Hi All, does anyone have a recommendation and where I can buy cleaning solvent for a parts washer? I live in Phoenix AZ on the west side. Thanks Rick Z.

My dad used to work for a company called safty clean and they have all that kind of stuff. They are a national company and supply everything u need. I used to go with him on the route and deliver the parts washers and solivent

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69 Camaro RS, 355ci mild cam, Preformer rpm intake, edelbrock 600 carb, 350 turbo w/ shift kit 2500 stall, 10 bolt 2.73 any more questions ask

I just bought one and called everywhere for solvent. Napa had it, but it was $40 for 5 gallons. Farm and Fleet had it for about the same price. I called a garage and asked where they get it. I was told they got it from the local heating oil dealer for $1.65 per gallon so that was where I went. Moral of the story: Ask your local garages where they get theirs.

mineral spirits, by the gallon. cut it with a gallon of gunk (yes it is available by the gallon)
john

at S.A.I.T. (tech school here) they just used good old varsol from Canadian Tire...

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Brave man not milk bull... only stupid man

Hi All
I called around yesterday and it seems that some Solvent companies sell a type of mineral sprits that's used in parts washers, about $3.00 a gallon, you have to bring your own container. I did notice that the regular mineral, ("paint thinner"), sprits is only $1.82 a gallon at the store. Does anyone use this or know why it shouldn't be used for washing parts, such as too flammable or know something that works better?

I got a new parts washer before I started this engine swap. And after searching I wound up with paint thinner from home depot. 2 bucks a gallon. works good.

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Black 69 camaro

10 gallons of mineral spirits, cut it with and one gallon of gunk (yes it is available by the gallon). Like Jon said.

TIM

All right, it looks like paint thinner "sweeten-up" with a gallon of "Gunk" is the winner!

We use Naptha on our farm, 55 gallon barrels of it. It's available from oil supply jobbers.
It is less flammable than the paint thinners.
I had a friend who had his parts washer catch fire from a grinding spark, he was using the paint thinner.

Naptha has less volatility.
David

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[This message has been edited by davidpozzi (edited 05-18-2001).]

[This message has been edited by davidpozzi (edited 05-18-2001).]

I agree with dave, get the naptha. That's what I use, and like dave said, it's much less volatile than thinners. It's easy to find an oil supply jobber.

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Steve
67 SS 396,4-sp
67 RS 327,4-sp
72 RS 350/350
69 4X4 suburban 350,4-sp
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Make sure to use good long gloves and use a mask..
I permanently messed myself up over the years for not using all the saftey stuff...
If I could do it all over again...I will spend ANY amount of money to insure proper safety when using solvents..... Once you cook your brains out from this stuff ...there is no comming back...
CHEERS
Chris

Naptha is less flammable than thinner? I beg to differ. I nearly burned down the scout cabin when the Naptha in a lamp was ignited by a fire in a wooden stove more than 15 feet away. On the other hand, I once accidentally left the lid off a pot of varsol and was bombarding it with sparks from the grinder, and it still didn't light on fire. I also recall changine the solvent once, and for kicks dropped a lit match into the empty but still moist container. The match just went out as though it had landed in water.

They said less volatile then thinner...not less flammable.

There is a big difference.

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Steve McCorry - Central Ohio Camaro Club
'69 Camaro RS/SS-350 - Daytona Yellow
'95 Camaro Z-28 - Sebring Silver
click here to see my webpage ---> www.mindspring.com/~mccorry (http://www.mindspring.com/~mccorry) (updated 5/18/01)

Here is a link to a product description of the Varsol product.
It appears to be a cleaning type solvent or "Stoddard Solvent". I had not heard of it before. http://www.exxon.com/exxon_lubes/tigerbytes/documents/productdatasheets/pds086.htm

There appears to be at least two types of Naptha, a light and a heavy. I don't know what type we use. I'm going to check with my supplier on it.
The Naptha type I have used, I have passed a torch over wet metal to dry it faster, and it would not burn when the torch was removed.

I'll have to toss some matches in the parts washer to see if it burns! http://www.camaros.net/forum/smile.gif
Just kidding.

The Varsol 1, or Varsol 18, looks good. But just like the Naptha, there are other products like Varsol 1 with Naptha, and a long list of other Varsol combinations.

Spiking the solvent with other products will most likely increase the flammability.

Keep the parts washer covered and in an area where there is no other flamable products for safety. Also away from grinding, cutting, equipment. Sparks can fly a long way!

I bought a proper parts washer with a melt away lug on the lid. It will drop the lid if the parts washer catches fire and the lid is up.

We did have a fire a long time ago (1949) when they used gasoline, (yes gasoline) to clean a tractor, a drop light fell into the bucket and POOF! They never did that again!

