I’ve been using MEK as a liquid cement for a few years and the quart can I’ve been using finally evaporated and I need more. I’ve been to Lowe’s, Home Depot and Walmart in Maryland and Pennsylvania. None of the stores in MD have MEK at all. In PA, all they had was MEK Substitute.
I’ve looked online at those three stores and Ace Hardware, True Value Hardware and Sherwin-Williams Paint. Either they don’t have it or only have it in gallon cans (enough for 3 lifetimes).
Has MEK been ‘blacklisted’? Restricted? Banned? Why can’t I find quart cans of original MEK?
As a side question: Does anyone know if MEK Substitute also works as a liquid cement?
In WI., I can get the real MEK, but the substitute is also on the shelf. Not sure how long that will last, probably until the "old"stock of real MEK sells out.
I buy my MEK substitute from a local sign shop. I don’t have any idea what it is but it works as good as if not better than MEK and if you leave it uncapped it’s gone in 5 minutes.
Thanks for the reply - that’s what I wanted to know. The substitute works on plastic as good as if not better than the original. It appears to be a bit more expensive, but still way cheaper than buying the hobby cements.
I originally used lacquer thinner as a cement for styrene, but when the powers that be decided to bastardise the original version into something useless as a solvent cement for styrene, switched to MEK.
I get mine at a nearby Sherwin-Williams wholesaler, but it’s available only in gallon cans. While it works well-enough, it evapourates faster than the old-style lacquer thinner, which I much preferred.
I’ve used only a half-gallon-or-so of it in the couple of years since I bought it, a good thing, I guess, as it cost almost $40.00. The “good” lacquer thinner was around $16.00/gallon.
I doubt that most (perhaps all) hobby-type solvents are much safer to use, if safer at all, and I’m certainly not paying the prices asked, as a gallon’s-worth would likely surpass $100.00.
I know you live in Canada. I wonder if the change to lacquer thinner is limited to Canada. Or have the deep thinkers in the U.S. followed suit? Lacquer thinner is available in quarts, but if it doesn’t do the job …
MEK at a Sherwin-Williams? I checked online, but I’ll call the local store tomorrow. Thanks.
The first time I bought the stuff from the sign shop they charged me $8 for about 6fl oz and that included a very nice bottle with a 2” long very thin steel nozzle.
The refill cost $6 almost a year ago and I still have about ¼ bottle left. I think I’ve lost about a half bottle to evaporation. A very tiny amount goes a long way with either Acrylic or Styrene. It really gets after Styrene quickly.
The sign shop is also a great place to get small sheets of plastic reminits, much cheaper than the hobby shop. I get my Styrene and Acrylic for scratch building there too.
I just tried using lacquer thinner to bond two pieces of styrene, flat pieces, one laying on top of the other, not even an edge joint. The bond seemed to hold but with a little pressure, came apart. The two surfaces showed no sign of crazing or melting.
I guess American lacquer thinner is as worthless as a plastic cement as Canadian lacquer thinner.
