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Any ideas as to what this stuff is?

Started by Godfather367, March 31, 2015, 11:12:37 PM

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Godfather367

I was given this stuff from a friend who was a retired Phone company worker. He had told me it was used for cleaning phones, and that it would make them look like new. I never tried to use it on anything, but it does say cleaner-lubricant. The one bottle that has a date on it is Oct. 1971. It also says Use only as directed in Bell System practices. Contains Methyl Ethyl Keytone   N.Y.F.D.  C. of  A. No. 3266. My question is, does anyone know what this stuff is really used for and, is it too old to use?

   Anthony
Anthony -
When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
ATCA 4719
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WEBellSystemChristian

It's amazing that Bell System had their name slapped on everything, from lanterns to cleaning fluid to headache medication!

I'm sure one of our BSP experts knows where instructions for this stuff is located within the BSPs.
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

G-Man

Not to be an alarmist, but the New York Fire Department warning should be your first clue as to its inherent danger. It would appear that your friend succeeded in passing on a liability to you.MEK has long been banned in the telecom workplace. Be careful since it is easily absorbed through the skin and by breathing its fumes; not to mention it is highly flammable. In short, remove it from your household and preferably dispose of it at one of the free household hazardous waste clinics. As far as cleaning telephone instruments, we used other, much  safer, chemicals.

G-Man

#3
I have since found reference that "back in the day,"  some telephone companies did use it to clean instruments, though our companies used another product. However, with todays environmental concerns, I would not have it in my household anymore that I would have a bottle of once commonly used, carbon tet sitting around.

       
  • 4.   CLEANING AGENTS
  • 4.01   KS 16328 Cleaner-Lubricant is to be used to restore the appearance on
  •        plastic external parts of telephone sets and other apparatus.
  • 4.02   Any other cleaners, including "aerosol can" packaged products, are not
  •        approved for use.
  • 5.   WIPE-UP OPERATIONS
  • 5.01   The KS 16328 Cleaner-Lubricant should be applied from a spray
  •        applicator rather than by a cloth moistened directly from the bottle.
  •        One pint spray applicators using a plastic bottle with a pistol-grip
  •        spray actuator can be obtained locally from automobile parts and
  •        service stores or "variety" stores.
  • 5.02   Apply a "mist" spray of the cleaner on the telephone set and cords.
  •        Wipe with a cloth or paper towel and "rub-up" lightly to a polished
  •        finish.
  • 5.03   Rubbed up telephone sets should be placed in salvaged telephone set
  •        boxes or clear plastic bags which should be clearly labeled or marked
  •        to identify the telephone set contained therein.
One of the uses was for cleaning the recording heads on announcement machines.

TelePlay

That's very interesting.

Somewhere on the forum is a topic that deals with chemical sanding. I would say the stuff in these bottles is not pure MEK but a mixture containing a small amount of MEK and an inert solvent, such as water, and maybe something else.

A diluted or weak solution of acetone, MEK or other plastic solvent with water or a weak alcohol/water mixture on a cloth will produce very nice results on plastic, better than fine sanding and faster than Novus 2. But the concentration is important. Too weak and nothing happens, too strong and you will stick the cloth to the plastic.

Here is a link to the topic I found quickly which talks about the use of such "cleaners."

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=10318.msg109581#msg109581

unbeldi

#5
Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), also known as butanone, is a common paint cleaner and thinner available off the shelf of paint stores and the like.

It is actually quite harmless, and is only a mild irritant in small concentration.  Only prolonged expose causes harm.

It not actually considered an air pollutant anymore, in the reasonably expected concentrations.   It readily breaks down in the atmosphere, but there is some evidence to suggest it increases ozone levels.

It is flammable and can ignite easily, that's true.

It is very similar to acetone and used for many of the same purposes.

I would actually be surprised if there much butanone left in these jars, after this long of a time. It's volatility is very high.  It is definitely not pure, but only a minor component of these polishes, as it would be hard to use and most likely would damage the surfaces.

TelePlay

#6
unbeldi and I were posting at the same time, but he was faster . . .  ;)

Quote from: G-Man on April 01, 2015, 12:17:10 AM
I have since found reference that "back in the day,"  some telephone companies did use it to clean instruments, though our companies used another product. However, with todays environmental concerns, I would not have it in my household anymore that I would have a bottle of once commonly used, carbon tet sitting around.

It is still available but getting harder to find. I got a can of Sunnyside MEK at an ACE hardware store a year or two ago when I noticed the MEK at Home Depot was now a MEK Substitute product, not the same thing. It might be hard to find these days.

MEK is a ketone, not a chlorinated solvent. MEK and acetone are both good plastic solvents, glues if you will for bonding plastics. TCE and Carbon Tet were used as solvents to remove grease from parts and back in the day, it was dumped out the back door of factories allowing it to sink down into the ground water and cause problems for people with nearby wells. It is heavier than water and not soluble in water so it would accumulate at the bottom of ground water aquifers. As such, very hard to remove when found. MEK and acetone mix with water.

Chlorinated hydrocarbons were used for many years in the dry cleaning industry. The ones that had underground storage tanks that rusted out and began leaking were the biggest environmental problem. Don't know what they use now in dry cleaning.


Dan/Panther

M.E.K. is a chemical we used to use back in the day to soak bowling balls in to soften the shell and make them grip the lane better. It was illegal, but worked great until The A.B.C. caught on. We also used it in manufacturing magnetic recording tape.

If you breath it, you literally float....well it seemed that way.

D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

TelePlay

Quote from: Dan/Panther on April 01, 2015, 12:19:28 PM
It was illegal, but worked great . . .

Illegal under the American Bowling Congress rules . . .  right? How did they know? They put a sniffer on your ball at the lanes?


Anyway, I was wrong above. It wasn't an Ace Hardware store, it was a True Value store. Stopped by a True Value today in a near by city and they had it on the shelf - Sunnyside MEK, quart and gallon sizes in the paint thinner and solvent section. They were asking about $12 for the quart.

Acetone was just under $8, for comparison. They didn't even have the MEK substitute on the shelf.

Ace only carries the substitute. The MSDS I found for the substitute says it is 100% ethyl acetate, an ester, not a ketone.

19and41

MEK was used in most places I have worked to dissolve conformal coatings on PC boards to allow repairs.  The last container my employer bought of it was made in India.  The stuff will also melt the common sense right out of your head.   :o
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke