I had a buddy tell me about MEK and he sings it's praises as a super metal cleaner. I'm told it stinks like crazy, so you have to use it in a well ventilated area, but it's supposed to clean crud off metal like nobody's business. I was pondering obtaining some for cleaning the gas system on my semi autos (Win. Mod.100 and an SKS). If it does what he says, I should be able to dip the gas piston and other fouled parts in the stuff and have it come out clean as a whistle. Any of you guys ever use it, and if so, how did it perform for you? Please guys, I don't need opinions or speculation. I'd like to hear from anyone who has actually used it. Thanks in advance.
Methyl Ethyl Ketone as a cleaner?
- Thread starter LawrenceN
- Start date
As a young man (I'm 74 now) MEK was readily available. My car nut friends and I used it to clean old car parts and it did a great job. I'm still kicking so don't know if it had any bad effects and I don't think any of my boyhood friends has suffered any ill effects from using it either. It works but like horseman2 said, read about the dangers of using it and make up your own mind.
Toxic as hell, easily absorbs thru the skin, full mask, and it will eat a lot of types of glove. I've used it to thin Teflon for spraying. It can be hard to find (at least around here) and it isn't very economical to use as a cleaner. I think I would use something else for cleaning, it can be really nasty stuff.
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
Guys on the motorcycle forum I'm on use it to disolve and strip out old failing tank liners, it's strong stuff. Wear gloves and a proper respirator if you can, use it outside if possible. I can get it at a local marine hardware store locally, it's with all the other solvents and two part marine epoxies.
The catalyst that works with fiberglass resin, dangerous oxidizer if I remember correctly.
Grizz
I work with this stuff all the time and I wil say this, don't use use it!!!!
WAY more harmful then good, ya it will clean metal and eat away everything else literally.
Full face shield respirator only, even the fumes will tear you up like tear gas and even a tiny splash of it in your eye will melt the skin off your cornea and chemically burn your eye leaving you with severely blurred eyesight that may return to normal without needing surgery after 2-4 weeks.
Your parts will come out as bare metal after just one or two uses and a wipe down, Ive melted tool grips/ect by getting this stuff on it.
I have also seen clients show up and not wear a respirator and they were very dizzy and vomiting within mere minutes.
Nutshell, it will work but the risk involved far outweigh any benefits.
m14medic.ca
Expried Business Member
- Location
- Regina SK Canada
You can buy it at some hardware stores.
I have some in the shop, I only use it to strip paint off anodized aluminum or other metal surfaces. I have never ever used it as a cleaner. I don't reccomend it for use as a cleaner!
A can of brake clean is much cheaper! Works very well on gas systems etc. Leaves no residue and doesn't require a full haz-mat suit..... A much better option IMHO.
John
I have some in the shop, I only use it to strip paint off anodized aluminum or other metal surfaces. I have never ever used it as a cleaner. I don't reccomend it for use as a cleaner!
A can of brake clean is much cheaper! Works very well on gas systems etc. Leaves no residue and doesn't require a full haz-mat suit..... A much better option IMHO.
John
That is MEKP, Methyl Ethyl Ketone Peroxide, and WILL cause you blindness, if you get any in your eyes. Catalyst for Polyester Resin, the commonly found fiberglassing resin from the boat or hardware store.
MEK stinks, drys clean, and is a very effective solvent, so we used LOTS of it around the paint shops in the Military. You want/need a decent fitted, Organic Vapors rated cartridge on a respirator when splashing a bunch around. Won't get you addicted to it, like Acetone will. Seriously.
A small qty of ketone, applied by a fine tipped brush will allow you to fuse plastic model parts together, without any glue at the seams to muck up your sanding prior to paint, too.
BTDT.Safe enough if used in a well ventilated area. Here's a hint, though, if you or someone else can smell it, the area is NOT well ventilated!
Cheers
Trev
You may just wish to read the MSDS sheet on that Brake Cleaner before you go singing it's praises like that. Like as not, you don't want any more of that in your lungs, than any of the other organic solvents.
Cheers
Trev
shatthatkilledelvis
Regular
- Location
- in the bby
We use it daily as a catalyzer for our polyester resins. Growing up in the family business, I've been around its use for a long time. Over the years, I've developed an acute sensitivity to it. I get a nasty itch if I get it on my hands and I can smell it from across the plant if it gets spilled onto the shop floor or in the guys' clothes. Nasty Shat.
If you want a product to clean guns with, look for Carbon D Solve, if I recall the name correctly. Absolutely melts the burnt carbon away, but no better for you than the rest, to breathe in. Oil well afterwards, or there will be rust everywhere the stuff splashed yer gun parts.
