Hahahahaha. Thank you! But seriously thank you for the videos. This was my go to channel when I was trying to get into printing and I now have an Ender 3 and a creality LD and I’m getting great results.
Pro tip: When pouring from a large canister (like your denatured alcohol), try pouring with the can horizontally with the spout on top half. It sounds weird, but it allows air to enter at a lower tip angle and ultimately prevents 'glugs' (and hence spills).
This is how oil is actually designed to be poured. The spout is supposed to be on the high side. Everyone does it wrong (even knowing this I still do it the other way).
Please don't use denatured alcohol in a spray bottle. Denatured alcohol is ethanol or grain alcohol that contains additional chemicals called denaturants that make it unfit for human consumption. It is basically the same as everclear with additives to make it poisonous. The reason denatured alcohol is cheaper is because the everclear has an alcohol tax. Since denatured alcohol is not for human consumption, it does not have that extra tax. Denatured alcohol's main use is for fuel in camp stoves. One common toxic denaturant is methanol or methyl alcohol. Methanol is absorbed through skin and produces symptoms resembling intoxication if ingested. However, it also causes nervous system damage and other serious health effects.
@@happninmojo Both of you are right any alcohol with no alcohol tax is poisoned to make in not able to drink. Putting it in the air may not give that effect (I don't want to try to see) but aerating flammable liquid is a good way to get flashed. Think about your car engine fuel jets. Aerating makes stuff ignite easier. like flour, yes what you cook with. So Like the one said before me, don't put it in a spray bottle!
The amount of methanol in such a situation is kinda negligible. The bigger issue using a spray bottle with denatured ethanol is both flammability and airway irritation. The odds of inhaling a toxic amount of methanol fumes from such a set-up are negligible at best. Remember that denatured ethanol can be used a topical disinfectant, so while it may not be safe to drink (though, do note that methanol actually isn't as common as it once was, often the denaturing chemical is a bitterent (chemical that tastes extremely bitter) like denatonium, not methanol. Obviously something labeled as "methylated" is a different story, but often the bottles you can get at the pharmacy simply contain an extremely bitter chemical that's technically relatively safe to consume like denatonium), it is often safe to handle for a bit, or even apply as a disinfectant. Just use in a well ventilated area, like any volatile solvent. The actual risk of methanol toxicity is extremely low, even if misted from a spray bottle. Though, best practice would be to wear a gas mask just in case, because even if the methanol doesn't get you, it's not like breathing in ethanol fumes is particularly healthy lol
IPA is just as flamable as Metho, so if you're printing near flames, don't put your alchohol in a spray bottle, especailly if you've drank half a bottle of everyclear while printing you're minatures.
After seeing your initial video about alternate cleaning methods, I tried the Mean Green. I use the Mean Green in my Ultra Sonic Cleaner to get my resin prints cleaned out, but in a slightly different way. After the print, I swish the build plate and model in bucket of water mixed with Mean Green to get the initial resin off the models. Then I pop it into the Ultra Sonic Cleaner in which I have a large Zip Lock bag full of Mean Green to hold the model in for the cleaning.. the tank is full of water. The bag catches the resin during cleaning. When the solution in the Zip Lock Bag gets too saturated, I zip it up, lay it out in the sun and the resin that is in the solution will harden. I then strain the solution through a filter which now renders my Mean Green solution clean and ready for re-use in the bag, keeping my Ultra Sonic Cleaner clean. After the part comes out of the Ultra Sonic Cleaner, I go back to the bucket of water and Mean Green, I use a soft tooth brush to clean off the resin from the nooks and crannies and finally a clean fresh water clean and rinse. After a while, I put the bucket out in the sun to cure any resin that's in the solution and again, strain it through a filter to remove the hardened resin, and keep my bucket solution clean. My models come out crisp and clean, all the details are showing and no white spots etc. Using this method, I don't waste a lot of Mean Green, clean out the resin and render it harmless. I am unable to locate any IPA so this method works well for me.
Also great for soaking rags in to make flaming arrows, if you're that kind of teenager. I hear simple green concentrate which is readily available at Bunnings is a good non-toxic option.
I've used the mean green method since you first recommended it. I've struggled with how long the solution/processing was taking, so I added some steps that cut down my processing time. I ready hot water in a small tub or tupperware and dunk my prints into it as soon as they are off the build plate. This "melts" off the supports with no damage to the prints and seems to lift off excess resin in the process. Then the prints get a quick (3-4min) mean green bath followed by a final quick scrub with a soft charcoal toothbrush in warm water (I add dish soap as a surfactant to a Fresh batch of water). My prints no longer have artifacts, pooling, surface powdering or any other undesirable results. Most importantly, it now takes half the time to get excess resin off. random print hack: dunking your build plate in hot water for a few seconds will also help lift off prints that are sticking to it a little too well. Last thought - Upgrading to an all-in-one wash+cure station is a reasonable investment for those that are rightfully thinking that this is all a pain in the ass. :)
with the large cans, pour with the spout at the top of the can, not at the bottom. It seems counter-intuitive, but look at the quart oil bottles one uses for motor vehicle lubrication. There's an icon showing just that.
