Does it matter what % it is? I have a couple of bottles of this stuff. But one is 91% and the other is 50%
What do you plan to do with it?
For cleaning, the 91% will definitely do a better job. To use as a wetting agent while ballasting, though, I think the 50% would probably work just as well.
My choice is usually between 91% and 70%. I get whichever one is cheaper in the quart bottle. Most of mine goes into scenery, with only the occasional wheel cleaning. I clean my track with lacquer thinner in a CMX machine.
If you plan to strip paint off of shells you want the 91%.
I use 70%.
Just remember that 91% alcohol has less water in it than the other percentages—this can make a difference if you are applying the alcohol to wood. As an example, a popular wood stain is to mix approximately one teaspoon of India Ink to a pint of alcohol, which is used as a weathering solution for wood. In this case I would prefer the 91% alcohol as it would be less likely to warp the wood. However, this same India Ink solution can also be used as a wash for plastic in which case the 70% would be fine.
I use both 70% as a wetting agent when applying ballast, and 91% on my wood structures.
Wayne
Using the 91% alcohol with India ink as a wash agent is also preferable for plastic weathering applications, such as aging gray primer painted (for concrete) styrene, as it’s more rapid drying enables me to better gauge the degree of weathering and either apply more or stop at a particular point. For those sensitive to the vapor produced, the stronger solution may have more intense fumes, but dissipates more quickly, as well. One final thought- I clean many parts with 91% alcohol, especially with repowering old engines. The quicker drying avoids other problems in that department also. Cedarwoodron
Excellent points: I once fixed a pocket calculator that had been dropped in a cup of Ice Tea by first draining the tea and then placing the entire unit in 91% Isopropyl Alcohol—and it still works. [:-^]
Wayne
91% for stripping loco and rolling stock shells. 70% and 50% wont faze the paint.
50%, I don’t use.
70% is used as a wetting agent.
91% is used to strip paint from loco and car shells.
Thanks for the info. I’m new to this scenery. As a wetting agent. Should i mix it with water? or dish soap? I’m going to use 50% Elmers glue 50% water for a gluing agent?
I’m going to assume for the moment that we’re talking about ballasting:
When ballasting I will first apply the 70% alcohol with use of a dropper straight onto the ballast, making an effort not to disturb any of the ballast—the alcohol is used straight from the bottle without any further dilution with water. I will then apply, again with a dropper, the glue mixture to the ballast while it is still moist with the alcohol. The alcohol acts as a wetting agent and helps distribute the glue in an even fashion throughout the ballasted area. I use the same glue mixture you mentioned, although I just guestimate the 50% solution as the exact ratio is not that critical. You may also want to consider using a drop or two of dish detergent to the glue mixture as an additional wetting agent. I have also found that putting something like a couple of shotgun pellets into the glue mixture aids in getting a uniform mixture of the glue/water solution.
When ballasting I only work on a small section at a time, maybe a foot or so and then move onto other things—ballasting is not my favorite scenery task. [sigh]
Wayne
I tried the 70% version to remove some lettering, to no avail. However 99% did the trick. I haven’t seen 91% around here, but I guess it would have worked, too.
For ballasting, one of my favourite tasks, I prefer a few drops of dish detergent in tap water for a wetting agent, and a roughly 50/50 mixture of white glue and tap water to bond the ballast or other scenic material in place. I spray the wetting agent and use a plastic squeeze bottle to apply the glue.
Wayne
Using your mix of 50/50 glue water is fine for securing scenery and ballast. Add a few drops of liquid dish soap to each cup of the mix. This is the wetting agent.
Use 70% isopropyl alcohol as the pre-wetting agent.
What I do, quite successfully, is spray an area of scenery or ballast with 70% isopropyl alcohol, then apply the glue/water/soap mix with a spoon.
Rich
If you get the 91%, dilute it 1 part alcohol to 5 parts water, no detergent is needed. 70% does not need dilution. Detergent is the wetting agent for water, alcohol is also a wetting agent.
Be careful handling models when you are using 91% as a cleaner. A friend of mine was cleaning locomotive wheels with 91%. There was some liquid on his fingers when he picked up the locomotive and it damaged the paint detail.
I tried to get 91% or 100% isopropyl at the drug store and the druggist looked at me like I was a criminal, he asked me what it was for for and said he can’t sell 100% because In Canada they think you are going to use it to make narcotics, they sell 50% but it has to come from the druggist himself, it is not on the shelf. Each province has it 's regulations.
I’m not sure you would want 100% Isopropyl Alcohol…that would generally be referred to as Reagent Grade for laboratory use and in all likelihood only available at chemical supply houses. 100% purity in most things is very difficult to achieve and the highest concentration of IPA that I’ve seen is 99.8%.
I’m unfamiliar with Canadian regulations but generally in the States 91% is readily available----I just got some from WallMart in Billings, MT not too long ago.
Wayne
Well, the 99% stuff is right on the shelves here in Ontario, but I think that our illicit drug industry has its own sources for chemicals. [swg]
Wayne
Haven’t seen 99% here but I haven’t looked for it either. 91% is sold in many places here. I get mine at Wal-Mart. Lowe’s sells denatured alcohol by the quart for thinning shellac. I haven’t tried it. At $7 and change it’s a bit steep for me at this time.
Wayne #1
99% IPA is nothing I would want to use without a fume hood.
Wayne #2
I use my 91% outside in a covered cake pan that has a locking lid.