Peel ply carbon fiber

245Trioxin

245Trioxin

Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Messages
279
Does one need to be careful with solvents with peel ply carbon fiber? I use WD-40 in the pivot area of a Superhawk.I dont know much about this handle material.
 
The polymer resin should be about the same as that used in any other finish of CF and in G-10. Any solvent which would damage one, would damage them all. WD-40 should not be a problem, MEK might be another story.

Paul
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I have been using a product that I got from SFO some time ago. It's called Ballistol. It's kind of a combination cleaner, lubricant, rust preventer and it truly has great rejuvenating properties for materials like G-10. I've used it on Carbon fiber with no problems at all.

I would take Deacon's advice about MEK, Acetone or methylene Chloride or any high powered solvent.

The only hot solvents I've ever used on my Spyders to clean extremely stubborn resins that tend to stick to blades really bad are 91% Isopropyl rubbing alcohol and I very sparingly use Mineral Spirits ( paint thinner) on very stubborn resins like pine or cedar sap. But do use both like on a Q-tip or a small piece of cloth and use them carefully.

I've seen Ballistol remove a lot of stuff off of my blades and handles. Be careful and use common sense. And please stay away from super hot solvents like we mentioned.
 
What is MEK? I knew G-10 was pretty robust [i've gotten WD-40 on G-10] with no effect, I even called Spyderco with this question and was told someone would get back to me because they were not sure.
 
Methyl ethyl ketone or something like that a powerful solvent - Google is your friend...if you want to know what you should definitely avoid, Google something along the lines of printed circuit boards and solvents. G10 was originally developed for PCBs and there are solvents that will dissolve the adhesive and delaminate the stuff. Like Paul, I'd be pretty sure that if it's bad for G10 it'll be bad for CF. Ballistol is actually safe to drink so there's not much chance you could ever hurt CF with that.
 
JD, for pine or cedar sap, try turpentine. That's what I always ended up using when I was working in landscaping. It worked better than anything else I tried.

Do not follow all of my examples about chemicals and CF/G-10. Listen to the others if you value your knife. That said, I have used mineral spirits, isopropyl alcohol, turpentine, commercial strength ammonia, Goo Gone, acetone and laquer thinner without MEK (sparingly) on both G-10 and peel-ply CF with no ill effects. I would not suggest soaking in any of the above, but putting a little on a rag and wiping down the surfaces has not resulted in any visible damage so far.
 
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