I'm about to go buy a quart of acetone. Going to use it outside and wear goggles and nitrile gloves. Is that proper ppe and if not what is. Also what are the risks, it seems like its a safer alternative to Denatured Alcohol
@@printermodeler8889 Please don't use nitrile gloves with acetone. Use butyl gloves, which are made for such circumstances. Acetone will eat through the nitrile. You also need to use protective goggles and a respirator with a filter for organic vapor.
@@TheBuefurd Yea found that out the hard way. I have some 8mil chemical resistant nitrile gloves and they hold up better, but still not for too long. I use them quickly and discard them
True acetone might be too strong. I mean if you pour this in a thin plastic container like a empty water bottle it won't take long before it melt the bottom part of the bottle. So using it on a print might be too much.
Do you think you could do a roundup including both this and the previous set, but with transparent resin? It'd be nice to see how these might affect the clarity of prints before and after curing.
This brand of denatured alcohol contains up to 60% methanol based on their MSDS/SDS product information. Methanol and acetone are both very toxic and flammable. It is a fire hazard equivalent to gasoline. The active ingredient in Super Green (CAS # 127087-87-0) is a very strong surfactant that is non-toxic. It does have a very high pH of 11. If you get it in your eyes it will dissolve them so you should wear full coverage safety glasses. The good thing it's non flammable. I have a BS in chemistry and a masters in chemical engineering so take my advice for what it's worth.
@@highwaymen1237 i should probrably have been more specific, obviously ethanol is flamible but does the higher flash point indicate that it will make less flamible vapors compared to ipa or methanol?
I tried simple green, and it left my prints sticky. Never tried Mean Green, but I did grab a bottle of off-brand Everclear, and now that's what I use. Works great.
Love the vid, but I think you needed to emphasize more on just how DANGEROUS it is to work with substances like acitone. They are a huge health risk for anyone not ready to use it.
Big heads up: Denatured Alcohol is not 1 thing. It's an extremely broad category. This means the exact brand/formula can make a huge difference. Simply, it is Ethanol that has been made poisonous with additives. So, nominally it would have performed equally to the Everclear, which is 95%+ Ethanol. However: The exact brand you got says they actually use only about 40% Ethanol and around 50% Methanol. This begs the question: How does pure methanol perform? It's definitely more expensive, easily $20-$30 per gallon though.
Here's my setup thats been working absolutely great. 5min in 1/3 Mean green 2/3 water in the ultra sonic cleaner to get most of the resin off. Then a few minuets in a small container filled with denatured alcohol with locking lid (lid open while working but keeps the alcohol from evaporating when not in use) the with a magnetic stirrer to get rid of the rest of of. So far this has worked absolutely great and I have had to do very very little scrubbing with a small brush to get that last little bit off. Its usually in those odd areas when the flowing alcohol cant get to. The reason I do both is that the Mean green/water is cheaper and gets much dirtier than the alcohol. I am still on my first container of the alcohol and Ive done dozens of prints.
I work with acetone a lot and we use it in an ultra sonic bath all the time. We fill our stainless steel ultra sonic tub with DI water. Then we fill a glass beaker with acetone and put our product in the acetone. We lower the beaker into the ultra sonic bath and it clears the hardened photoresist very quickly. This is also done under a fume hood.
whoa....! wait a sec! I've been washing my resin prints with ipa in an ultrasonic cleaner since that video where you tested Mean Green/Mr.Cleaner/IPA ... fortunate enough nothing bad has happened
I've just started TPM - I don't want to use anything highly flammable like IPA, acetone or denatured alcohol because of where the printer is located but TPM beats all of those for cleaning effectiveness.
Since IPA became so hard to find I started using Simple Green. It works really well but I do notice that my prints still smell like it even after it's all washed off and dried. Which sucks because right now all of my prints are being sent to a client or customers. It's not a really bad smell but it's still there.
Ultrasonic Pro-tip. You CAN use flammable fluids in an ultrasonic, but you have to put them in a sealed container. The way I do it is to use a 1 qt mason jar. I will put my part in the jar fill the jar with the alcohol, put an air tight lid on it. Place the jar in the ultrasonic, then fill the ultrasonic with water to the max line. Note mason jar does not have to be fully submerged. Ultrasonics work on sound waves. Sound waves will penetrate glass. So you can use as large of a container as you want as long as it fits in the basket of your ultrasonic. Also water fluid you have in the jar has to be below the water level. Yes this works. I use it every day to clean pipes. And if you know how hard those are to clean, you know. Five minutes in ipa in the mason jar at 50c in the ultrasonic and the pipes come out spotless. I've been doing this for years without issue.
