Everybody & his dog seems to recommend IPA for cleaning. Where do you get it from?
Ebay. Last lot I got was for 5ltrs for about £15 including postage but that was about a year ago.
I buy it by the litre from Maplins, about £10 last time.
I'm surprised you can get it from eBay - I thought putting this kind of liquid in the post was a big no-no.
Cheers
Dave
Maplins for me too.
Rapid for me, in spray cans and a litre tin. You may get it from your local chemist-but it may be expensive in terms of price per litre.
Martyn
Quote from: DCCDave on September 01, 2014, 04:07:42 PM
I'm surprised you can get it from eBay - I thought putting this kind of liquid in the post was a big no-no.
Cheers
Dave
Hi
I would expect it to come via courier now. Mine came from eBay but again this was over a year ago and was delivery by Royal Mail.
A quick search on ebay reveals 5l for £14.39 with free delivery by 24 hour courier.
Cheers
Paul
Amazon, car detailing places.
http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/acatalog/CFS_Catalogue__Isopropyl_Alcohol_534.html (http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/acatalog/CFS_Catalogue__Isopropyl_Alcohol_534.html)
I'm fortunate I work in an appropriate industry...
I buy 500 ml bottles on Ebay and they come through the post!
I thought of buying the large container but knowing me I will knock it over and I will waste a lot!
Peter.
I'm with you on that Peter but I now do try and remind myself to put the cap back on the moment I've used it!
Got stung when I ordered my first 500ml bottle from my local chemist.
Getting stock ready for the next project found a 1 litre bottle on ebay for £6.99 inc shipping. Didn't think that was too bad.
Dave G
Thanks a lot everyone :-*
Anyone requiring a smaller bottle can get MaGeR ipa from antics on line.
Elmo
Quote from: elmo on September 01, 2014, 10:02:39 PM
Anyone requiring a smaller bottle can get MaGeR ipa from antics on line.
Elmo
Good grief. At that price buy 550ml and decant some into a smaller bottle :)
Cheers
Dave
Bit of a chemistry question......
According to Wikipedia IPA can be oxidised into acetone. Can someone explain what this means in plain English, and more importantly, what therefore, is the difference between IPA and acetone?
Many thanks in advance.
Kirky
Also in layman's terms... different smells too. Don't know how Mrs B puts up with it.... glad I don't wear nail polish! :D
Quote from: kirky on September 01, 2014, 11:26:27 PM
Bit of a chemistry question......
Ah - right down my particular field of expertise.
Quote from: kirky on September 01, 2014, 11:26:27 PM
According to Wikipedia IPA can be oxidised into acetone. Can someone explain what this means in plain English, and more importantly, what therefore, is the difference between IPA and acetone?
Lots of different chemicals can be converted into each other so that is not a suitable indicator as to whether their properties should be similar. The important difference here is the extra hydrogen atom (connected to the central oxygen atom) in isopropyl alcohol - this extra hydrogen atom reduces the dissolving ability of the solvent and hence IPA dissolves paint and acetone dissolves paint much easier but (often) also the plastic.
Thanks Brooksy... I spent my working life teaching science, but physics was my field.
Is acetone a ketone? I have always thought they were supposedly nasty, evil carbon compounds. Or is that the benzene family?
Quote from: Bealman on September 02, 2014, 05:35:06 AM
... different smells too. Don't know how Mrs B puts up with it....
I love the smell as it usually means I'm dolling myself up to be taken out somewhere. :)
:laughabovepost: :laughabovepost:
Like it. :beers:
That smell in our house usually means there's a new My Little Pony arrived from Ebay that needs some pen marks removing ;D
Paul
Even more and bigger :laughabovepost: :laughabovepost: :laughabovepost:
Quote from: Bealman on September 02, 2014, 09:00:19 AM
Is acetone a ketone? I have always thought they were supposedly nasty, evil carbon compounds. Or is that the benzene family?
It is a ketone but not toxic - hence why it is sometimes used in nail varnish remover. It is benzene that is particularly nasty. Funny you say 'evil carbon compounds' as pretty much every compound contains a few carbon atoms including alcohol :beers: and I wouldn't call that evil - well maybe after a few too many :beers: :-X
Thanks! Had a feeling I was mixing up my carbon compounds.
But I do hope that carbon is not present in too many ionic compounds, eg CuSO4, otherwise we may have to rewrite a few Chem books! ;D :thumbsup:
Disappointed on reading this thread , thought it was about beer. :'(
:laughabovepost: :laughabovepost: :laughabovepost:
IPA.... not ethyl alcohol.... funny when, you think about it, the stuff they put into cheap petrol is the same stuff that's in beer and wine!
Car goes alright with the stuff, though - more than I can say about meself!! ;D
Top Fuel dragsters run on a Nitromethane/Methanol mix so it ain't that different ;)
Paul
Eeek. The difference the odd carbon atom makes, eh. :thumbsup: ;)
Yeah, chemistry is strange , h2o , drink 4 liters a day for health, h2o2 blow your head off !
In my younger days, I remember some bright spark saying that if you drink a heap of water when you get home after a big night out on the pop, you wouldn't get a hangover the next day.
