canned air for cleaning?

[ryosuke]

I use canned air when cleaning pivot area,but mine contains freon gas. is freon gas harmful to steel? I know that it can make a crack on plastics. Do you think I should buy another which does not contain freon?

 

[knarfeng]

Freon won't hurt steel. For that matter, I've not heard of it being harmful to plastics, at least not the plastics one might expect to find on a knife handle.

 

[Kevin Wilkins]

Hold the can upright when spraying, that way you won't freeze anything. It wont hurt your knife.

I think freon is harmful to the atmosphere, you might want totry another brand that doesn't contain freon. Look for products in a professional camera store.

 

[Cougar Allen]

 

[shecky]

I believe Freon is a somewhat cover-all trade name for several types of refrigerant which may or may not be ozone depleting. It seems these days, ozone depleting Freon would be unlikely made available to consumers.

I believe "canned air" is usually not air at all, but some kind of modern refrigerant. The stuff is typically inert to common substances such as plastics, metals, wood, etc. as it's generally intended for use on such materials. My guess is that damage to plastics may be the result of excessive use or misuse, allowing the liquid refrigerant to be sprayed, which has a significant cooling effect, and may cause temperature related embrittlement.

 

[ryosuke]

Thanks for the info. I'll always be sure to hold it upright.

 

[guyver]

Just a thought,
IF you happen to scuba dive, keep a tank handy and fit it with an airgun. I don't think you need a divers liscense to get one. 3000 lbs goes a long way. Use it for everything, computer blowout, bike tires, knives, reels, top off truck tires. Just compressed air...about $5 to fill. My aluminum 80 I fill about twice a year.