The white on the acetone prints is from over exposure to the acetone. I only rinse models for about 5-10 seconds in acetone. Over exposure can cause the layers of the print to actually seperate if your exposure time is even half a second low during the print. Some resins also just do NOT do well with acetone, like Sidekick. For the most part I use acetone for thick resins as it cuts thru it super quick and prints that have super super fine details, while I use denatured alcohol (about 15 second rinse) for everything else. I stopped using an ultrasonic cleaner months ago as it just was a time waste vs the seconds it takes with acetone/denatured alcohol.
Awesome Confirmation Bias Confirmed, jokes aside I assumed what you described. Since Denatured alcohol is typically 60% ethanol alcohol (everclear) and 40% methanol I suspect acetone diluted with 40-50% water will give me 15 second rinse time with the added bonus of being even cheaper per 1 gallon of diluted solution.
So, I've been using Mean Green in the ultrasonic cleaner and then after rinsing with water I do 2 or 3 quick dips in acetone and my prints have never been cleaner. I'll have to try the Denatured Alcohol as well. As always a great informative video.The trick with acetone is that it can and will melt very fine details so you have to be careful not to do to much.
I bet he's saying all these names wrongs to mess with people on purpose. At the end of the day, very valuable information and much appreciated. By the way, acetone will soften and/or dissolve plastic, so probably not the best idea to use those in the plastic pickle containers.
Just FYI, De-Natured alcohol is banned in several states. Not sure why exactly but it's basically straight alcohol with some additives so people dont try and dink it :)'
Yeah I just saw there are a handful of states that have it banned. Odd since its so easy to find at pretty much every hardware store here where I live in NY
I will be switching to mean green because of the price and availability of alcohol. I use a large mouth plastic trail mix container fill with a achohol, drop in parts, put the lid on tight, put it into the empty ultrasonic cleaner, fill up the tub around the plastic container with water until just before the plastic container floats, then run the cleaner. I even once used this method to clean a lawn mower carb with gasoline outside away from the house with great results and my ultrasonic cleaner stays clean.
Acetone is highly flammable and the vapor can be heavier than air...not a good idea in an enclosed environment. Ethanol is the way to go for safety. Yeah both of them naturally occur in your body, but ethanol can be easily disposed of. Fumes will only get you mildly intoxicated...
For me im using petrol or diesel to completely clean my printed resin.just stir a couple times in the petrol/diesel, then i wash it with dish liquid/detergent. After that i wash it with water. It works great.less time consuming and fast result.
Jessy, great video with a lot of helpful tips, thanks! Just bought an Elegoo Mars Pro after months of watching your videos and I couldn't be more excited to join the resin printing community! But it is De-Natured! As in dee-nei-chrd! Not dentured :)
Just bought a resin printer after 5 years of experience with FDM, I was wondering about the effectiveness of acetone. Turns out my suspicion was spot on, quick to dissolve liquids and will breakdown solids with some time. Fun fact De-Natured Alcohol is basically 60% Everclear with 40% acetone or 40% methanol and possibly 1-5% of other contaminants depending on your region. If you look up the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for the particular product you have you could guesstimate what you have since the exact percentage are obfuscated. FYI Klean Strip denatured Alcohol is about 60% Everclear 200 proof and 40% methanol.
On small pieces I use a 10 percent solution of simple green in my ultrasonic cleaner for about 6 minutes at 40C. Then I rince with water and agitate in IPA for 2 minutes. A final rince in water and then compressed air to dry. Very clean, matte finish, not sticky.
someone online mentioned you can use flammable cleaning products in an ultrasonic cleaner *IF* you fill the ultrasonic cleaner with water *THEN* seal your print inside a plastic bag filled with IPA and carefully lower the plastic bag into the water
Good tests, thanks. I do a 2-step: Mean Green in heated ultrasonic, followed up with a good dunk in IPA. Makes the alcohol last a whole lot longer since most of the residue comes off in the Mean Green. I'm going to have to try the denatured alcohol.
metholated spirit is 95% alcohol, added 5 to 1 with simple green ( to keep the resin in suspension) in the wash and cure plus and its relatively cheap from bunnings at $30 AUD for 8 litres of solution. when the wash gets too dirty i add 240g flocking (aluminium sulphate used for pool cleaning) with 1.5 litres distilled water per 4 litres to treat, run the wash for 20 minutes then hand stir occasionally for 30 minutes and let settle, pour off extremely clean liquid in less than an hour for reuse. works really well with ipa that i cant get hold of lol. would love to see how well this mix would go in an ultrasonic cleaner but im pretty happy with the current results.
