is pant thinner a good method of bearing cleaning?

Yo-Yo Mods and Maintenance
1

just wanted to ask if using paint thinner is a good idea.

Thanks, Pajama Man

2

Mineral Spirit’s is a specific paint thinner, and yes, any paint thinner will work.

3

One of the best, mineral spirits Is the best paint thinner I’ve tried. ::slight_smile:

4

Never said it wasn’t…

5

I didn’t say you did ::slight_smile:

6
7

:confused:

8

Acetone is better.

9

They are pretty much the same thing

10

Not really. Paint thinner is generally considered to be mineral spirits or lacquer thinner.

11

Not really. Acetone is a simple ketone, whereas Mineral Spirits is a mix of hydrocarbons. And in bearing cleaning, Acetone is far superior.

12

To translate for some: acetone is one of those unfamiliar magical chemicals, whereas mineral spirits are basically gasoline.

13

Yep. And Acetone doesn’t leave a residue like Mineral spirits does, because Mineral spirits evaporates quickly. So a rinse in Acetone leaves you with a pretty much perfectly clean bearing. I prefer it way over any other chemical.

14

Ummm, I really think you have that totally backwards. Acetone evaporates far quicker than mineral spirits. that’s why it feels colder on your hands (should you happen to get any on you). And because of that it will leave a residue at times… :wink:

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15

Really? I normally use gloves, so I’ve never experience that coldness. But in my experience, Acetone does clean better, whether it’s the speed of evaporation or not. Sorry for the mis-info.

16

Make sure to use 100% acetone, because i have used some stuff before that obviously had other things in it and I tried it a few times on diff. bearings, It was terrible.

17

Sometimes nail polish remover calls itself “acetone” and as the_dope_chaud mentions above, it is not 100% pure. It contains fragrance and conditioners.

I have used laboratory-grade acetone (I assume it was denatured and everything), store-bought acetone, and store-bought mineral spirits. Plain ol’ mineral spirits seems to be doing just as good of a job as anything else, and I’ve even been skipping the acetone bath step I used to use…

Mineral spirits, paper slip to ensure there’s no gunk, then a drop or less of thin oil. Seems to be making me happy right now. Could change any time. :wink:

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