MEK (solvent) is not the same stuff as is used for fiberglassing, which is MEKP (catalyst).
None of the organic solvents that evaporate quickly, are fit to be used without respiratory protection, which pretty much covers all the carb and brake cleaners, as well as about a thousand other canned solvents. Some are more irritating than others, none are 'better' for you.
Well worth reading the MSDS sheets for the assorted products.
Cheers
Trev (who used to use a LOT of 1,1,1 Triclorethane for cleaning out hydraulic lines, allowing it to evaporate out of the drip tray, in the same shop everyone sat around in, and smoked, while eating snacks and drinking coffee! Brake and Wheel, Comox, in a far different era!)
MEK (solvent) is not the same stuff as is used for fiberglassing, which is MEKP (catalyst).
None of the organic solvents that evaporate quickly, are fit to be used without respiratory protection, which pretty much covers all the carb and brake cleaners, as well as about a thousand other canned solvents. Some are more irritating than others, none are 'better' for you.
Well worth reading the MSDS sheets for the assorted products.
Cheers
Trev (who used to use a LOT of 1,1,1 Triclorethane for cleaning out hydraulic lines, allowing it to evaporate out of the drip tray, in the same shop everyone sat around in, and smoked, while eating snacks and drinking coffee! Brake and Wheel, Comox, in a far different era!)
Close, the catalyst is actually methyl ethyl ketone peroxide. That last "peroxide" is the difference between the solvent and the catalyst. This stuff is particularly nasty. Getting ANY of it directly into the eye needs INSTANT flushing with lots of water. If left for as little as 10 to 15 seconds permanent blindness is almost certain.
A paint store locally has MEK. I got some for special use knowing the risks. As a solvent goes it's simply not worth the risks to use on our firearms. Besides it evaporates so fast that unless you use lots of it the solvent will just evaporate away and leave the grunge still in place. Like water turns dirt into mud and then back to dirt when the water evaporates.
It's also not cheap.
If you're looking for a safer general cleaning solvent based recipe google for Ed's Red. It's easy and cheap to make up and highly effective. More importantly the ATF left behind in the spots you can't reach after the solvents evaporate will fight off corrosion and lubricate any moving parts.
I didn't bother with the lanolin they mention. And the odorless kerosene normally used for oil lamps isn't always around and isn't cheap when it is. So I came up with my own "close enough" version;
1/3 ATF, the red stuff
1/3 Varsol or "low odor paint thinner"
1/3 acetone or generic lacquer thinner.
I found that with the acetone if it is a grade with too much water in it that the final mixture comes out cloudy. Acetone, like alcohol, mixes with water. And the cheap acetone often has some water content which comes out when you mix it in with the other things. So I tend to use generic cheap lacquer thinner from the paint stores and get a lot less or no cloudiness in the final mixture.
For a little extra lubricity a shot of a good quality motor oil can give you a little more film strength. I mix my Ed's Red in a 1 liter paint tin I got from the paint store. To a 3/4 full tin I add roughly 1oz of Mobil 1 synthetic engine oil. I find this produces a noticeably more durable oil film that resists rubbing off on hands or being wiped off with a rag on the outsides of the guns. And the 3/4 full tin is nice for dunking parts without a lot of slopping around. But next time around I may go for a gallon can and make my mixture up so it's roughly 1/3 full.
Lots of fumes off this Ed's mix as well. Good ventilation is a must! ! ! ! I also strongly suggest good quality disposable nitrile gloves to avoid too much skin contact.
Got Juice?
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Peoples Republik of Kanukkistan
Nasty stuff. It's healthier to drink PCB's.
MEK is great for working in Carbon Fiber, and dissolving other polar covalent compounds. But in all honesty, stay away from it. Neurological Damage, and one of the few O-Chem products that can effect your reproductive organs.... not a good idea if you plan to have children.
MEK is great for working in Carbon Fiber, and dissolving other polar covalent compounds. But in all honesty, stay away from it. Neurological Damage, and one of the few O-Chem products that can effect your reproductive organs.... not a good idea if you plan to have children.
We use it by the 5 gallon pales at work. You have to watch what you are using it on. On certain metals it can cause hydrogen imbrittlement. So read up on what metals you are cleaning with it. That being said it works great for cleaning bearing and other parts caked in grease or other caked on gunk. If you want something clean with no wiping afterwards it is great just know what you are dealing with. It can be hard to find as well. As stated wear a mask and get the proper gloves it will eat through most of the gloves in a matter of seconds .