Just FYI, nitrile is, well, not super great when working with acetone. The acetone can both penetrate the nitrile and damage it. Found that out the hard way in a college lab lol, when I suddenly could feel liquid on my skin and my gloves turned colors from blue to an orangish brown. Apparently we weren't supposed to be using the acetone to dry our glassware in the class I was in lol, and that's probably a pretty good reason as to why. That being said, acetone is pretty harsh on skin, but if you wash it off quickly it's not a super big deal. It's the primary ingredient in nail polish remover, after all! Believe it or not standard latex gloves stand up better against acetone than nitrile, though the absolute best are generally considered to be butyl rubber gloves
Since IPA is more expensive and harsh, I just dip a chip brush in a cup of IPA and use that to brush off all the residue over my cleaning tank with the parts still on plate. It uses way less IPA and does a thorough job very quickly with no special equipment.
if you like working with bigger/stronger ultrasonic cleaners, you can put those prints into thin zip-bags with alcohol etc (you have to see, if the bags react to the cleaning liquid) and fill the cleaner with water. depending on the hertz etc. the cleaning wouldn't be as fast, but you can also gently shake it as a finish. pro you won't sit in the fumes you won't risk an explosion reusable the ultrasonic cleaner won't get contaminated with resin con the ultrasonic cleaner wouldn't cean at 100% the bags can be damaged
The reason the denatured alcohol splashed everywhere? You are supposed to orient the spout to be the high point. That’s why the spout is in a corner. If you look at how you held the can to pour, just do the opposite of that. 😌
also you can use flammable solvents (ipa, acetone, alcohol etc) in an ultrasonic cleaner you just need to put it in a baggie that then goes in your ultrasonic cleaner (which is filled with water or other ultrasonic solution)
I use metho (denatured alcohol) in a plastic tub with a secure lid and vibrate the tub with a jigsaw. Does a really good job cleaning every little crevice.
pro tip when pouring have the spout on the top. It seems like the wrong way to do it but as the air gets in the can it does spray if the spout is at the bottom
I saw the comments about denatured alcohol and I was prepared for it. But I still scratched my teeth by the time he said it the 3rd time and there after.
Been using denatured alcohol for years to clean electronic circuit boards. The main advantage over IPA is there is no residue with Denatured. Thanks for the great video.
@@renny9879 The fact is that there was ALWAYS white residue left after using IPA to clean our electronics boards. Using denatured did not leave that white residue. That is the same reason for its use on tape heads back in the day. I will conside that the higher percent alcohol may also work, but I am speaking from my first hand experience here.
@@RadioTeal that’s very interesting and quite the mystery. A test I commonly do with solvents is to pour some out on a black tray and let it evaporate. Then inspect the tray for residue. I would love to know what is going on that gives you a different result. They are essentially the same thing but one is ethyl alcohol with additives. Usually it’s methanol at around 10%, common additives include isopropyl alcohol, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, and methyl isobutyl ketone. In the US, denatured is often only 50% ethyl alcohol. But hey, if it works for you, who am I to say otherwise! Happy printing.
Thanks for trying all these alternatives. I have some 99% IPA but I still don't use my resin printer unless I have to. You'll be like Edison, trying 100 things to find the one replacement for us.
Can't get Mean Green, or any of those brands of cleaners over here in the UK, but I'm looking to make my office less..... flammable. I've been testing with a TFR in an ultrasonic bath with great results!
Dentured or Denatured? Also last time you had people inform you about Isopropyl (as written on the bottle) isn't called isopropanol alcohol. It's Propanol 2, or Isopropyl Alcohol.
Hi Jessy. Please tell me you didn't pour the dirty Everclear back in the bottle! 😂 My first 3d printer and some resin etc. are on order; while I'm waiting for them to get here I'm reading and watching videos all I can about it. A few cleaners I intend to try: (what do you think?) Thanks. 1) 35% IPA in an ultrasonic cleaner; mix cheap 70% drugstore IPA half-n-half with distilled water. 2) Acetone and water in different dilutions; either dunking it like you did, or if you dilute it far enough it would be safe in an ultrasonic that has a stainless steel tank. 3) E85 gasoline (manual washing only, obviously) It is mostly denatured alcohol.
Get yourself an old toothbrush and a glass jar with a mouth you can fit your fist through. Fill jar with acetone, scrub prints for literally two seconds per square inch of surface area and you're done. Completely done. Pop it right under the UV. When it gets cloudy, stick the jar outside for the day and it clears right back up
The Klean Strip has a lower percentage of denatured alcohol than something you would find in a lab grade/industry grade brand - should try something in the 95% range which should work just as well as isopropyl (and cheaper). Otherwise, great video :)
Hmm.. This is good to know, im tight with money so might go with Mean Green till i can afford the Dental Alcohol. Just wondering if you try Goo-Gone or Off-Goo. I seen them at my hardware store and just wonder.
Worth noting that Everclear is basically just grain alcohol, or ethanol. And denatured alcohol is just ethanol with additives. They're basically the same thing.
thx for this. What do you do with the liquid afterwards? Also if I switch to water washable and then clean with water what should I do with that dirty water?
