AX-O

AX-O

Well Known Member
I went to buy some MEK at NAPA auto store where I got my primer and they told me that MEK is not legal in Cali. Is that true :confused: Seems like many people here use it to clean parts prior to priming. That is the reason I wanted it. He told me that I can use brake cleaner. I told him that I would pass on the brake cleaner but when I built the practice tool box I used the cleaner (had a can at home). Worked fine I guess but the smell was out of control and I was outside. Water and sope sound kind of weird to me. Why would you add water to a part that has no corrosion resistance (after using the SB pad)? Can I use paint thinner? I don?t want to open a can of worms here. Just wanted a little help.
 
MEK in Calif

I buy MEK at Home Depot so It must not be banned in CA
 
They sell MEK in lots of stores around here (south of Sacramento) including Lowes.

I don't get the NAPA thing. I went to the local NAPA auto store to buy some of the self-etching primer. The guy told me it was illegal for him to sell paint in a spray can. I went across the street and bought Dupli-Color in a rattle can and see it everywhere in stores around here.
 
Yes, MEK causes cancer in California, but only in California. :)

They also want to ban water because it is the leading cause of drowning. :)
 
MEK is pretty nasty stuff. Laquer thinner is adequate for 99.999% of all cleaning.
Mel...DAR
 
I think its highly regulated (not banned) in CA. I work for a big company that bought a factory in LA and I know they quit using it at that LA plant years ago (it was still being called out in many of the processes) because of all the regs. The average joe can use it because CAOSHA or what ever they are called there doesn't regulate us in our homes.
 
I bought it at OSH. We use a ton of it at our shop too. I don't expect the fumes to be much better than brake cleaner though. Might consider Isopropal (sp?) Alcohal instead for the majority of your work.
 
Soap and Water

Depending on what you are doing, it's amazing how effective soap and water are. Dawn dishwashing soap works particularly well, I've found.
 
I've noticed that Home Depot and other hardware stores alike do sell them, but only in quart size.
 
The fear about MEK being some sort of instant death does not appear to be well supported by evidence. Most of the alternatives that people use because of their fear of MEK, actually, have been proven harmful. There's a lot of "I heard from my friend that..." stuff out there.

You certainly don't want to use it without a respirator and protection -- you would use any chemical without a respirator and protection -- however.

Unless you're a mouse or a rat. Then I wouldn't use it. :)
 
Actually, as far as good solvents go, MEK and acetone are not very toxic- the reason they are still allowed by EPA to be sold accross the counter. Id be more worried by their flammability. They are about the only solvents available that cut epoxy resins well; other solvents also work well for degreasing/cleaning.

I might add, EPA sometimes gets things wrong; they often base decisions on politics more than science (methylene chloride is a great example, considered bad, but has never had a verified documented example of any medical problem in spite of widespread misuse in the painting industry-an example of guilt by association from other bad chlorinated solvent family members, 1,1,1- Trichloroethane is another).
 
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