TheSamba.com :: View topic - Can I soak parts in sterlite plastic box and denatured alcoh

Sat Jan 16, 2016 9:58 am

So im looking to do a quick dunk for my heat exhangers and exhaust in a 40g Plastic storage tank with denatured alcohol, Im concerned that the solvent may damage the plastic bin but am not sure... anyone know if its safe to do?

Sat Jan 16, 2016 10:08 am

I'm not a chemist but it would seem to be ok. Rubbing alcohol comes in plastic jars, gasoline "cans" are plastic. Not sure if the type of plastic matters? Or you could buy one of those oblong metal tubs from WalMart or a hardware/supply store... my two cents!

Sat Jan 16, 2016 10:09 am

yea I dont think it would either but ive never tried it so wanted to double check...

Sat Jan 16, 2016 10:27 am

It wont hurt most polyethylene or polypropylene. ...but denatured alcohol is pretty worthless as a solvent for most baked grease and motor oil. Most alcohols in general are pretty weak unless they are blended.....wont get into that...too long.

Use mineral spirits. Even detergents are better in this case than the alcohol but the water with the detergent needs to be as hot as possible.
Ray

Sat Jan 16, 2016 10:29 am

alright ill use the mineral spirits, thanks very much.

Sat Jan 16, 2016 10:40 am

raygreenwood wrote: Most alcohols in general are pretty weak unless they are blended.....wont get into that...too long.

Ray

Oh come on Ray, do tell....

Sat Jan 16, 2016 10:40 am

ive heard vinegar, baking soda, and water do the trick too, might have to give it a shot

Sat Jan 16, 2016 10:53 am

richparker wrote: raygreenwood wrote: Most alcohols in general are pretty weak unless they are blended.....wont get into that...too long.

Ray

Oh come on Ray, do tell....

I prefer my alcohols neat, and my parts cleaned with mineral spirits then a HOT soapy water scrub, then a thorough HOT water rinse.

8)

Robbie

Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:11 am

asiab3 wrote: richparker wrote: raygreenwood wrote: Most alcohols in general are pretty weak unless they are blended.....wont get into that...too long.

Ray

Oh come on Ray, do tell....

I prefer my alcohols neat, and my parts cleaned with mineral spirits then a HOT soapy water scrub, then a thorough HOT water rinse.

8)

Robbie

So.....to be specific......you dump the parts in the solvent....do a few shots....and then jump into a hot shower and actually use soap......works for me.....but I usually wash up after I sober up and pull the parts out..... :lol:
Ray

Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:17 am

years ago I had a diving watch that leaked on a dive. The standing practice at the time was to pop the back off and soak it in isopropyl alcohol until it could get to a watch repairman. Today the standard practice is mineral oil. All the plastic parts in the watch including parts in the watch face instantly turned to cloudy and crazed over. You can pour a little in a small corner of the bin with it on its side and see what it does. At least the damage will be minimal if it causes an issue. Some plastics are safe and some are not. Most containers of denatured alcohol that I have ever purchased are in metal containers.

Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:17 am

how many threads do we need?

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=646085

super clean the hell out of them, pressure wash them and be done with it.

or buy 6 cases of carb clean and get an air gun.

yes, everything will stink when you hit the key. let it burn off and hook the heat back up. good golly.....

or, bring all your nasty shit to a machine shop and have them throw it in their jet washer.

or just try everything under the sun to try and clean them. work smarter, not harder....

Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:23 am

mlesniak wrote: ive heard vinegar, baking soda, and water do the trick too, might have to give it a shot

Mmm....no. This is not a greasy stove or lasagne pan.

The problem people have is thinking that oil is oil and grease is grease. I have this problem with many of the plants I go into. Many industrial and commercial printing inks are oil/solvent based.....but not in formulations or bases that are in any way similar to automotive oils and greases.

Managers get cheap and buy Go-jo hand cleaner for their crew.....and wonder why it never gets used and generally gets thrown away......and another hand cleaner mysteriously appears. Its because the formulations that work on automotive grease and oils....will not even touch the products these guys are using. ....and their hand cleaners are specific ....and wont even touch automotive greases and oils.

Different chemistry.

There are some formulations of alcohols that will work well on baked on motor oil......things like N-butyl-alcohol......and you wont find it anywhere but an industrial solvent supply.....for about $30 a gallon. Its also greasy.....and has a very high evaporation temperature. You would need to re-rinse your parts in something like mineral spirits and then blow them dry.

Mineral spirits with a detergent booster......like dedicated parts wash works best.....and is not cheap.....and will dissolve nitrile gloves in three minutes (use butyl gloves).

I am now using classic kerosene and gunk parts was concentrate (add 1 gallon of Gunk to to gallons of Kerosene).....its a little slower than my nasty mineral spirits parts wash I just recycled last month.....but not nearly as toxic or smelly or flammable. Ray

Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:32 am

FYI for the non chemists out there and those who do not clean their kitchens etc.

Vinegar = acid
Baking Soda = base

Acid plus base = salt of some kind and lots of foaming when gases are released. That combination above would foam like heck as the two neutralized each other and release lots of CO2.

If you want to release grease, ammonia works well if you soak it for a day or two, or even sit it in a big plastic bag with a couple cups of ammonia in it. Just like you would clean a BBQ grill. The only caveat is there appears to be a layer of asbestos fabric in the heat exchangers that I would be careful with. If you damage it and make it friable you will breathe that stuff.

Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:35 am

yea sorry, shouldve posted under the existing thread, my bad

ive already soaked in degreaser and it got alot off, im going to skip the alcohol idea since i did do the degreasing, and im just gonna soak it in a hot bath of vinegar and baking soda to see how it works as a secondary cleanup.

Thanks for the input, definitely learned somethin :wink:

Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:36 am

SGKent wrote: years ago I had a diving watch that leaked on a dive. The standing practice at the time was to pop the back off and soak it in isopropyl alcohol until it could get to a watch repairman. Today the standard practice is mineral spirits. All the plastic parts in the watch including parts in the watch face instantly turned to cloudy and crazed over. You can pour a little in a small corner of the bin with it on its side and see what it does. At least the damage will be minimal if it causes an issue. Some plastics are safe and some are not. Most containers of denatured alcohol that I have ever purchased are in metal containers.

Well of course the plastics in your watch turned cloudy......there have never been any hard parts in any watch or clock made of polyethylene or polypropylene. .....both non -machineable thermoplastics designed to be highly chemical resistant.

Most watch crystals in my lifetime that were not quartz or synthetic saphire are polycarbonate. Polycarbonate gets attacked by many chemicals.

The original poster noted that he wants to wash in a Sterilite tub....all of which are polyethylene, uhmw or polypropylene.....all of which have few if any solvent or alcohol issues.

By the way. ...denatured alcohol 20-30 years ago used to mean something speciific......90% ethanol and 10% methanol. Pretty weak.....but fine for something like....watch oil....clock oil or brake fluid.

Modern denatured alcohols have numerous added products ranging MEK, Acetone, MIBK, methanol etc......to boost cleaning power. ....and would definitely screw up the polycarbonate of watch crystals.

Denatured alcohols and most alcohols are simply in a metal conainer for puncture and fire safety. I buy alcohols ranging from 99% isopropyl to pure methanol in 5 gal, 30 gallon and 55 gallon poly drums. The metal container has nothing to do with the alcohol.

Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:38 am

mlesniak wrote: yea sorry, shouldve posted under the existing thread, my bad

ive already soaked in degreaser and it got alot off, im going to skip the alcohol idea since i did do the degreasing, and im just gonna soak it in a hot bath of vinegar and baking soda to see how it works as a secondary cleanup.

They will simply cancel each other as a cleaner.

Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:45 am

SGKent wrote: mlesniak wrote: yea sorry, shouldve posted under the existing thread, my bad

ive already soaked in degreaser and it got alot off, im going to skip the alcohol idea since i did do the degreasing, and im just gonna soak it in a hot bath of vinegar and baking soda to see how it works as a secondary cleanup.

:lol: going to need those goggles! Ray

Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:53 am

hahaha! sure as hell fizzed a lot

Sat Jan 16, 2016 7:05 pm

Be careful,vinegar will dissolve alum.

Sun Jan 17, 2016 10:13 am

rele? huh it was a quick dunk, the parts are unharmed