You are one brave Uncle brushing like that so close to your eyes on the iron man mask with no protection! great video though and this sold me on the turps/white spirit/DEEEEE natured 😁 alcohol solution for washing, ISO is 5 times the price of turps in the UK.
Great video as always Uncle Jessy. Please, please, please - you should cover the safety stuff first like respirators, nitrile gloves, safety glasses, etc. From the start of the tour videos. Never mention how things smell! Kids watch this stuff and someone is going to follow the same procedures. Safety first!
Kids need to be taught proper safety and be supervised by the parent or a teacher, they should NEVER be allowed to operate any 3d printer unsupervised, this Is unnecessary to add to every video.
I was actually using Simple Green in my washer but it felt tacky. I would do the same, spray some IPA and even wash it with some dish soap and water. Is that okay?
Just something which was bothering me... it's De-natured alcohol, not denture'd. Think killing trees, vs chomping teeth. Love the content. It was just stabbing my brain every time you said the word :P
You didn't mention if you heat your Mean Green. Without heat I get sticky prints. My typical cycle is Mean Green pre-heated to 50ºC in the ultrasonic cleaner, then add the prints and run the cleaning cycle for 10 min. After that, my small parts come out as clean as they did with 1 minute in the IPA pickle bath, no shine or stickiness. For larger parts I run the cleaning cycle longer. BTW don't forget to turn off the heater afterward since it doesn't turn off automatically.
Take a shot of Everclear every time I screw up the pronunciation of Isopropyl or Denatured Alcohol 😂🤘
Stay safe out there everyone!
Pretty sure drinking that much would be fatal! :D
@@ozcanison LOL
LOLOLOL
"I'm really proud of this video. I think it's all ready to go. FFS, you mean I mispronounced something throughout the entire video? 😖"
Hahahahaha. Thank you! But seriously thank you for the videos. This was my go to channel when I was trying to get into printing and I now have an Ender 3 and a creality LD and I’m getting great results.
Its "de-natured ", not "dentured".
😂😬🤘
Oh gawd, thank you, thank you, thank you! (Also "ni-trial") 😁
Yeah I was just about to comment the same thing lol
"Dentured" is the Uncle Jessy brand.
It's also "Iso-pro-pyl" no N.
Love the video. I do have to note, it's de-natured alcohol. Dentured Alcohol makes me think it's for old people. LOL
🦷 🤘🙃
Haha was gonna say the same thing!
Hey, not all dentures are in old people.
LOL ya too fun dentured LOL 😂 insert lol it’s a strainer basket you sure have an odd way of saying things!
@@RC-Flight he also says isopropyl like it has a "nul" at the end. we all know what he means but I can't help wincing every time I hear it 😂
Pro tip: When pouring from a large canister (like your denatured alcohol), try pouring with the can horizontally with the spout on top half. It sounds weird, but it allows air to enter at a lower tip angle and ultimately prevents 'glugs' (and hence spills).
This is how oil is actually designed to be poured. The spout is supposed to be on the high side. Everyone does it wrong (even knowing this I still do it the other way).
Came to the comments to say this very thing! Much cleaner!
Please don't use denatured alcohol in a spray bottle. Denatured alcohol is ethanol or grain alcohol that contains additional chemicals called denaturants that make it unfit for human consumption. It is basically the same as everclear with additives to make it poisonous. The reason denatured alcohol is cheaper is because the everclear has an alcohol tax. Since denatured alcohol is not for human consumption, it does not have that extra tax. Denatured alcohol's main use is for fuel in camp stoves. One common toxic denaturant is methanol or methyl alcohol. Methanol is absorbed through skin and produces symptoms resembling intoxication if ingested. However, it also causes nervous system damage and other serious health effects.
Tldr; don't use denatured alcohol/methylated spirits in a spray bottle as it has a toxic chemical in it and spray bottles go everywhere
@@happninmojo Both of you are right any alcohol with no alcohol tax is poisoned to make in not able to drink. Putting it in the air may not give that effect (I don't want to try to see) but aerating flammable liquid is a good way to get flashed. Think about your car engine fuel jets. Aerating makes stuff ignite easier. like flour, yes what you cook with. So Like the one said before me, don't put it in a spray bottle!
The amount of methanol in such a situation is kinda negligible. The bigger issue using a spray bottle with denatured ethanol is both flammability and airway irritation. The odds of inhaling a toxic amount of methanol fumes from such a set-up are negligible at best. Remember that denatured ethanol can be used a topical disinfectant, so while it may not be safe to drink (though, do note that methanol actually isn't as common as it once was, often the denaturing chemical is a bitterent (chemical that tastes extremely bitter) like denatonium, not methanol. Obviously something labeled as "methylated" is a different story, but often the bottles you can get at the pharmacy simply contain an extremely bitter chemical that's technically relatively safe to consume like denatonium), it is often safe to handle for a bit, or even apply as a disinfectant. Just use in a well ventilated area, like any volatile solvent. The actual risk of methanol toxicity is extremely low, even if misted from a spray bottle. Though, best practice would be to wear a gas mask just in case, because even if the methanol doesn't get you, it's not like breathing in ethanol fumes is particularly healthy lol
IPA is just as flamable as Metho, so if you're printing near flames, don't put your alchohol in a spray bottle, especailly if you've drank half a bottle of everyclear while printing you're minatures.
