Denatured Alcohol Question

[Nice Figures]

I've been using Denatured Alcohol to raise the grain on projects (mostly turning) before finish sanding and I also spray some on woods when I want to see the figure before finishing. My question is, denatured alcohol is a bit expensive, is there any problem or reason not to use regular rubbing alcohol for these two applications?

Thanks, Paula

 

[pslamp32]

DNA doesn't raise the grain of wood afaik. Distilled water would be a better choice IMO. Cheaper too.

 

[Howard Acheson]

DA should not be significantly raising the grain of your wood unless the DA has absorbed lots of water. However, almost any liquid will cause wood fibers to expand and then raise off the surface (it's not the "grain" raising). A lot depends on the wood but you could need to lightly sand after applying DA

Rubbing alcohol actually is made using added water so you don't want to use that.

Any water, distilled or not, will cause the most "grain raising".

You can use any thinner. Many use paint thinner or mineral spirits but this can take more than an hour to fully evaporate. Lacquer thinner is an option but this may be more expensive and more dangerous than alcohol. Alcohol will evaporate the fastest letting you get to finishing sooner.

 

[Tarhead]

Another strike against rubbing alcohol is that some versions have lanolin added and I imagine it would mess up your finish. You can get 99% Isopropyl alcohol cheap at any drug store. That may work better.

 

[jeff...]

Regular old grain alcohol is cheaper isn't it?

 

[Travis Porter]

Isn't denatured alcohol nothing but grain alcohol with poison added to it?

 

[DaveO]

Isn't denatured alcohol nothing but grain alcohol with poison added to it?

Yes, about 10% methanol or wood alcohol, which can make you go blind if you drink it. It is added to avoid the drinking alcohol taxes, it is very difficult to distill the methanol from the ethanol.

Dave

 

[Gofor]

Regular old grain alcohol is cheaper isn't it?

Depends on how big a cut the local sheriff gets.:rolf:

Go

 

[nelsone]

Regular old grain alcohol is cheaper isn't it?

Not at $20 a quart! Not that I know anything about that!:wink_smil

 

[Howard Acheson]

Regular old grain alcohol is cheaper isn't it?

Only if you make it yourself or have a local distiller of unlicensed likker. :gar-La;

 

[jeff...]

Not at $20 a quart! Not that I know anything about that!:wink_smil

Oh you got a hold of the finished product with markup tacked on, perhaps an up sell too.

 

[DavidF]

I tend to use MS if I DON'T want to raise the grain much, for just removing dust for instance. To raise the grain before sanding I use water straight out of the tap (Faucet)

 

[Nice Figures]

Thanks for the responses, I use alcohol because it dries quicker than water but I'll give water a try and see how much longer it takes to dry.

Paula

 

[Gofor]

One caution on the water: If it contains a lot of iron you will get black stains on any acidic wood (i.e. oak, etc). If this happens you may want to use bottled water, etc or get a cheap iron filter.

Go

 

[Howard Acheson]

Distilled water is best to use. Most bottled water cames right out of city water pipes. Even though it filtered, it can still contain enough iron to cause problems with woods.

 

[jeff...]

I still think regular old grain alcohol would be better and cheaper too - just watch it around sparks and flames - you know it can get mighty touchy.

http://www.bombshock.com/fronts/alcohol.html

 

[Tarhead]

Pull out the PChem texts:gar-La;

The highest concentration of Grain Alcohol (ethanol) made through simple distillation is 191 proof or 95.6%. The remaining 4.4% is distilled water. Everclear is 190 proof (95% Ethanol + 5% distilled water). Denatured alcohol is 90% ethanol and 10% Methanol and is a zeotropic mixture. Water is boiled out of denatured alcohol during manufacturing.

While Everclear might be good for PJ or spiking watermelons, it probably will raise the grain more than denatured will.

 

[jeff...]

Pull out the PChem texts:gar-La;

The highest concentration of Grain Alcohol (ethanol) made through simple distillation is 191 proof or 95.6%. The remaining 4.4% is distilled water. Everclear is 190 proof (95% Ethanol + 5% distilled water). Denatured alcohol is 90% ethanol and 10% Methanol and is a zeotropic mixture. Water is boiled out of denatured alcohol during manufacturing.

While Everclear might be good for PJ or spiking watermelons, it probably will raise the grain more than denatured will.

And Grain is not the only thing it will raise :gar-Bi