what is denatured alcohol and where do you get it?

themajorrager · #1 06-28-2005, 06:59 AM

Hi TBers,

sorry to ask a stupid question but it appears that denatured alcohol doesnt exist - at least not hear in australia. everyone i have asked here just looks at me funny

is denatured alcohol known by any other names? and where is it typically purchased and what is it typically used for?
thanks

carl-anton · #2 06-28-2005, 07:13 AM

Here in Denmark it's also called household spirit or denatureted ethanol. What's important is that it has no or very little content of water. What I use is 93% ethanol, and does no corrosive damage to my strings when I leave them overnight. Saw the beginning of corrosion when I forgot them for over a week.

BurningSkies · #3 06-28-2005, 03:50 PM

Hey, you're not finding it because you nutty southern hemi types use a different name for it...

I know it's been discussed here before, and after a bit of searching...I came across this from a NZ member:

"Denatured alcohol/Methylated spirits are names for ethanol that has 4-6% methanol in it. (and it is not completely pure, that's why it smells like gasoline and why they colour it blue/purple)."

Check for Methylated Spirits at yer local hardware type store. Most of our places keep it with the painting/finishing supplies.

themajorrager · #4 06-28-2005, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

Hey, you're not finding it because you nutty southern hemi types use a different name for it...

I know it's been discussed here before, and after a bit of searching...I came across this from a NZ member:

"Denatured alcohol/Methylated spirits are names for ethanol that has 4-6% methanol in it. (and it is not completely pure, that's why it smells like gasoline and why they colour it blue/purple)."

Check for Methylated Spirits at yer local hardware type store. Most of our places keep it with the painting/finishing supplies.

thanks Burning Skies. yes when we aussies arent riding kangaroos, wrestling crocodiles or feeding our pet koalas we are thinking up wacky names for otherwise sensibley named products!!!

BurningSkies · #5 06-28-2005, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by themajorrager

thanks Burning Skies. yes when we aussies arent riding kangaroos, wrestling crocodiles or feeding our pet koalas we are thinking up wacky names for otherwise sensibley named products!!!

Do you guys really have those things?

...I always thought they were inventions of people like Disney. I always figured that it was more like the second Mad Max movie.

themajorrager · #6 06-28-2005, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

Do you guys really have those things?

...I always thought they were inventions of people like Disney. I always figured that it was more like the second Mad Max movie.

i dont mean to be rude but you are kidding arent you?

havent you ever seen a nature documentary or Steve Irwin AKA The Crocodile Hunter? i thought Americans were supposed to be nuts for him - he makes a living running around in the wild jumping on crocodiles and wrestling them, picking up snakes and getting too close to sharks!!! he also runs a zoo
yes we have lots of funny creatures "down under": 9 of the 10 deadliest snakes on the planet; kangaroos; wallabies; echidnas; wombats; tasssie devils; plenty of man eating sharks; koala bears; possums; and emus - none of which have escaped from the Disney studios!!!

Fuzzbass · #7 06-29-2005, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by themajorrager

thanks Burning Skies. yes when we aussies arent riding kangaroos, wrestling crocodiles or feeding our pet koalas we are thinking up wacky names for otherwise sensibley named products!!!

LOL

P.S. I'm sure BurningSkies was kidding.

BurningSkies · #8 06-29-2005, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by themajorrager

9 of the 10 deadliest snakes on the planet

Now I would like an explanation of how this can be true and that Irwin can still be alive...Maybe someone needs to help the snakes a bit?

Here in the US we have sharks too.

They've been hungry lately.

Not as much fun as when a bear wandered away with someone's baby not too long ago.

themajorrager · #9 06-30-2005, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

Now I would like an explanation of how this can be true and that Irwin can still be alive...Maybe someone needs to help the snakes a bit?

Here in the US we have sharks too.

They've been hungry lately.

Not as much fun as when a bear wandered away with someone's baby not too long ago.

LMAO

In Australia we had a baby go missing in 80s - the mother claims that "a dingo took my baby"! (a dingo is a native dog)
As for Irwin i dont know how he does it - maybe he's "at one with the animals"?

Sonorous · #10 06-30-2005, 01:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by themajorrager

yes we have lots of funny creatures "down under": 9 of the 10 deadliest snakes on the planet; kangaroos; wallabies; echidnas; wombats; tasssie devils; plenty of man eating sharks; koala bears; possums; and emus - none of which have escaped from the Disney studios!!!

Don't forgot about the majorrager.

EDIT:I know it's two words...

Aussiephoenix · #11 06-30-2005, 02:28 AM

You're not going to build a home grown flamethrower are you? lol

BurningSkies · #12 06-30-2005, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by themajorrager

LMAO

In Australia we had a baby go missing in 80s - the mother claims that "a dingo took my baby"! (a dingo is a native dog)
As for Irwin i dont know how he does it - maybe he's "at one with the animals"?