After seeing your initial video about alternate cleaning methods, I tried the Mean Green. I use the Mean Green in my Ultra Sonic Cleaner to get my resin prints cleaned out, but in a slightly different way. After the print, I swish the build plate and model in bucket of water mixed with Mean Green to get the initial resin off the models. Then I pop it into the Ultra Sonic Cleaner in which I have a large Zip Lock bag full of Mean Green to hold the model in for the cleaning.. the tank is full of water. The bag catches the resin during cleaning. When the solution in the Zip Lock Bag gets too saturated, I zip it up, lay it out in the sun and the resin that is in the solution will harden. I then strain the solution through a filter which now renders my Mean Green solution clean and ready for re-use in the bag, keeping my Ultra Sonic Cleaner clean. After the part comes out of the Ultra Sonic Cleaner, I go back to the bucket of water and Mean Green, I use a soft tooth brush to clean off the resin from the nooks and crannies and finally a clean fresh water clean and rinse. After a while, I put the bucket out in the sun to cure any resin that's in the solution and again, strain it through a filter to remove the hardened resin, and keep my bucket solution clean. My models come out crisp and clean, all the details are showing and no white spots etc. Using this method, I don't waste a lot of Mean Green, clean out the resin and render it harmless. I am unable to locate any IPA so this method works well for me.
Denatured alcohol is also known as methylated spirits or "metho" here in Aus, it's my go to as well :D I'd just drink the everclear... 😂
Can confirm, metho works great.
Angus, I'm gonna have to try that since IPA is so difficult to find.
Denatured is my go to period. Got rid of everything else. And not nearly as dangerous as acetone, regular nitrile gloves are fine.
Also great for soaking rags in to make flaming arrows, if you're that kind of teenager.
I hear simple green concentrate which is readily available at Bunnings is a good non-toxic option.
@@DIOtds Great for prints, but a big nono for the nitril gloves mate: www.dartmouth.edu/ehs/chemical/nitrile_gloves_chemical_resistance_guide.pdf
I've used the mean green method since you first recommended it. I've struggled with how long the solution/processing was taking, so I added some steps that cut down my processing time. I ready hot water in a small tub or tupperware and dunk my prints into it as soon as they are off the build plate. This "melts" off the supports with no damage to the prints and seems to lift off excess resin in the process. Then the prints get a quick (3-4min) mean green bath followed by a final quick scrub with a soft charcoal toothbrush in warm water (I add dish soap as a surfactant to a Fresh batch of water). My prints no longer have artifacts, pooling, surface powdering or any other undesirable results. Most importantly, it now takes half the time to get excess resin off.
random print hack: dunking your build plate in hot water for a few seconds will also help lift off prints that are sticking to it a little too well.
Last thought - Upgrading to an all-in-one wash+cure station is a reasonable investment for those that are rightfully thinking that this is all a pain in the ass. :)
Thanks for the tips! What temp of hot water do you recommend?
with the large cans, pour with the spout at the top of the can, not at the bottom. It seems counter-intuitive, but look at the quart oil bottles one uses for motor vehicle lubrication. There's an icon showing just that.
I learned this trick when pouring epoxy resin components :) Very handy
Everclear: One shot for me. One shot for the resin.
I’m a chemist and don’t recommend Acetone without the proper PPE and definitely not indoors! I’ve had good luck with Purple Power from Walmart.
I'm about to go buy a quart of acetone. Going to use it outside and wear goggles and nitrile gloves. Is that proper ppe and if not what is. Also what are the risks, it seems like its a safer alternative to Denatured Alcohol
@@printermodeler8889 Please don't use nitrile gloves with acetone. Use butyl gloves, which are made for such circumstances. Acetone will eat through the nitrile. You also need to use protective goggles and a respirator with a filter for organic vapor.
@@TheBuefurd Yea found that out the hard way. I have some 8mil chemical resistant nitrile gloves and they hold up better, but still not for too long. I use them quickly and discard them
True acetone might be too strong. I mean if you pour this in a thin plastic container like a empty water bottle it won't take long before it melt the bottom part of the bottle. So using it on a print might be too much.
Can you do a cleaning test video with translucent resins and review how cloudy/foggy the wash makes the prints?
+1
I would take a guess and say that the Acetone would make them more cloudy. I've seen what happens to Catalyst mixed resins and it is no bueno.
