New Listing at MBK

[basementcalling]

I guess they are getting into the safe chemical cleaner sales.

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/product-p/rus-302805.htm

Properly created in the appropriate forum board with respect to his honorable proprietariness, @peteski  du Finickiest. 

[thomasjmdavis]

Will it clean up FUD and FXD?

[ridinshotgun]

Will it clean up FUD and FXD?

I had read on a blog, can't recall where but it was in the last few weeks, that the person had used it on FUD with favorable results.

[peteski]

According to its MSDS sheet , it contains . . . Phosphoric Acid!
I was under the impression that the FUD wax would be dissolved by petroleum distillates (not by acids).
I also don't think that acids have any place on a model RR (especially around electrical circuitry).  Not sure why MBK decided to carry this stuff. 

Oops!  Wrong Krud Kutter.  This is the "adhesive remover" - different animal.  The msds sheet for this stuff shows  sodium metasilicate pentahydrate and alcohol ethoxylate. Are those chemicals really safer than other stuff we use for removing FUD?

[thomasjmdavis]

It does say "Danger" on the label in 2 languages, so I would not put it in the "safe" category.  But what I would be looking for is works faster and/or non flammable- or at least higher flash point than Bestine.  Just wondering if anyone had tried this stuff, successfully or otherwise.

Somewhere on shapeways own site, I read that some folks were using Simple Green, which I have had some success with on paint.  While it did work, took a looooonnng time, and I had to scrub enough that I managed to break off a detail part from the shell I was working on.  Given that the soaking time was in days, I am concerned about long term effects on the FUD material.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

According to its MSDS sheet , it contains . . . Phosphoric Acid!
I was under the impression that the FUD wax would be dissolved by petroleum distillates (not by acids).
I also don't think that acids have any place on a model RR (especially around electrical circuitry).  Not sure why MBK decided to carry this stuff. 

Oops!  Wrong Krud Kutter.  This is the "adhesive remover" - different animal.  The msds sheet for this stuff shows  sodium metasilicate pentahydrate and alcohol ethoxylate. Are those chemicals really safer than other stuff we use for removing FUD?

Well, if you're looking for Bestine, it may not be safer, but it IS still being made.

[ridinshotgun]

I thought the parent company that made it went out of business last year?

It is most definitely getting scarcer and scarcer. I ended up just buying some straight he plane for half the cost of what the remaining besting suppliers online, because it isn't available locally.

[davefoxx]

While not particularly looking forward to using something as toxic as Bestine, I discovered this much safer product at the local A.C. Moore store:



On my first attempt, I left the FUD piece in the solution for about three or four days because I forgot about it.  On my second piece (FXD, this time), I put it in for about twenty-four hours.  In both cases, the part came out translucent but later dried to the opaque white finish that usually indicates that the wax is gone.  I will admit that it smells like Goo Gone, but this wax remover was probably less expensive.

DFF

[havingfuntoo]

I am not influenced by the warnings on the MSDS when I make a judgment call, I look for the list of declared ingredients on the MSDS.  I don't understand how they can claim that  anything that contains D-limoene is safe. The biodegradable status is only on the surfactant that is used  the product. Hydrotreated light distillate, Dlimonene, to pick a couple of the products off the relevant MSDS. Really biodegradable? I suppose they are if given a long time, but then so is crude oil. 

   

[peteski]

I am not influenced by the warnings on the MSDS when I make a judgment call, I look for the list of declared ingredients. 

Many products nowadays do not list the ingredients list on their packaging (or are very vague).  And I often do not even have the product in question at-hand. So looking at the MSDS sheet is the next best thing I can do to see what the product contains.  Those sheets are usually available online.

Some MSDSs list just few ingredients which might be hazardous, others have a more complete list of stuff in the product.  it is a crap shoot. But all MSDSs at least give some clue as to what the product contains.

[havingfuntoo]

Hey peteski, as usual well spotted, I was typing in a hurry and forgot to proof read my posting. I should  have put MSDS after the 'list of declared ingredients', it has now been edited.

I was not referring to the contents list on the container which I agree can be very vague or even invisible, and in some cases quiet misleading. Check out bathroom cleaners and some of the names used to describe the acids employed, or face creams that sell as exotic concoctions to keep the user  looking young and attractive.   

[GonzoCRFan]

Come on, phosphoric acid isn't such a bad guy.  If you drink soda, you're drinking phosphoric acid. It's diluted to the point where it's safe for consumption, but there's a reason soda can be used as a makeshift toilet bowl cleaner (phosphoric acid versus hydrochloric acid). Chemical safety pretty much entirely boils down to concentration (if something is able to burn you) or administered dosage (if something is able to poison you).

And honestly, sometimes you NEED something nasty to get the job done. Anyone ever tried to strip the paint off those cast-metal Athearn 65' mill gons? I tried everything in my arsenal until I had to go out and buy commercial-grade paint stripper loaded with methylene chloride. Speaking of methylene chloride, the solvent cements we use contain stuff that's a lot worse than common cleaning chemicals like limonene.