Can acetone be used to clean any precision tools?

Any halogen (chlorinated, fluorinated, brominated, etc.) solvents or refrigerants all when exposed to hot metal surfaces (not UV radiation) can and will produce very toxic gases, phosgene in only one of them, not only should you make sure the part are not only dry but the welding area is well ventilated as well. Generally any Non-flammable solvents are halogenated. Flammable solvents generally are free of halogens. As stated acetone will not damage any metal surfaces but be careful around paint and polymers.

Not to hijack the thread any further, but the United States Depart of Labor seems to disagree. From their web site:

"CHLORINATED HYDROCARBON SOLVENTS

Various chlorinated hydrocarbons are used in degreasing or other cleaning operations. The vapors of these solvents are a concern in welding and cutting because the heat and ultraviolet radiation from the arc will decompose the vapors and form highly toxic and irritating phosgene gas. (See Phosgene.)"

Tom
 
I use alcohol and if needed I have a small (@ 1 qt) ultrasonic cleaner that I place components in. Starrett lube and careful Tear down and reassembly.
Seems to have always worked for me!
Well, hurry-up and get moving on that :LOL:
 
paint thinner, stoddard solvent, mineral spirits.

as with anything..use ventilation

use with scotchbright on light rust
 
+1 on rubbing alcohol; the 90% kind from the supermarket. Totally under-rated and totally useful. No nasty petro-chem smell and the worst it will do is dry your skin a little. The health concerns are virtually non-existent.


Ray
 
I bought quite a few beautiful precision tools and want to care for them properly.
My planer gage has a small amount of rust on the slider along the way, what is the appropriate procedure for getting rid of the rust?

They used to make a rust remover called Navel Jelly. You brush it on and wash it off with water. Of course oil the bare metal as soon as it dries.
 
While the approaches here are mainly chemical (I have nothing against that) I expect that the electrolytic approach would also be successful.

Is there any reason to prefer electrolytic rust removal over chemical (or vice versa)? Some jobs, of course, are just too large to immerse but with that proviso does one approach work as well as, or better, than the other?
 
One thought about this -and it's a general consideration not specific to Acetone... Be very careful with all chemicals if you intend to weld the part. Residual amounts of brake cleaner will kill you (or leave you a vegetable) when hit with high heat from welding. This is not an urban legend -it's a fact.

I don't specifically know if Acetone has this problem but, I avoid all things similar to it, naptha etc... I stick to plain old isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) in higher concentrations at 80% or greater for virtually all of my cleaning/degreasing and it works very, very well -and it's cheap.

As a side note, galvanized metals can poison you as well. In general, be careful what you work with and take precautions when working with unknown metals.

-Sorry for the OT post but, this seemed like a good time to remind folks.

Ray

its the cleaners with a compound of chlorine in that are dangerous, something about the heat and UV makes it baaaaaad.

Dont use plastic scrub pads with acetone that just gets messy :)

if you want a safe de greaser you can use isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) i use that for cleaning gauge blocks etc.

I use paper towel for removing light rusting with some oil on it (very light rust dust)

wire wool if the rust is more severe, as has been said be very careful with it as it can scratch, ive used it quite a lot on hardened surfaces and judicious use of the fine stuff doesn't seem to distress them i have found, although you are buffing so their will be some change for sure.

Wood sticks can be good for small spots of bad rust.

Good luck happy cleaning :)

Stuart
 
Naptha is a great cleaning solvent. No residue. The best is tri chloro flouro ethane and/or Freon. No longer available commercially.
Acetone leaves residue. Non chlor. brake cleaner may be OK too., in some cases.
 
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