact with your skin. Are people wearing gloves, or just putting a bit on a rag and wiping the bolts etc ??.

[Brian Gifford]

If your are using Isopropyl, what method do you use. Just been reading the warning on the back of the bottle and it doesn't look good to be incontact with your skin. Are people wearing gloves, or just putting a bit on a rag and wiping the bolts etc ??.

Any solvent, you should wear gloves. Stuff life IPA & acetone defat your skin - not good!

[Cuppa]

Any solvent, you should wear gloves. Stuff life IPA & acetone defat your skin - not good!

hand cream after helps to stop them going crispy!
do not inhale the fumes it will blow your head off! remember
iso prop is highly volatile!! BOOM!! don't smoke or use
near naked flame, all the above types of cleaner will
ignite redily be carefull!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jonnyheli]

I used surgical spirit and it's fine, honestly.

After I soaked a bolt in it, and dry it, the bolt is bone dry.

Also, my threadlock has always held nicely after cleaning the bolts with surgical spirits so I don't think there's a problem.

Not saying ignor what the other guys are saying, they know what they're talking about. But seeing as you have just bought 500ml of surgical, I don't see the point in wasting it when it works just fine.

Jonny