What is denatured alcohol?
- Thread starter itsme
- Start date
Hmm, the worst part is I had to look this up because I could never remember. "Denatured" is usually referring to proteins and I always get thrown off - blah. 
Denatured alcohol is different from plain "alcohol" in that it's mixed with "denaturants" like benzene or methanol, rendering it undrinkable. When people say "alcohol" outside the chemistry world, they mean ethanol by the way. I don't know what's in off the shelf rubbing alcohol, but I don't think you need any special laboratory-grade alcohol to do removal jobs and they should work fine.
FYI trivia: even "100%" rubbing alcohol contains a great deal of water. It's 100% hydrated alcohol that's absorbed as much water as it can, not pure ethanol.
Denatured alcohol is different from plain "alcohol" in that it's mixed with "denaturants" like benzene or methanol, rendering it undrinkable. When people say "alcohol" outside the chemistry world, they mean ethanol by the way. I don't know what's in off the shelf rubbing alcohol, but I don't think you need any special laboratory-grade alcohol to do removal jobs and they should work fine.
FYI trivia: even "100%" rubbing alcohol contains a great deal of water. It's 100% hydrated alcohol that's absorbed as much water as it can, not pure ethanol.
JasonC8301
New member
Wal-Mart, look in the painting/staining section.
The Home Depot - look in the staining section.
Or try a hardware store.
Pretty inexpensive stuff, less than $5 at Home Depot for like a pint or something.
Jason
The Home Depot - look in the staining section.
Or try a hardware store.
Pretty inexpensive stuff, less than $5 at Home Depot for like a pint or something.
Jason
Or are they the same thing and instead of water they use benzene or methanol? Hmm, maybe that's right.mercedesfanatic
New member
Sounds like you're all a bunch of chemists runnin' a meth lab
I use a lot of denatured alcohol because I'm always removing Zaino from cars for one reason or another (fixing a chip, etc) and alcohol is the only thing short of professional body shop products that will remove Zaino polish. Isopropyl alcohol always left a little film so I went to the pharmacy and got denatured alcohol. According to the guy at the pharmacy, denatured alcohol burns cleaner that the other, so it made sense to me that denatured would work better for my purposes. I tried both and noticed much better results with the denatured alcohol. I usually buy the stuff at a Menard's close to me.
As a chemist (just graduated from college in may!) I spent a lot of time working with alcohols.
Yes, ethanol is the type of alcohol in booze. Don't think though that if you go out and buy a quart of laboratory (or HPLC for you chemists) grade (99.9+% pure) that you can drink even a shot of it. It will at the very least make you throw up and at the most kill you (unless you are the type that has grown up on grain alcohol or moonshine). The natural alcohols that are a result of the fermentation of booze are a mixture of alcohols not JUST ethanol (which happens to be a 2-carbon alcohol) although it is predominantly ethanol.
Isopropyl alcohol is a 4-carbon alcohol where the carbons are in a T-shape. IPA (as we call it in lab) is good as a rubbing alcohol because while it has a higher boiling point, it has a lower vapor pressure (if I remember correctly) so it evaporates quickly. It also mixes with water better. In the supermarket you have various percentages of IPA which include 70%, 90%, 99% and others. The mixed versions have the advantage of not evaporating as quickly (as water does not evaporate quickly at room temp and mixtures of liquids change the evaporation characteristics of the whole mixture).
Now, the detailing side of it all. Lets say you use pure IPA. Its going to evaporate pretty quick. This may not give enough time for it to dissolve the "target" and pull it into your rag. This will cause you to use more alcohol or be less effective.
Anyway, thats what I can contribute to this one.
Oh, btw, good antifreeze may not contain alcohols anymore. Ethylene Glycol is the active ingredient and I see no reason why alcohols would be included purposely in antifreeze.
And anhydrous refers to any liquid that is totally free of trapped water. But it is also used to describe chemicals that are used to extract water from other substances.
Yes, ethanol is the type of alcohol in booze. Don't think though that if you go out and buy a quart of laboratory (or HPLC for you chemists) grade (99.9+% pure) that you can drink even a shot of it. It will at the very least make you throw up and at the most kill you (unless you are the type that has grown up on grain alcohol or moonshine). The natural alcohols that are a result of the fermentation of booze are a mixture of alcohols not JUST ethanol (which happens to be a 2-carbon alcohol) although it is predominantly ethanol.
Isopropyl alcohol is a 4-carbon alcohol where the carbons are in a T-shape. IPA (as we call it in lab) is good as a rubbing alcohol because while it has a higher boiling point, it has a lower vapor pressure (if I remember correctly) so it evaporates quickly. It also mixes with water better. In the supermarket you have various percentages of IPA which include 70%, 90%, 99% and others. The mixed versions have the advantage of not evaporating as quickly (as water does not evaporate quickly at room temp and mixtures of liquids change the evaporation characteristics of the whole mixture).
Now, the detailing side of it all. Lets say you use pure IPA. Its going to evaporate pretty quick. This may not give enough time for it to dissolve the "target" and pull it into your rag. This will cause you to use more alcohol or be less effective.
Anyway, thats what I can contribute to this one.
Oh, btw, good antifreeze may not contain alcohols anymore. Ethylene Glycol is the active ingredient and I see no reason why alcohols would be included purposely in antifreeze.
And anhydrous refers to any liquid that is totally free of trapped water. But it is also used to describe chemicals that are used to extract water from other substances.
chevyguy28
New member
It's also wonderful for removing those pesky airbag stickers.
Lowejackson
New member
Why cant you remove matress tags or for that matter, air bag stickers. I cannot see why it would matter:nixweiss
Steven
It is legal to remove mattress tags, as long as you are the owner of the mattress. As for airbag labels, the feds put em' there, but once the car is yours, I see no reason why they have any legal authority over your choice to remove them.
FWIW I have never wanted to remove mine; honestly I spend more time watching the road than watching the visor!
FWIW I have never wanted to remove mine; honestly I spend more time watching the road than watching the visor!
chevyguy28
New member
I would not worry about the airbag sticker issue, as you cannot get in trouble for removing them. Just remember the consequences that if you misuse the airbag, it is your fault. If you plan on selling the car, you may want to keep the sticker, because the receiving party can sue you if something wrong were to happen. On my visors, the side that is visible while the visor is up has a "WARNING ON OTHER SIDE STICKER", which you see all the time. The other side I keep the sticker on because it's not an eyesore as much.
You can use the alcohol to loosen the sticker by rubbing some on top of the sticker and wetting it before trying to peel it off. This method works better on some surfaces that others. The sticker may peel off without using anything. I would test the alcohol or whatever you plan to use in an inconspicuous area. From what I can tell, it should not harm leather or vinyl, but it's good to play it safe.
You can use the alcohol to loosen the sticker by rubbing some on top of the sticker and wetting it before trying to peel it off. This method works better on some surfaces that others. The sticker may peel off without using anything. I would test the alcohol or whatever you plan to use in an inconspicuous area. From what I can tell, it should not harm leather or vinyl, but it's good to play it safe.