Acetone as primary cleaner?
Hi!
Until now I have only been using acetone to clean my PEI sheet. After I read somewhere that acetone is quite rough on on the surface I tried something similar to Windex (Glass/window cleaner). The first print failed immediately, wiped it again with acetone, and the print is now running fine.
Is it OK to only use acetone, or will the PEI surface get a unnecessary short life?
Re: Acetone as primary cleaner?
The only time you want to use Windex is when printing PETG, TPU/Flex, or any other filament that sticks too well to the PEI sheet.
Most cleaning can be achieved with 90% or higher alcohol with an occassional wipe down with acetone. On the rare occassion that I find nothing sticks I will take the bed to the kitchen sink and wash it with Dawn dishwashing soap and warm water and then dry it with a lint free cloth/paper towel.
Re: Acetone as primary cleaner?
Aha... no more Windex and PLA then 🙂
Does this mean I should avoid using acetone frequently? Does it matter?
Re: Acetone as primary cleaner?
Does this mean I should avoid using acetone frequently? Does it matter?
It's a tough question to give a good answer to. I would use it less frequently than I would isopropyl alcohol, if that makes sense.
Re: Acetone as primary cleaner?
Does this mean I should avoid using acetone frequently? Does it matter?
That depends on your definition of "frequently".
The official line from the Knowledge Base is:
Increasing PEI adhesion
Acetone
PEI can lose its adhesive powers after a couple of hundred hours. When you see models coming loose regularly, wipe the surface thoroughly with acetone to restore the adhesion.
Do not overuse acetone. Extended use makes PEI surface brittle. Also, do not use acetone before printing with PETG.
and
About once a week, or when prints stop sticking, use ACETONE to clean the bed. It removes grease better than IPA or Windex. It also rejuvenates the print surface. However, if you use acetone every day, PEI will become brittle and start cracking.
I've found this advice to work very well; I use 91% IPA before every print, and acetone only when the IPA stops working. I've never needed to resort to detergent or Windex.
That's "MISTER Old Fart" to you!
Re: Acetone as primary cleaner?
Ok, about time to stop using acetone all the time!! Thank you all!
Re: Acetone as primary cleaner?
I found a nice table here which confirms the general advice about only using acetone infrequently:
http://sevierlab.vet.cornell.edu/resources/Chemical-Resistance-Chart-Detail.pdf
(These kinds of tables are super useful for questions like this.)
Re: Acetone as primary cleaner?
Quite aside from the effects on PEI and your printing materials - if the MDS doesn't prompt you to use Acetone as rarely as possible, probably nothing will:
http://physics.utsa.edu/memslab/MSDS/Acetone.pdf
Re: Acetone as primary cleaner?
Quite aside from the effects on PEI and your printing materials - if the MDS doesn't prompt you to use Acetone as rarely as possible, probably nothing will:
http://physics.utsa.edu/memslab/MSDS/Acetone.pdf
Considering that it's been used as nail polish remover almost forever, I'm inclined to agree...
"You're soaking in it!" 😯
That's "MISTER Old Fart" to you!
Re: Acetone as primary cleaner?
I use alcohol cleaning first, and if that does not work I use acetone, then alcohol again. If that does not work, I use Dawn dish soap, rinse and dry well, then alcohol.
Have never had that last one fail.