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Cleaning metal before sealing tanks in Southern California

It appears that MEK and and Naptha are no longer available in the Los Angeles basin. Has anybody used this stuff called Painter's Solvent? It’s supposed to be a substitute for MEK, toluene, xylene and VM&P naphtha that meets South Coast Air Quality standards. Acetone and lacquer thinner are still available.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-S...2T054nEMBfleaQJ5lGxoCwjcQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks,
Acetone works great, that I know. I can't get any of the other more dangerous stuff here either, but turns out it's not needed.
 
Coleman camp fuel

I use Coleman Camp fuel. It is the best thing out there as far as I have found. I like it better than MEK or Acetone..and I have used ALOT of Proseal in my day. I keep a gallon in my shop at all times for Proseal and paint prep. For the record, my day job is maintaining the largest flying fuel tanker built, and I wish Coleman fuel was in the spec, but we have to use Acetone or MEK.
 
Regular automotive grease and wax remover is all you need. None of this stuff is magic. It just needs to pick up anything in the surface and leave it clean for the pro seal to adhere to. You just need a solvent that doesn’t leave any residue behind and so long as you give it enough time to crack off before applying the pro seal then there should be no risk of contamination. Have plenty of spare respirator filters on hand, because the mask will get overwhelmed pretty quickly with all the vapors. Also shave in the mornings before hand to limit leakage.

Tom.
RV-7
 
Substitue

I found the substitute all but useless. I use acetone.

Next driving vacation to Fresno or Laughlin, pick up some of the good stuff.
 
I have found that the MEK substitute works, it is just a little slow. It works better then acetone, but I do use acetone to clean after the old sealant is removed, because the MEK substitute leaves some residue. I never tried Colman fuel.
 
Remember to scotchbrite the surface

Remember to scotchbrite the surface. I think if tanks were scotchbrite when slosh was applied the slosh would not separate from the tank
 
Acetone is the “final clean” solvent we use most of the time in our shop. We use a lot of white gas (Coleman) for cleaning oil and grime off of airplane bellies, but it leaves a residue, so if we’re trying to make something “bonding clean”, we end up with acetone. Mineral Spirits is a good substitute for white gas - but again - final clean with acetone.

Then again, take a little road trip to dangerous Nevada and pick up whatever you want - we’ve got the good stuff! ;)

Paul
 
Reason for airplanes

Then again, take a little road trip to dangerous Nevada and pick up whatever you want - we’ve got the good stuff! ;)

Paul

This is another reason to have an airplane, number 63 on my list.
I know where there is a casino within walking distance to an airport, I know lots of lunch places next to airports; i know of a Lowe's in Vegas next to an airport, but that airport is really big so doesn't meet "walking distance", so where is a hardware store within walking distance of an airport?
 
+1 for Coleman fuel. It's mostly naphtha with stabilizer and some smell-good stuff.

Nice thing about Coleman fuel is it doesn't evaporate as quickly as acetone, so it sits longer on the surface to penetrate the crud you're trying to remove.

It's also good at removing decal/tape sticky residue; much better than acetone for that.
 
Lake Havasu City airport is near a Home Depot.

Aircraft Spruce in CA has it. MEK is used as a solvent in the Poly Fiber line of products.
 
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