discussion Another one for the chemists

[Gern]

Hi guys.

Last week I ordered 5 ltrs of Cellulose thinners for PJ to clean his A/B (He's currently using about a 400ml bottle of MLT every week which is proving expensive).

Anyway, this is what arrived this morning:



Is this the same as cellulose thinners? If not, is it safe for PJ to use it to clean his H&S A/B?

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Toulene is a common solvent in cellulose thinners, I can't see it being a problem. Obviously try not to breathe it in or drink it.

 

[Tim Marlow]

More here young man…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacquer_thinner

Toluene is a common ingredient of cellulose thinners. Propan-1-ol is just an alcohol, like ethanol but with another carbon in the chain, and the others are additional solvents. Nothing particular heinous there as long as you treat it with due respect ????

If you are still worried, the MSDS (material safety data sheet) can be found here….

https://www.barrettinepro.co.uk/uploads/assets/Documents/MSDS 2019 /Cellulose Thinners MSDS.pdf

As long as he wears gloves, and work in a well ventilated area he should be fine. It’s going to smell a fair bit more than MLT though, and 400ml a week for cleaning an airbrush seems a bit extreme?

 

[Andy T]

As the guys say, it'll do the job you want it for.
I have to echo Tim though, 400ml of MLT per week! Is he airbrushing 24/7?
One of those bottles lasts me months.

 

[Tim Marlow]

As the guys say, it'll do the job you want it for.
I have to echo Tim though, 400ml of MLT per week! Is he airbrushing 24/7?
One of those bottles lasts me months.

Same here Andy, and I use it for cleaning as well ????

 

[colin m]

Gern, remember TNT, the last T is toluene - just saying.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Gern, remember TNT, the last T is toluene - just saying.

Yes, but the middle letter is Nitro…..not a lot of that here ????

 

[Gern]

OK. Thanks guys. All I should have to do now is persuade him to transfer the contents of the 5ltr can to his dropper bottle outside - and not in his shed! Methinks I'll keep it here and do the transfers myself!

 

[minitnkr]

Good think'in Gern.

 

[Gern]

Good think'in Gern.

Maybe not! PJ is a bit iffy about chemicals at the best of times. I gave him so many warnings about this, he's scared to death of using it! Anyway, I found an old pop bottle and transferred a litre or so into that. He'll be able to pour from that into his squeezy bottle without spilling it everywhere.

 

[stillp]

Just make sure it's well labelled Dave - we don't want him drinking from the pop bottle!
Pete

 

[Gern]

Just make sure it's well labelled Dave - we don't want him drinking from the pop bottle!
Pete

Too right! I got him to help me put a label on.

 

[Nicko]

I had a closer look at my 5 litre can of 'standard thinners' earlier. It says... contains Toluene, Xlene and Ethyl Acetate... anyway I've been using it for cleaning the airbrushes for at least a couple of years and have not had any problems...

Nick

 

[Gern]

I knew I could count on you guys!

I think the reason PJ is getting through so much MLT is a combination of things. He's bought a lot of Tamiya paints recently and thinned them all with MLT. He's also found out how much he likes his A/B and is using it for everything he can think of. Finally, I reckon he's overdoing it when cleaning his A/B. If I tell you he uses three full squirts of liquid soap from my dispenser - most of which ends up in a puddle in my sink - to wash his hands you'll see why I think he's using far too much to clean his A/B.

Anyway, 5 ltrs of thinner should last him quite a while - and save him an absolute fortune at around £3.50 per litre rather than around £30 per litre for MLT!