My answer to that was, that if you can remember to drink heaps of water when you get home, you don't need to. :D
Would love to see a pic of your 'heap of water' :P
Quote from: newportnobby on September 02, 2014, 12:24:54 PM
Would love to see a pic of your 'heap of water' :P
Er, this sort of thing, Mick?
http://crimematters.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/iceberg-tip.jpg?w=300&h=225 (http://crimematters.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/iceberg-tip.jpg?w=300&h=225)
OK, I'll get back to the packing ;)
Dave G
Quote from: Bealman on September 02, 2014, 10:29:09 AM
Thanks! Had a feeling I was mixing up my carbon compounds.
But I do hope that carbon is not present in too many ionic compounds, eg CuSO4, otherwise we may have to rewrite a few Chem books! ;D :thumbsup:
Carbonates (CO3), Bicarbonates (HCO3), carbonyls (CO), carbides, organic acids and their salts (eg acetates, COO ), etc : all ionic with carbon atoms, a mix of inorganic and organic compounds. :D
IPA is really great for making wet water, also a good solvent for white glue (PVA).
CFJ
Quote from: Agrippa on September 02, 2014, 12:13:24 PM
Yeah, chemistry is strange , h2o , drink 4 liters a day for health, h2o2 blow your head off !
Two scientists walk into a bar...The first one says "I'll have some H2O." The second says "I'll have some H2O too." Then he dies.
:laughabovepost:
Quote from: NinOz on September 02, 2014, 01:15:40 PM
Quote from: Bealman on September 02, 2014, 10:29:09 AM
Thanks! Had a feeling I was mixing up my carbon compounds.
But I do hope that carbon is not present in too many ionic compounds, eg CuSO4, otherwise we may have to rewrite a few Chem books! ;D :thumbsup:
When I was at school (many decades ago) we studied two types of chemistry Organic, which was all the carbon compounds except carbonates, and Inorganic, which was everything else.
We also learned a little verse:-
Little Johny's dead and gone
his face we'll see no more.
What he thought was H2O
was H2SO4
Don't think I'm getting this quote business right---- The quote ends after the smileys
Quote from: daveg on September 02, 2014, 01:13:47 PM
Quote from: newportnobby on September 02, 2014, 12:24:54 PM
Would love to see a pic of your 'heap of water' :P
Er, this sort of thing, Mick?
http://crimematters.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/iceberg-tip.jpg?w=300&h=225 (http://crimematters.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/iceberg-tip.jpg?w=300&h=225)
Dave G
I know that's water, Dave, but try drinking that before you go to bed :laugh:
Think I'd need a catheter fitted :worried:
Thanks for the replies guys. And we'll done for wandering off to talking about boozing, I'm impressed :beers:
Meanwhile back in on-topic land......
I thought acetone evaporates quite quickly, so if it does do damage to plastic, how long do I need to leave it contact with the sleepers on my track before I just have rail, and no sleepers? Is really that bad for cleaning track?
Cheers
Kirky
I got 2% for my last chem exam (196n) because I remembered my name and the date! Over to those that know better, however:
The IPA I've used in the past hasn't harmed the sleepers. I've read though that rails painted with certain product(s) can get wiped clean.
I keep my IPA well away from all locos and rolling stock. Using it to clean wheels will mean very careful use - a bit scary :worried:
Dave G
If you are using Acetone to clean your track I don't think you need worry too much. As you say Acetone evaporates quickly and you are only using small quantities. Think of the liquid solvent used for sticking plastic kits etc. together. You brush it on and it flows along the join and hey presto its stuck. That solvent is similar to the effect Acetone would have,If you spilled it over the track it would probably shift all your painted weathering and might soften the sleepers for a while, but you would need to soak your track in a bath of Acetone for some time before it would dissolve the sleepers.
Steve386
Thank you so much, I was starting to get worried a little.
For what it's worth, I soak a little white card in acetone and use that only on the top of the rails. So far no ill effects, thank goodness.
Cheers
Kirky
Quote from: Bealman on September 02, 2014, 10:29:09 AM
Thanks! Had a feeling I was mixing up my carbon compounds.
But I do hope that carbon is not present in too many ionic compounds, eg CuSO4, otherwise we may have to rewrite a few Chem books! ;D :thumbsup:
The C in CuSO4 is Cu ( Copper ) not Carbon.
I bought my 100ml bottle of IPA from my local pharmacist.
I had to explain what it was for before she would sell it, and then she had to find a small brown glass bottle to decant it into, and make up a price. I think she started at 50p and I managed somehow to push her up to £1. 😳 A little goes a long way - unless perhaps you are a lot cleaner than me...
Donald
Interesting. Our local electronics chain here (Jaycar) sell huge spray bottles of the stuff.
I can get the stuff here in Dubai in pretty much every chemist, and there's chemists here on every corner, just like a newsagent's back home. I'm surprised you have to explain what it's for. That reminds me of when I went to buy my IPA swabs - you know, the ones the nurse wipes your skin with before having an injection. I (voluntarily) tried to explain that they were for model railways - not that anybody knows what model railways are out here - as I thought she might be wondering why I'd want 400 IPA needle swabs!
Dan