409 stone and steel

[CWendling]

Went to reorder and found out that it is discontinued. Has anyone tried any other similar products that work as well or is it back to windex/simple green? I saw some Weiman granite cleaner/polish and some simple green SS cleaner on amazon

 

[Drew Riley]

Looks like it isn’t quite discontinued, but they’ve decided to prioritize other products during the pandemic. I see that hasn’t stopped budding capitalists from trying to get $50 per bottle on fleabay, haha.

As for alternatives, I’m not sure. Curious to hear what others think.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

What do you want to do with it?>
If it is for neutralizing FC after an etch, any cleaner with ammonia will work. You can mix your own with dish soap and ammonia.
If using for a lubricant while sanding or with waterstones, any good detergent will work. Dawn is what I use, simple green, Joy, etc. About a Tsp. to a Tbs. per gallon is all you need.

 

[Drew Riley]

A lot of us use it for keeping the paper clean while hand sanding. True, most detergents, windex, simple green, etc... do a perfectly fine job. The 409 does seem to work a little better than average though.
Not enough to go from $4 a bottle to $50+ though.

 

[CWendling]

A lot of us use it for keeping the paper clean while hand sanding. True, most detergents, windex, simple green, etc... do a perfectly fine job. The 409 does seem to work a little better than average though.
Not enough to go from $4 a bottle to $50+ though.

Yep, someone turned me onto it a couple years ago. Not sure why, but it does seem to work better than windex or simple green like you said. I may try the simple green steel polish or weiman stone polish. See how they work

 

[samuraistuart]

I tried it. Saw no difference whatsoever. I'm not sure why it would be any different to begin with.

 

[Signalprick]

This is what I've been using. I couldn't find the 409 stuff either so not sure how it would compare but I'd be interested to know.

 

[logem]

Have you tried WD-40? I really like it for hand sanding.

 

[Nsewell]

I have tried it a while back and can tell no difference. I prefer wd40

 

[Skiller1nc]

I constantly switch between very dilute simple green, diluted Windex, and wd40. Really can't tell much difference in any of them. Wd40 will stain hands more though.