Wear hand protection, these products can cause nerve damage, lung damage, skin cancer, and dermatitis.
Good discussion, David

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Check my web page for First Gen Camaro suspension info:
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69 Camaro Vintage Racer
65 Lola T-70 Chev 350
Can Am Vintage Racer

Quote by davidpozzi "We use Naptha on our farm, 55 gallon barrels of it. It's available from oil supply jobbers.
It is less flammable than the paint thinners.
I had a friend who had his parts washer catch fire from a grinding spark, he was using the paint thinner."

I see "flammable" in that sentence, or are my reading skills really that bad? http://www.camaros.net/forum/rolleyes.gif

BW

I've just done some more reading on flamability, and the way I used it was as a comparitive term. IE more flamable or less flamable than other solvents.

I see that in fire regulation terms. "Flamable" is a rating term for a substance that has a "flash point" below 100 deg F.

The varsol would be rated a "combustable", one step below a "Flamable", and a flash point above 100 deg F.

In researching "volatility" I found:
A higher volatility produces more vapor, the vapor is what actually burns, thus, higher volatility = higher Flamability speaking comparitively.

Here is a great resource for terms. http://www.ilpi.com/msds/ref/flammable.html

Obviously the greatest danger would be to put a highly volatile cleaning fluid into a parts washer, and have the fumes travel along the floor to a water heater or other ignition source.

If you can walk into your garage and smell your parts washer fluid, it may be too volatile.
The Varsol 1 or 18 is looking the best.
Naptha might be second, there are several types though, and the wrong type would be dangerous.
Thinners from the paint store? Many types here too, but probalby the most flamable, that scares me. I would keep it in a sealed container and wash parts somewhere outside with it if you must use it.

Another story, we had a tractor driver show up for work one morning with a chipped tooth. It turns out he was washing auto parts with gasoline in his garage at home! He passed out from the fumes and fell on his face! It would have been funny except he's the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet, and I really felt sorry for him.
David

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Check my web page for First Gen Camaro suspension info:
David's Motorsports page (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/David_Pozzi/)
First Gen Suspension Page (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/David_Pozzi/first_gen_suspension.htm)
67 RS 327
69 Camaro Vintage Racer
65 Lola T-70 Chev 350
Can Am Vintage Racer

[This message has been edited by davidpozzi (edited 05-20-2001).]

Hi All, thanks for all the input, I've done some checking and WOW, there's all kind's of solvents out there that could be used but certainly wouldn't be the best choice. Certainly "Flash Point and Health Hazard" are the big two points of concern so with that in mine, I'm going with the higher flash, (harder to get started burning), point cleaning solvent, a type of stoddard solvent that is sold commercially around here for parts washers. It cost $3.00 bucks a gallon so that's okay. It's a type of mineral sprits that formulated with a higher flash point and low odor. From what I've read there is large differences in the flash points of chemicals with the same generic name. Also I've not been good about wearing gloves and those days are over with, I'm going to get two pair tonight and start using them.

I think you are on the right track.
The proper solvent will last longer due to lower volatility. It won't evaporate away!

I checked my supplier today and the current solvent is marked "solvent" and he says it's stoddard or varsol type."Napthanated solvent".
It's rated "combustable", not "flammable".

I'm having him fax over an MSDS.

I tried grinding sparks into it and it won't burn that way.
I lit it with a torch, and it took three tries to get it going. but it did burn in a pan, slowly like lamp oil.
David

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Check my web page for First Gen Camaro suspension info:
David's Motorsports page (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/David_Pozzi/)
First Gen Suspension Page (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/David_Pozzi/first_gen_suspension.htm)
67 RS 327
69 Camaro Vintage Racer
65 Lola T-70 Chev 350
Can Am Vintage Racer

[This message has been edited by davidpozzi (edited 05-21-2001).]

Yeah, you probably got the same crap that I have. It is really oily on the hands, and it doesn't evaporate quickly at all, right? If you toss a cup on the fire, it WILL go up, but sparks and heat don't seem to have much effect on it. Oh, I did an experiment today with the naptha (went camping; victoria day long weekend, heh) and I put the naptha on one hand and the varsol on the other. I proceeded to swing my arms around and noticed the naptha hand was really cold. When I stopped swinging my arms I noticed that the varsol was still all over the one hand, and the other hand (naptha hand) was completely dry. This means that naptha evaporates quicker under normal temperatures than the varsol, which technically makes the varsol less "volatile" too, in that definition of the word. So, I agree, grab the oily heavy varsol! you won't be disappointed... or incinerated for that matter, heheh.

BW

[This message has been edited by BreathWeapon (edited 05-22-2001).]