Acetone Replacement/Alternative

General Composites Discussions Composites Talk
#1

Good afternoon,

I’m looking for an alternative to Acetone based simply around the health & safety aspect.
Does anybody know of safe alternatives for cleaning rollers/brushes etc.?

I’ve used Surfasolve but can’t find a UK supplier.

Thanks in advance

#2

Brushes, toss in the bin. Rollers, torch and burn cured resin offf(propane “map” gas, not a flashlight:) ) Acetone recycler but those are expesive…

#3

As a business that strives to reduce environmental impact it is not an option to increase what we send to landfill. Burning cured resin from rollers just increases labour with no additional output.
Currently recycle acetone, but looking for a safer alternative.

#4

did a search and found some bio type solvents… one was $84 a gallon… pricey. Ill bet there is more out there.

And what do you mean safer? Safer as in less flammability or for human exposure? If you wear the right PPE than exposure shouldn’t be much of an issue.

#5

Expensive, but very effective and smells OK. It’s corn based, doesn’t evaporate much at all and can be reused. It’s not supposed to leave a residue either and is FDA certified for food preparation surface contact, so there you go. I picked up a 5-gallon bucket and it does everything it says it does - namely it cuts through resin and makes tool cleanup a quick and easy task.

I believe you can get a sample sent

www.greenacetone.com

#6

sounds like it could be a good thing. They say it doesn’t evaporate as fast as acetone as well, which would greatly reduce in the volatiles in the air and doesn’t contain water. I might have to sample some.

Have you filtered and reused it?

#7

I could have sworn I read that vinegar can work?

#8

Acetic acid (vinegar) definitely works and is the safest chemical you’ll find for cleaning uncured epoxy. The only thing it won’t work for is a wipe-down where you need a clean surface prep. Though if needed for that you can follow it up with with other methods.

If you get agricultural acetic acid (much higher concentration than food grade) treat it like other acids since it is very strong. Wear gloves, don’t get in eyes, etc.

#9

Thanks for your response. Exposure is limited due to PPE so not really an issue. We’re looking for a non-flammable alternative. Surfasolve ticked all the boxes but can’t find a UK supplier anymore

#10

Thanks for your response, this ticks all our boxes, as did Surfasolve.
Unfortunately I can only view the homepage as all the links crash my browser?
Can anyone click the distributor link and let me know if there is a UK supplier?

Thanks

#11

Here’s what they had for UK supplier.

Black Bear Boating & Leisure
(Formerly China Wind Yachts)
+011-44 7904446306
blackbearboating@outlook.com
http://www.blackbearboatingandleisure.com
Bjorn Nilsson Thafvelin-Sweden
bjorn@batbyggeriet.eu

I also emailed them and they replied quickly,

Mary Anne McFarland
Manager
Bio Brands, LLC
800-398-7556
Fax 856-303-2889
www.greenacetone.com
www.epoxi.com
maryanne@biobrands.ne

#12

Many thanks, it’s now working in my browser

#13

Deleted as redundant

#14

If left to sit, the heavier stuff (Resin) will settle out of solution allowing you to pour off the top and reuse. As for vinegar, I’ve always heard you can use it, but in my experience all it did was smear the resin around. The Bio-Solv actually removes the resin completely - and quick too!