Using BBQ Lighter Fluid Instead of Regular Lighter Fluid

[PhluXx]

Is it okay for cleaning purposes to use BBQ lighter fluid instead of regular Ronson or Zippo lighter fluid? It's a lot easier for me to get my hands on BBQ lighter fluid for cheaper and at better quantities.

[Randy55]

Regular lighter fluid is Naptha.

BBQ lighter fluid can include mineral spirits, and I would think there's a much larger change of it leaving unwanted chemical on your movement

 

[anilv]

Quote

 

phluxx.. put a bit on a mirror and let it dry off. If there is any oily residue then iys not really suitable.

Anilv

[LittleWatchShop]

Popcorn is on the stove. This will be fun.

[JohnR725]

4 hours ago, LittleWatchShop said:

Popcorn is on the stove. This will be fun.

actually I was thinking both fluids would be suitable. Especially if you're thinking of setting fire to the watches. Or maybe you can start some charcoal and were going to barbecue.

Depending upon where you're located in the planet there may be other things to use that are better. These fluids aren't necessarily designed for cleaning. Oftentimes you can go to the hardware store and in the case of Nampa purchase its in a can.

 

 

[PhluXx]

6 hours ago, JohnR725 said:

Depending upon where you're located in the planet there may be other things to use that are better.

 

 

I'm located in Ireland what other things are you referring to? Regular lighter fluid here is stupidly expensive it's literally 10 times the price of BBQ fluid.

Edited June 24, 2022 by PhluXx

[LittleWatchShop]

43 minutes ago, PhluXx said:

I'm located in Ireland what other things are you referring to? Regular lighter fluid here is stupidly expensive it's literally 10 times the price of BBQ fluid.

Essentially, the question is akin to this: When I operate on you barehanded to remove your appendix, what is the best hand soap to use?  Dial or Softsoap?

Given your only two choices, choose lighter fluid (Ronsonol).

[PhluXx]

2 hours ago, LittleWatchShop said:

Essentially, the question is akin to this: When I operate on you barehanded to remove your appendix, what is the best hand soap to use?  Dial or Softsoap?

Given your only two choices, choose lighter fluid (Ronsonol).

Sounds to me like both would wash your hands.

[KarlvonKoln]

I second the advice of Anilv: put a small quantity of both onto a mirror and observe how they evaporate.  Anything left on the mirror would be left on the surface of your movement's parts.  Also, if you have an old donor movement, take out the lever and soak it in there overnight.  There should be nothing in the lighter fluid which softens or dissolves the shellac which holds the stones.  In the end, you must also consider which one cleans better, and if it's actually worth the savings.

[JohnR725]

5 hours ago, PhluXx said:

I'm located in Ireland what other things are you referring to?

Wikipedia's sometimes amusing this is not 100% accurate what lighter fluid is I was looking at another site for barbecue lighter fluid and it has all kinds of interesting things in it including oil which is not necessarily what you want to have when you're cleaning a watch.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighter_fluid

18 hours ago, Randy55 said:

Regular lighter fluid is Naptha.

BBQ lighter fluid can include mineral spirits, and I would think there's a much larger change of it leaving unwanted chemical on your movement

so based on this you would be looking for Naphtha as opposed to lighter fluid. the problem is various countries have various restrictions on products that you can and cannot purchase for whatever reason. for instance if I want to purchase this I would just go to my local hardware store but I would look online first to see if they have any looks like they do. So rather than buying lighter fluid if you could I do to buy just the base product that's nice and clean it even in the description says it's for cleaning.

then is a problem with the message board finding stuff like what alternatives you have in Ireland? You could do a search on the message board and ultimately it get to the discussion below 48 pages and it probably has ideas the point you in the right direction.

 

https://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/3552-cleaning-fluids/

so now you get stuck reading 48 pages of it would really be nice if they would keep a running consolidation of the recommendations rather than torturing people to read the whole thing. There are other solvents out there possibly automotive products designed the clean stuff hardware stores chemists may have which are seeking.

If you can find a friendly watchmaker  maybe they'll be nice and tell you where they purchase their fluids from. Of course the only problem with normal watch cleaning fluids are usually have to buy quantity like a gallon which may be way more than you desire.

[PhluXx]

46 minutes ago, JohnR725 said:

If you can find a friendly watchmaker  maybe they'll be nice and tell you where they purchase their fluids from. Of course the only problem with normal watch cleaning fluids are usually have to buy quantity like a gallon which may be way more than you desire.

Thanks for this. May call a local watch repair shop and see if the lad will help me with any info over the phone.

Are there any other chemicals you can recommend which I can use that would achieve the same purpose and not damage shellac?

