Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
With the border closed I need a replacement for denatured alcohol since I cannot buy it in Canada. Any suggestions? Methyl hydrate? Simple mineral spirits? Thanks for any feedback. Everclear grain alcohol is an option. Some folks prefer it to denatured for making shellac. Available at liquor stores. Thanks for the quick feedback.
You can get away with mixing isopropyl of the 70 to 91% variety with denatured alcohol to "extend" what you have or reduce the cost of methanol. I've tried this previously with varying success. Don't burn hand sanitizer in anything but an open burner since the glycerin is the nasty leftover stuff that doesn't like to burn.
If you’re unable to buy denatured alcohol, you do have some alternatives to help you dissolve shellac flakes and clean up afterward. There are also a few things you might think would work but that you’d be better off avoiding.
The only difference between denatured alcohol and Ethanol is the denatured has additives in it to make it non-potable. Alternatives may be grain alcohol (Everclear here in the states) and absolute isopropyl alcohol which has not been watered down to become 'rubbing alcohol.'
In the process of replacing methanol solvents (methyl hydrate) in my shop with arguably less toxic ethanol-based "denatured alcohol", I've encountered difficulty in finding any product labelled exactly as "denatured alcohol", and at a decent price.
An alternative to denatured alcohol is isopropyl alcohol, which is also known as rubbing alcohol. It is an effective solvent for a range of organic materials, such as oils and waxes, and can be used in a variety of ways.
Denatured alcohol is mostly ethanol with methanol mixed in so it can be sold for non-food use. The point of the using denatured alcohol is that won't soften, dissolve, melt, etc. your finish. It needs to be an inert carrier of the dust produced from sanding and it should evaporate quickly.
If you can't find denatured alcohol, some junk vodka or rum (everclear is one brand) will do the trick.
If just for cleanup, I agree with the ammonia recommendation. For thinning, you can use Everclear 190 in place of denatured alcohol.
Just go to the local drug store (Chemist?) and buy some rubbing alcohol. It is isopropyl alcohol. It is typically 70% maximum but for your purposes the 50% will work just as well.