Do you think you could do a roundup including both this and the previous set, but with transparent resin? It'd be nice to see how these might affect the clarity of prints before and after curing.
lmao every time he said dentured alcohol.
It's like he's stabbing my brain every time
And isopro-pon-ol
This brand of denatured alcohol contains up to 60% methanol based on their MSDS/SDS product information. Methanol and acetone are both very toxic and flammable. It is a fire hazard equivalent to gasoline.
The active ingredient in Super Green (CAS # 127087-87-0) is a very strong surfactant that is non-toxic. It does have a very high pH of 11. If you get it in your eyes it will dissolve them so you should wear full coverage safety glasses. The good thing it's non flammable.
I have a BS in chemistry and a masters in chemical engineering so take my advice for what it's worth.
Disuelve nuestros ojos? O.O ??
So would ethanol not pose the same fire hazard?
@@noobulon4334 Yes, ethanol is a fire hazard. If it's pure ethanol the flashpoint is 57° F. If it's a 50% mixture with water the flashpoint is 75° F.
@@highwaymen1237 i should probrably have been more specific, obviously ethanol is flamible but does the higher flash point indicate that it will make less flamible vapors compared to ipa or methanol?
I tried simple green, and it left my prints sticky. Never tried Mean Green, but I did grab a bottle of off-brand Everclear, and now that's what I use. Works great.
Love the vid, but I think you needed to emphasize more on just how DANGEROUS it is to work with substances like acitone. They are a huge health risk for anyone not ready to use it.
Big heads up:
Denatured Alcohol is not 1 thing. It's an extremely broad category. This means the exact brand/formula can make a huge difference.
Simply, it is Ethanol that has been made poisonous with additives. So, nominally it would have performed equally to the Everclear, which is 95%+ Ethanol.
However: The exact brand you got says they actually use only about 40% Ethanol and around 50% Methanol.
This begs the question: How does pure methanol perform? It's definitely more expensive, easily $20-$30 per gallon though.
Awesome video, your timing is perfect because IPA is so difficulyt to come by at the moment. Thank you for the video , keep them coming.
Here's my setup thats been working absolutely great. 5min in 1/3 Mean green 2/3 water in the ultra sonic cleaner to get most of the resin off. Then a few minuets in a small container filled with denatured alcohol with locking lid (lid open while working but keeps the alcohol from evaporating when not in use) the with a magnetic stirrer to get rid of the rest of of. So far this has worked absolutely great and I have had to do very very little scrubbing with a small brush to get that last little bit off. Its usually in those odd areas when the flowing alcohol cant get to. The reason I do both is that the Mean green/water is cheaper and gets much dirtier than the alcohol. I am still on my first container of the alcohol and Ive done dozens of prints.
I work with acetone a lot and we use it in an ultra sonic bath all the time. We fill our stainless steel ultra sonic tub with DI water. Then we fill a glass beaker with acetone and put our product in the acetone. We lower the beaker into the ultra sonic bath and it clears the hardened photoresist very quickly. This is also done under a fume hood.
whoa....! wait a sec! I've been washing my resin prints with ipa in an ultrasonic cleaner since that video where you tested Mean Green/Mr.Cleaner/IPA ... fortunate enough nothing bad has happened
The irony of grinding my teeth as Jessy mispronounces de-natured alcohol as dentured alcohol
I've just started TPM - I don't want to use anything highly flammable like IPA, acetone or denatured alcohol because of where the printer is located but TPM beats all of those for cleaning effectiveness.
where do you get it from?
Since IPA became so hard to find I started using Simple Green. It works really well but I do notice that my prints still smell like it even after it's all washed off and dried. Which sucks because right now all of my prints are being sent to a client or customers. It's not a really bad smell but it's still there.
Ultrasonic Pro-tip. You CAN use flammable fluids in an ultrasonic, but you have to put them in a sealed container.
The way I do it is to use a 1 qt mason jar. I will put my part in the jar fill the jar with the alcohol, put an air tight lid on it. Place the jar in the ultrasonic, then fill the ultrasonic with water to the max line.
Note mason jar does not have to be fully submerged. Ultrasonics work on sound waves. Sound waves will penetrate glass. So you can use as large of a container as you want as long as it fits in the basket of your ultrasonic. Also water fluid you have in the jar has to be below the water level.
Yes this works. I use it every day to clean pipes. And if you know how hard those are to clean, you know. Five minutes in ipa in the mason jar at 50c in the ultrasonic and the pipes come out spotless. I've been doing this for years without issue.
The white on the acetone prints is from over exposure to the acetone. I only rinse models for about 5-10 seconds in acetone. Over exposure can cause the layers of the print to actually seperate if your exposure time is even half a second low during the print. Some resins also just do NOT do well with acetone, like Sidekick. For the most part I use acetone for thick resins as it cuts thru it super quick and prints that have super super fine details, while I use denatured alcohol (about 15 second rinse) for everything else. I stopped using an ultrasonic cleaner months ago as it just was a time waste vs the seconds it takes with acetone/denatured alcohol.
