degreasing before epoxy

Just a thought…..there are maybe 100 degreasers on the market and “crud” is not likely on any labels. Not sure what your real question is for the knife community here but…Use acetone or isopropyl alcohol 👍
 
I recommend the above, but use BOTH. The acetone first and then the iso alcohol. I believe most acetone you buy at the box stores today has stuff in it (call it crud if you like!) but it can leave a film behind. I use acetone and then iso alcohol. No problems.
 
A clean can of degreaser is a good first step. A wipe down with alcohol (denatured or isopropyl) will finish the job.

Tip:
The solvent for uncured epoxy is alcohol, not acetone. Acetone is the solvent for cured epoxy.
 
De-greaser is a pretty general term, and not all are created equal. Some can certainly leave a film behind.
As others have stated, I too like to do my final wipe down with some Denatured Alcohol before applying epoxy.
 
I suppose I'll never know what is actually in my degreaser. I'll get some alcohol as well then.

Crud--something unwanted
examples: rust in a water cooled system, something that will keep epoxy from adhering correctly, dog stuff on the sole of your shoe
 
As a guy who stood behind an auto parts counter for 10 years, I never met a carb cleaner that DIDN'T leave residue. Brake cleaner works just fine (especially the chlorinated old school stuff), but I avoid carb.
 
I've got a can of "engine degreaser" that leaves a nice oily residue all over your parts. Just like you'd like to have on engine parts.
Garbage for cleaning before glue up.
I agree with the others, isopropyl alcohol is the way to go.
 
I have been using acetone for years (yeah...I know) but will be switching to Isopropyl Alcohol in the future, mainly because the cost of acetone has gone up.
 
The Big A sells 200-proof denatured ethanol (100% ethanol/isopropanol blend) in a four-quart pack for $36 delivered. I get that and keep a bottle in several places around the shop so I can always have one handy. I have found this to be the best cleaner/solvent for uncured epoxy. (see tip below)


The pricing below is based on a search from The Big A. These all work fine for clean-up and blade prep.

Kleen-Strip lacquer Thinner is the cheapest cleaner solvent for epoxies. It runs about $23 a gallon delivered. It is a blend of acetone/ethanol/methanol. Works fine.

Isopropyl alcohol runs about $25 a gallon.

Denatured alcohol runs about $25 a gallon for fuel grade and $38 for cleaning grade. Fuel grade will work fine for blades. Cleaning grade is overkill, but some folks want their tang as clean as possible when gluing the scales on.

TIP:
To make an epoxy less viscous for pouring down the tang hole in a full tang handle, thin the epoxy with a little of the 200-proof alcohol. Best done with a slow cure resin. Let it sit a few minutes for the alcohol to vaporize some and then insert the tang. Clean up the over-run with paper towels, and then with paper towels wet with the 200-proof alcohol. Use a fresh paper towel dampened with alcohol for a last clean-up and let it cure. When the glue pot is gelled but not set hard, do a last wipe off for any new drips and set aside to fully cure overnight.
 
I use isopropyl a lot at work- cleaning disc rotors, suspension parts etc- in addition to in my workshop. I like having it in little spray bottles, super handy.
The only thing I use acetone for is cleaning off layout dye and fingernail polish.
 
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