What is a good alternative to isopropyl alcohol for cleaning steppers, switches and the like? I can't find any in stores yet since it's all, apparently, being used for hand sanitizer
What is a good alternative to isopropyl alcohol for cleaning steppers, switches and the like? I can't find any in stores yet since it's all, apparently, being used for hand sanitizer
Probably naphtha. Just ventilate the working area and don't smoke/burn anything near it.
I thought all our Walgreens here in Chicago would have iso again by now as we've had real hand sanitizer readily available for a good two months.
I use lighter fluid (or Naptha). It gets the grease/gunk off quickly. Just be careful, it's flammable.
Alcohol is good for cleaning grit, grime, soot, etc. but struggles with grease and other lubricants because it doesn't really dissolve them. Petroleum based solvents are much better at dissolving and cleaning away grease. I like mineral spirits for cleaning greasy things because it's less volatile and has a longer working time so you end up breathing in less. It's also not as hazardous or flammable as some of the others.
/Mark
I'd second Mark's suggestion of mineral spirits - I've used it several times recently on gunked-up steppers, and it gets rid of the old dirty grease quickly.
If you have an Ace Hardware near you, check their paint department. Ours got the 99% isopropyl back in stock a week or so ago.
Struck out at Dollar General and Ace Hardware, but lo and behold our local Sam's had it in stock finally!
The guy at the hardware store recommended “denatured alcohol” for cleaning a Playfield. I thought it made sense since I thought I remembered someone saying that other products had diamatecious earth which gets rubbed into the cracks. I figured “denatured” probably meant it did not have any of the “earth” in it. Not sure if that matters though for cleaning the electronics.
Quoted from tyking:The guy at the hardware store recommended “denatured alcohol” for cleaning a Playfield. I thought it made sense since I thought I remembered someone saying that other products had diamatecious earth which gets rubbed into the cracks. I figured “denatured” probably meant it did not have any of the “earth” in it. Not sure if that matters though for cleaning the electronics.
Denature alcohol is ethanol that has additives so it can't be ingested. Many poisonous solvents can be added but usually methanol. I wouldn't use this on a playfield (or at all). The vapors from methanol are extremely dangerous and also can be readily absorbed through the skin.
Quoted from radium:Just use hand sanitizer!
You know, our company has actually been selling 80% alcohol sanitizer, think we have like 1000 gallons still. I'm going to try it on my next project!
Quoted from timtim:Everclear if you can get the 190 proof.
Or if the liquor store is sold out of Everclear (mine was in the early pandemic days) look for Spirytus Rektyfikowany, aka Polish rectified spirits, which I've seen in both 190 and 192 proof (95 or 96 percent ethanol).
polish-rectified-spirit-spirytus.jpg
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