Doing some googling closest substitute I can find over here that people user for guitars and other work is something known as White Spirit and Coleman Liquid fuel (see links below). Not sure if this is an acceptable substitute for watch repairs however?

https://www.maceoinltd.com/coleman-liquid-fuel-1l-ireland/

https://www.woodies.ie/basics-750ml-white-spirit-322316

I believe naphtha is particularity difficult to get your hands on in Ireland, as are many other solvents, even getting Isopropyl Alcohol can be a pain at times. It's like this through out much of Europe unfortunately. A lot of UK shops are also found in Ireland however so if there's anyone in this forum from the UK and they want to let me know what they use and where they get it that'd be appreciated.

Edited June 24, 2022 by PhluXx

[JohnR725]

the second fluid looks interesting the first does not. it might be okay but we have a problem. I've attached some PDFs there the safety sheets the safety sheet for this is unhelpful. Your second product actually says is for cleaning that's a good sign.

If you look at the material safety sheets for the cleaner in the rinse you'll notice that the base solvents are basically identical and the cleaner only has a few little additional things for the cleaning aspect. Typically for hobbyists they go for a solvent to do everything which works but it's not as nice as having a cleaner with a rinse. Which technically all of that is referred to as cleaning

so we get from the safety sheet we get Mineral Spirits Regular as the prime ingredient which is also referred to Stoddard solvent which I think if you do a search will probably come up in this group somewhere. I think it might actually be a dry cleaning product. then of course Solvent Naphtha  with a reference that the actual mixture is a secret or trade secret . In any case with safety sheets you can see the substances in both the cleaning and the rinse which is basically identical except the cleaning just has a few extra things. The cutting-edge a clue of the types of solvents are looking for.

Oh and then there's the safety sheet for the fuel and it doesn't actually tell us what it is which makes it kind of worthless if were looking for ingredients that are bad for watch repair

but the online that has the second stuff there are some other things that may be would be suitable also the only way can really tell is look at the safety sheets and it talks about using it for a cleaner which some of the other one said they are for the usually a cleaner with leave a residue behind probably. I have to use the word probably because I know of a cleaner that we use here which is not used typically and watch repair and I discovered one is using the clean glass it left a residue behind although I don't think it actually said it was for cleaning glass. But if you had a cleaning fluid that said you could use it on glass mirrors etc. that would be good

3 hours ago, JohnR725 said:

If you can find a friendly watchmaker  maybe they'll be nice and tell you where they purchase their fluids from.

oh just to spell out what I meant by this. Somewhere in Ireland that I know what existed at one time because I knew somebody who worked in Irish material house. Our places in this country called material houses cousins is one. But anywhere you have a sizable quantity of watchmakers are in a quantity watchmakers there will be a place where watchmakers can buy the parts and their supplies and the tools. Some of them are friendly towards hobbyists some are not. The problem is they're really good at hiding especially the ones that do not do online business because are considered for the trade. But as I said some may do business with you they become hidden gems of obtaining stuff that you can't get online especially if they have been around for a long period of time.

ultrasonic_watch_rinsing_solution.pdf FDSQQ109974.pdf extra_fine_watch_cleaning_solution.pdf

[PhluXx]

53 minutes ago, JohnR725 said:

 

Thanks again I appreciate your help. When you say the "second fluid looks interesting" just to confirm you're referring to the White Spirit?

[jdm]

7 hours ago, PhluXx said:

Are there any other chemicals you can recommend which I can use that would achieve the same purpose and not damage shellac?

Have you given a look to the comprehensive topic below. It has answers to all your questions and then some. In short, petroleum ether is availabile on Ebay UK, it's a proper horological products of guaranteed purity, and it cost less per quantity than fuels that are made to burn, not to clean.

 

 

Edited June 25, 2022 by jdm

[canthus]

BBQ lighter fuel is basically de-odorised kerosine (paraffin).  It is less volatile than lighter fuel, but 'oilier', and will have far more impurities which can lead to more unwanted deposits.  No doubt it could be used as a cleaner but not recommended for watches!  White spirit is a different animal again!  If not the bulk purer petroleum ether, then a good brand lighter fuel (not the cheap ones as they can leave deposits due to low quality). 

The old mirror test is best for assessment.  Plus good ventilation is needed for extended use.

For interest for my hobbyist cleaning process, I use premium brand lighter fuel in two small containers, 1st and 2nd clean.  The 2nd clean I use filter paper and re-use as the 1st clean.  The 1st clean I again use filter paper to recycle for more 1st cleaning. I discard after each watch. 2nd clean is always fresh fluid. I use a soft craft paint brush (1 for each pot) for most parts and run the parts in the pot through US cleaner.  The parts then air-dry on an absorbent non- fibrous base mat.

Edited June 27, 2022 by canthus