65 General purpose solvents that are generally mild and easy and effectiveto use
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This article is from the Antique Radios And Phonographs FAQ, by Hank van Cleef vancleef@netcom with numerous contributions by others.
65 General purpose solvents that are generally mild and easy and effectiveto use
1. Water, with or without soap. Water is actually the most universal
solvent. A little bit of soap or detergent will increase its ability to
wet the surface. More soap will make an alkaline solution. Safe on
most things, but may dissolve inks used on dial markings, and should be
used with care around electronic components, particularly iron core
chokes and transformers. One of the better detergents to use is a
generic-type dishwashing detergent such as Octagon brand.
2. Household ammonia. This should be the clear non-sudsing type, with
no additives like lemon sent. Straight ammonia is a strong alkali, and
will dissolve shellac very quickly. A mild ammonia solution generally
does a good job of dissolving dirt on painted and metal surfaces. A
plain ammonia solution without additives will dry without leaving a
residue, and may be preferable to a soap/detergent solution for many
applications where a thorough water rinse is not used.
3. 3M adhesive cleaner (an automotive product). This is a petroleum
product sold for removing adhesive residue, road oil, etc. from
automobile painted surfaces. It is safe on most plastics. Excellent
for removing the residue left by old masking tape, cellophane tape, and
removing adhesive labels and their residue. It's made by the principal
makers of several adhesives, so is formulated for removing residues from
their adhesive products.
4. Isopropyl alcohol. Generally sold as "rubbing alcohol." This is an
alcohol/water mix, and sold in various concentrations. What I use is a
70% solution. Alcohol will attack marking inks and painted surfaces,
but will sometimes cut adhesives and things like chewing gum that the 3M
products have difficulty with.
5. Diesel fuel. Excellent for dissolving petrified lubricants and
other petroleum products. It is not as quick as gasoline for this
purpose, but has the advantages of being much less flammable, and leaves
an oily coat in the part surface for several weeks, which will protect
against immediate rusting. Generally safe with plastics and slow to
attack painted surfaces. Diesel fuel is an excellent choice for
cleaning spring phono motor parts.
All of the above are fairly safe and easy to handle. Except for soap
solutions, all have distinctive odors. Ammonia generally requires
ventilation or outdoor use, and diesel fuel leaves a strong "perfume"
that is very slow to dissipate.
Noxious and violent chemicals that are excellent for some controlled
applications. All of these require care and precaution in use and
handling, and present serious safety hazards if not used properly.
1. Automotive lacquer thinner. This stuff will cut right through many
things. It is also extremely flammable. Excellent for cleaning
petroleum and oily residues off metal parts to leave them absolutely
clean. Cuts almost all thermoplastics instantly, and will damage paint
surfaces. Removes most marking inks very quickly as well.
2. Lye. As a commercial cleaner, this is generally used in heated
tanks and called "hot caustic." It is always used as a dip tank
solution. You can make a small "hot tank" by dissolving lye in a
coffee can, placing it in a large frying pan, filling the frying pan
with water, and heating to around 60C (160F). Do not heat directly or
bring to the boiling point. Room temperature lye is a very strong soap,
and should not be allowed to contact skin for any period of time.
Heated it is very aggressive. Lye will dissolve the white metals,
aluminum and zinc, and should not be used to clean them. It will remove
petroleum residues, paint, and a variety of other things. One very good
application of a hot caustic tank, which will illustrate what it can do,
is in cleaning steel automotive engine blocks and cylinder heads, where
it is extremely good at removing carbon deposits, cooling passage scale,
and oil passage residues. Hot caustic tanks are often used for paint
removal tasks.
3. Chlorinated hydrocarbons. These include carbon tetrachoride,
trichlorethane, and various "freon" cleaning solutions. While most of
these are good cleaners, they have a lot of undesirable characteristics.
Many of them are no longer available. GC Electronics sells
trichlorethane in small quantities, but I have not seen it clean things
that didn't clean just as well with other solvents.
4. Strong acids. Hydrochloric, nitric, sulfuric, and phosphoric acids
all have good industrial applications. "Oil of vitriol" and "muriatic
acid" are colloquial names for sulfuric and hydrochloric acid. All of
them are extremely agressive and difficult to handle. A mild phosphoric
acid product with good applicability for rust removal is sold as "Naval
Jelly." Other than this, these chemicals are poor choices for use in
antique restoration.
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