Bad board

[1926CredenzaOwner]

!

[richardh]

Interesting instructions on reeming....common sense I suppose but I would certainly favor the careful and bit by bit method shown here. Some BAs I have bought that have been reemed look like it has been done far too aggressivly to the point where the edges of the celluloid have also been scratched. Although this doesn't effect the playng of the BA it just doesn't look very nice (IMHO).

When cleaning BAs...this is where my eyebrows raised slightly. Using any solvent seems to me to be excessively harsh and unnecessary. I usually clean mine when I first purchase them and use nothing more that an old (soft bristle) toothbrush and soap and water. I gently scrub the surface to get all the crud out of the grooves and then thoroughly rinse before drying. I am VERY careful to make sure that no water goes on the plaster.

This has always worked for me and see no need to go down the route of using solvents.

RJ

[JohnM]

I've experimented with all sorts of cleaners/polishes on damaged cylinders and finally settled on simply dish detergent and water solution and cool water rinse. One thing I can tell you NOT to try is Rain-X . . . the smell of camphor is strong and immediate when that stuff hits celluloid!

John M

[Brad]

The alcohol I have in my medicine cabinet here in the states is 70% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol and 30% purified water. It can be bought in a higher concentration. Hope that helps.

G-Shane,

The container that contains the alcohol in the video appears to Isopropyl as 26CO refers to. Here we call it "rubbing alcohol" and it is for general household use and disinfecting. It comes in a small plastic bottle and is generally available in grocery and drug stores.

I am not a chemist (only an amateur beeswaxologist ). The other alcohol is typicall called "denatured" and comes from the hardware store and is the type used to mix with shellac, amoung other things.

If you have Isopropyl, give it a try.

(also here in the states, most manufacturers of chemicals do not readily list what the product contains so you are never really sure what you have. You can request a sheet from the manufacturer that does contian the detailed active ingredients (per US safety laws), but they are not alway easy to find as you always want it while you are holding the can and ready to use it).

[richardh]

I still don't understand what alcohol does that soap and water doesn't....is it that if the alcohol accidentally gets on the plaster that it evaporates before causing any problems? But in terms of cleaning the playing surface...I just cant see the advantage as any crud is likely to be removed by soap and water.

RJ

[B.B.B]

Ethyl Alcohol is the kind that you also find in vodka.
It isn't legal to sell that stuff pure, so they denature it, commonly they use a few % acetone & ethylacetate & a substance called Bitrex, that tastes super-bitter & very foul.
Not only does it taste awful, but he ingredients in this cocktail has an almost identical boiling point, so they become impossible to separate, once mixed. Just so you can't cheat the government on some alcohol-taxes

Isopropyl is toxic (well ethyl also is, just that we humans often like that poisoning & do it voluntary to our selfs...) Just like Ethyl alcohol it is a potent solvent. Often used in making of other chemicals or pure, as a disinfectant.

Methyl alcohol (wood spirit, Methanol) is a very potent solvent & highly toxic for humans, it can even be absorbed thru the skin.

A friend of mine who works as a professional painter, always says that the denaturing destroys the ethyl somewhat & that really strong, non diluted moonshine is the way to go, the original french polishers used pure ethyl alcohol & nothing else.

So it must be the different composition of Isopropyl & Ethyl, that makes one of them safe for amberols & another one not.

[Henry]

Here in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania one could formerly purchase ethanol in the state liquor stores, but several years ago the listing disappeared and the product seems to be no longer available from that source.

Why not just use vodka?

[B.B.B]

Here in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania one could formerly purchase ethanol in the state liquor stores, but several years ago the listing disappeared and the product seems to be no longer available from that source.

Why not just use vodka?

Vodka or gin, rum et. al. doesn't contain enough alcohol.
40-44% (by volume) is common & you can't get anything stronger then 60%.
So vodka just aint strong enough.
Denatured ethyl alcohol contains roughly 95%.

I know you americans use another system for measuring alcohol, something to do with "proof".
Over here we measure spirits in percent by volume contained.
So 1000ml of denatured alcohol contains 950 ml alcohol.
1000ml 40% vodka contains 400 ml alcohol.

[MordEth]

I know you americans use another system for measuring alcohol, something to do with "proof".

Alcoholic proof = 2 * ABV, measured at 60°F.

1000ml 40% vodka contains 400 ml alcohol.

This vodka would be 80 proof.

Hope this helps.

— MordEth

[Henry]

Gosh, we're all so literal-minded here. When I asked "Why not just use vodka," I didn't mean for cabinet refinishing!

Where is old Tom Collins when we need him? Not to mention (Harry) Lime.