Flakes vs ready-to-use?

[John Link]

In Michigan, 190 proof (95% pure) alcohol can't be sold. So the Everclear in our stores is 150 proof, or 75% pure. It cannot be used to mix shellac, too much water.

[Jim Ball]

I happen to have a 200 ml bottle of Everclear in my desk. I double-checked and it is 200 proof/95%. I use it along with some clean room swabs to clean the sensor on my Canon 5D digital camera. I wonder if the fumes from 190 proof Everclear are really any less harmful than denatured alcohol?

[John Parchem]

I happen to have a 200 ml bottle of Everclear in my desk. I double-checked and it is 200 proof/95%. I use it along with some clean room swabs to clean the sensor on my Canon 5D digital camera. I wonder if the fumes from 190 proof Everclear are really any less harmful than denatured alcohol?

Everclear is safer. Some denatured alcohol is up to 50% methanol (poisonous). Breathing methanol fumes is unhealthy and the higher the methanol content the worse it will be.

[Jim Ball]

I happen to have a 200 ml bottle of Everclear in my desk. I double-checked and it is 200 proof/95%. I use it along with some clean room swabs to clean the sensor on my Canon 5D digital camera. I wonder if the fumes from 190 proof Everclear are really any less harmful than denatured alcohol?

Everclear is safer. Some denatured alcohol is up to 50% methanol (poisonous). Breathing methanol fumes is unhealthy and the higher the methanol content the worse it will be.

I did a little online searching, and the consensus among medical people seems to be that even ethanol (everclear) inhalation carries a risk. So, I think we all probably need to still use the same safeguards we would with any other solvent based finish; proper ventilation and a respirator.

[ken cierp]

Ethanol is "not" a poison -- isopropyl, methanol, toluene, naphtha and some other additives used in rubbing alcohol and denature versions are classified as poisons. You could get drunk inhaling concentrated Everclear vapors (in a closet?), but not sure what the worry would be since people sit in lounges and bars for hours on end and consume "ethanol" freely.

[Jim Ball]

Ethanol is "not" a poison -- isopropyl, methanol, toluene, naphtha and some other additives used in rubbing alcohol and denature versions are classified as poisons. You could get drunk inhaling concentrated Everclear vapors (in a closet?), but not sure what the worry would be since people sit in lounges and bars for hours on end and consume "ethanol" freely.

All alcohol is poison. Too much ethanol will kill you. Some of the others just kill you faster and require smaller amounts. The newest fad among young people is inhaling ethanol alcohol vapors, bypassing the metabolizing digestive process and the filtering the kidneys provide. Alcohol poisoning is the result of excess inhalation as it goes directly into the bloodstream and brain, bypassing the body's natural defenses that help prevent us from drinking lethal amounts of alcohol. Considering that there is no such thing as a "standard" lethal dose, and that every shop is different in it's ability to remove fumes and provide fresh air, I think some healthy caution is warranted. :)

[ken cierp]

You are correct Jim, a poison by definition is any substance that can cause harm to an organism if used improperly -- and we each should decide appropriate personal safety measures when handling chemicals.

However this http://www.wfaa.com/news/health/193303601.html is not what we do with the teaspoon of ethanol used in a French Polish session