Acetone as a Track Cleaning Solvent

A fire waiting to happen. Not worth it.

It only etches concrete when it is used as a carrier for muriatic acid, aka hydrochloric acid.  Acetone by itself will not etch metals that you might be using for model RR'ing in any measurable way available to most mortals. 

You might be far more concerned about ventilation (that fast evaporation is something you are breathing...) and it also being highly flammable.

FWIW It's not worth the danger. People laugh when I say, Life-Like Track Cleaner. I've been using it over forty years. The best part is the fact it's nonflammable, non-toxic and fairly inexpensive.

Hello

Please check the MSDS sheet before using

As stated there is much better stuff to be using

Love that "Highly Flammable" on the can - now there's fun in a can!

Be careful when using Acetone, Alcohol or any flammable liquid on the pad or roller of your track cleaning car.  When running a diesel put a buffer car between the engine and the cleaning car, to avoid a spark from the engine lighting the vapors on the cleaning car. When using a steam engine the tender would be your buffer car.  Engines sometimes spark when crossing switches, so keep a close eye on your cleaning car when its running.

Jack

Don,

As Meter Man says, check the MSDS.  I would not count on acetone being non-carcinogenic.

Ed

Acetone is produced and disposed of in the human body through normal metabolic processes and is normally present in your blood and urine.

People with diabetes produce it in larger amounts and the smell of it on their breath is diagnostic of ketosis.

Reproductive toxicity tests show that it has low potential to cause reproductive problems.

I'd be more worried its flammability and someone using it in a low ventilation space.

The best advice is the suggestion to look up the MSDS ( Material Saftey Data Sheet ) to understand the risks.

Lary

Acetone will attack some plastics, so I'd be somewhat careful with it.  I know it'll dissolve a Styrofoam cup in a flash!

quote:

FWIW It's not worth the danger. People laugh when I say, Life-Like Track Cleaner. I've been using it over forty years. The best part is the fact it's nonflammable, non-toxic and fairly inexpensive.

Sometimes I am surprised by the chemicals people use while doing things with their trains. I try to keep the use of volatile products to a minimum.

Quote from Don

"Hey gang,

Wanted to get some opinions on using Acetone as a track cleaning solvent. I like it because it is non-carcinogenic and is quite strong....plus evaporates quickly. I know it is used to etch concrete and am worried it might etch the nickle silver rails and wheel sets over time causing them to retain more dirt. Anyone have any thoughts on its safety for metal?"

Best,

Don

I used to work in the printing industry and Acetone is very dangerous, The Safety Data Sheets, have all the rules. My suggestion • Read the Safety Data Sheets and follow all the rules. • Below is a photo of the stuff, that I use for track cleaning. 

   Click to enlarge.

Indeed.  This does of course presume the ability to understand what is contained within an MSDS,

Sometimes I am surprised by the chemicals people use while doing things with their trains.

As am I, but then many do not consider what they are using to be "chemicals".....

From Wikipedia:

Acetone is produced and disposed of in the human body through normal metabolic processes. It is normally present in blood and urine. People withdiabetes produce it in larger amounts. Reproductive toxicity tests show that it has low potential to cause reproductive problems.

From mwb:

Acetone is produced and disposed of in the human body through normal metabolic processes and is normally present in your blood and urine.

People with diabetes produce it in larger amounts and the smell of it on their breath is diagnostic of ketosis.

Reproductive toxicity tests show that it has low potential to cause reproductive problems.

mwb,

You should provide references to the original work.  Otherwise, it is called plagiarism.

Ed

Actually, I pulled it out of some of my literature from NIDDK, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, whose building is about 100 yards from mine, and from my grad school notes from 30 years ago.  Funny thing, human physiology has not changed all that much on 30 years and for some folks, what I wrote is common rote knowledge.  We just spout out what we were taught, more likely pounded into us.

For example: http://biology-forums.com/defi...ns/index.php/Acetone

Or if you're suffering from insomnia, here's a little light reading so that you can further your education a bit: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3118590/

You might also try to learn that information on Wikipedia is copied right onto there from primary sources and literature references such as the ones that I write and publish in the scientific literature such as:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioimmunotherapy

Fortunately for all, there is no copyright to my publications.

Except for one of my earliest ones back in 85(?) on a double Aldol condensation reaction using.................acetone.  Fancy that....

Still, citing a reference can't hurt.  

I did.  Same content there that everybody lifted from the text books that I studied decades ago and then everybody posted all over the internet.  Those books were frelling expensive, too! 

Now, go ready some of my published literature and learn something useful that actually works, and that will be on the exam later this week.

mwb,

We all know you are the smartest man on the planet except for perhaps Prof. Hawking, Prof. Alan Guth who proposed the Theory of Inflation, Prof Robert Burns Woodward who won the Noble prize for the Art of Organic Chemistry (now deceased unfortunately), Prof George Whitesides who has over 900 publications, etc.  Need I go on? 

Ed Kelly, Ph.D., MIT

Easy -

You guys want to see real plagiarism, teach school.

I use a block of wood with wet or dry sandpaper, lubricated with something like Wahl clipper oil.  I now have a flat car that does all that for me - Sarge tells me they will publish, so that is all I shall say for now.

Bob Woodward was a contemporary of the professor I got one of my degrees with 40 years ago; those years were the source of some very interesting stories.     

Whitesides is a good guy  - doubt I'll catch up with him on publication numbers as he's got 30 years in the game more than me (about 1/2 his number and ~35 patents now), but I don't play that game anymore.

I've worked with a few other Laureates over the years.  Some were fun and some were not so much.....  But maybe you've heard of Paul Lauterbur...MRI?   

I'm only been smart and lucky enough (emphasis on luck) to make cancer drugs and therapies that actually work. 

Simplicity rules!

acetone and plexiglas (trademarked name) don't mix. The acetone causes it to crack.

hmm Gasoline cleans well too but please don't use it.

At my workbench, I have a clipboard with 11 MSDS's for the chemicals I use, even for Walthers Goo.  I follow the proper storage and handling procedures and the chemicals are safely locked away from "little hands".  We can use this stuff but you need to take precautions and don't become the next "Darwin Award".

Larry

Thanks to everyone who responded......

Hi Don.

IF you're planning on using it in the industrial area of your layout, be careful as it will probably strip the paint off the streets.