With the bear thing, the woman had several kids, and took off with the older one, while leaving the baby...I just figured that she sized up the situation and took the one she had the most time and effort invested in.

...if you all took pictures the next time Irwin was 'at one' with the animals, maybe you could get him arrested?

Oh, how's winter treating you...it's in the 90's here.

themajorrager · #13 06-30-2005, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

With the bear thing, the woman had several kids, and took off with the older one, while leaving the baby...I just figured that she sized up the situation and took the one she had the most time and effort invested in.

...if you all took pictures the next time Irwin was 'at one' with the animals, maybe you could get him arrested?

Oh, how's winter treating you...it's in the 90's here.

and now hears Tom with the weather...
yes its freakin cold right now - you tend to get that in winter though. a lot of people outside Australia (esp. in the UK) dont believe that we have snow here in the winter - but we do! australia is often sterotyped as a big desert with lots of "outback", some beaches and not much else. when i was going to school in england i was actually able to convince some people, without much difficulty, that i used to ride kangaroos to school back "down under" and had several pet koalas.
so much ignorance in the world...
so little time to educate...

steve irwin is actaully a very intelligent guy who contibutes enormously to the conservation of wildlife in australia. i guess he just likes to live dangerously? or will just do whatever it takes to get people watching his documentaries so he can educate them on australias wildlife?

**WillPlay4Food** · #14 06-30-2005, 11:14 AM

I hate to make an on-topic reply after all this wonderful discussion of wildlife, but denatured alcohol may also be referred to as isopropyl alcohol IIRC. Like an earlier poster said, look for the stuff > 90%.

Hey, maybe if you're in a pinch, you could use some grain alcohol/Everclear. That stuff is like 190 proof which means it's 95% pure alcohol.

themajorrager · #15 06-30-2005, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillPlay4Food

I hate to make an on-topic reply after all this wonderful discussion of wildlife, but denatured alcohol may also be referred to as isopropyl alcohol IIRC. Like an earlier poster said, look for the stuff > 90%.

Hey, maybe if you're in a pinch, you could use some grain alcohol/Everclear. That stuff is like 190 proof which means it's 95% pure alcohol.

thanks man but burningskies has already enlightened me - "down under" denatured alcohol is called methylated spirits - 95% ethanol. ive got some strings soaking in it as i type!

mchildree · #16 06-30-2005, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillPlay4Food

I hate to make an on-topic reply after all this wonderful discussion of wildlife, but denatured alcohol may also be referred to as isopropyl alcohol IIRC. Like an earlier poster said, look for the stuff > 90%.

Hey, maybe if you're in a pinch, you could use some grain alcohol/Everclear. That stuff is like 190 proof which means it's 95% pure alcohol.

No, sorry...that's incorrect. Isopropyl alcohol (AKA "rubbing alcohol") is mostly water, and doesn't work well for string cleaning. Denatured alcohol has much less water content, dries faster, and is a much stronger solvent...therefore a better string cleaner. Look in the paint thinners area.

Razman · #17 06-30-2005, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mchildree

No, sorry...that's incorrect. Isopropyl alcohol (AKA "rubbing alcohol") is mostly water, and doesn't work well for string cleaning. Denatured alcohol has much less water content, dries faster, and is a much stronger solvent...therefore a better string cleaner. Look in the paint thinners area.

I would hardly refer to Isopropyl alch. @ 90% mostly water. Granted, denatured alcohol may be better, but you don't necessarily have to soak your strings for that long in it to clean them. Now I wouldn't reccomend using the 70% stuff but 90 should work fine. The last time I cleaned my strings, I used denatured and soaked them for an hour. The stuff is very effective and I can't see a reason why one would need to leave them in longer.

mchildree · #18 06-30-2005, 05:45 PM

I think you might be referring to a lab-grade isopropyl alcohol or something...the typical stuff you get in drug stores is usually less than 10% alcohol IIRC.

**WillPlay4Food** · #19 07-01-2005, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mchildree

I think you might be referring to a lab-grade isopropyl alcohol or something...the typical stuff you get in drug stores is usually less than 10% alcohol IIRC.

In my post I said get >90% isopropyl alcohol.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillPlay4Food

Like an earlier poster said, look for the stuff > 90%.

I don't think you could even buy 10% rubbing alcohol as wine would have a higher alcohol content.

jbathehut · #20 07-03-2005, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mchildree

I think you might be referring to a lab-grade isopropyl alcohol or something...the typical stuff you get in drug stores is usually less than 10% alcohol IIRC.

I think most rubbing alcohol that you find in the supermarket is around %70, but i've seen %90 also. You can always call up Fisher scientific and get the %99 isopropyl alcohol. That stuff dries real quick.