Awesome Confirmation Bias Confirmed, jokes aside I assumed what you described. Since Denatured alcohol is typically 60% ethanol alcohol (everclear) and 40% methanol I suspect acetone diluted with 40-50% water will give me 15 second rinse time with the added bonus of being even cheaper per 1 gallon of diluted solution.
Thanks for this review. Just a note, for those in CA, apparently denatured alcohol is no longer sold in stores.
So, I've been using Mean Green in the ultrasonic cleaner and then after rinsing with water I do 2 or 3 quick dips in acetone and my prints have never been cleaner. I'll have to try the Denatured Alcohol as well. As always a great informative video.The trick with acetone is that it can and will melt very fine details so you have to be careful not to do to much.
Do not use latex gloves with photoresin!!! use Nitrile gloves AYNTIME you are using anything related to photoresin!
I bet he's saying all these names wrongs to mess with people on purpose. At the end of the day, very valuable information and much appreciated.
By the way, acetone will soften and/or dissolve plastic, so probably not the best idea to use those in the plastic pickle containers.
Me? do that on purpose??? Just to provoke more video comments.... Never ;)
Thanks for checking it out!
Hey, thanks for putting in the time and effort into testing these! I enjoy your style and I’m glad I’ve found your content.
Just FYI, De-Natured alcohol is banned in several states. Not sure why exactly but it's basically straight alcohol with some additives so people dont try and dink it :)'
Yeah I just saw there are a handful of states that have it banned. Odd since its so easy to find at pretty much every hardware store here where I live in NY
@@UncleJessy they just banned it in UTAH. luckily I bought two gallons of the stuff before it disappeared from the stores
I will be switching to mean green because of the price and availability of alcohol. I use a large mouth plastic trail mix container fill with a achohol, drop in parts, put the lid on tight, put it into the empty ultrasonic cleaner, fill up the tub around the plastic container with water until just before the plastic container floats, then run the cleaner. I even once used this method to clean a lawn mower carb with gasoline outside away from the house with great results and my ultrasonic cleaner stays clean.
Acetone is highly flammable and the vapor can be heavier than air...not a good idea in an enclosed environment. Ethanol is the way to go for safety. Yeah both of them naturally occur in your body, but ethanol can be easily disposed of. Fumes will only get you mildly intoxicated...
just started resin printing and I've been using a 50/50 mix of ipa and acetone. it works great
For me im using petrol or diesel to completely clean my printed resin.just stir a couple times in the petrol/diesel, then i wash it with dish liquid/detergent.
After that i wash it with water.
It works great.less time consuming and fast result.
Jessy, great video with a lot of helpful tips, thanks! Just bought an Elegoo Mars Pro after months of watching your videos and I couldn't be more excited to join the resin printing community! But it is De-Natured! As in dee-nei-chrd! Not dentured :)
😂🤘
Just bought a resin printer after 5 years of experience with FDM, I was wondering about the effectiveness of acetone. Turns out my suspicion was spot on, quick to dissolve liquids and will breakdown solids with some time.
Fun fact De-Natured Alcohol is basically 60% Everclear with 40% acetone or 40% methanol and possibly 1-5% of other contaminants depending on your region. If you look up the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for the particular product you have you could guesstimate what you have since the exact percentage are obfuscated. FYI Klean Strip denatured Alcohol is about 60% Everclear 200 proof and 40% methanol.
Yeah, sure I did help a lot, even though I don't have a Resin printer. Always good to support other content creators here! Great video love it
On small pieces I use a 10 percent solution of simple green in my ultrasonic cleaner for about 6 minutes at 40C. Then I rince with water and agitate in IPA for 2 minutes. A final rince in water and then compressed air to dry. Very clean, matte finish, not sticky.
someone online mentioned you can use flammable cleaning products in an ultrasonic cleaner *IF* you fill the ultrasonic cleaner with water *THEN* seal your print inside a plastic bag filled with IPA and carefully lower the plastic bag into the water
I've watched 3 videos so far. Thanks for all the info :) Love the channel.
I have try Vodka when i run out of my IPA hahaha.
Good tests, thanks. I do a 2-step: Mean Green in heated ultrasonic, followed up with a good dunk in IPA. Makes the alcohol last a whole lot longer since most of the residue comes off in the Mean Green. I'm going to have to try the denatured alcohol.
I have been using IPA and it is leaving white streaks on my gray prints. I hate it. Definitely going to try something else.
I just switched from IPA to dish soap and the dish soap seems to be a lot better
metholated spirit is 95% alcohol, added 5 to 1 with simple green ( to keep the resin in suspension) in the wash and cure plus and its relatively cheap from bunnings at $30 AUD for 8 litres of solution. when the wash gets too dirty i add 240g flocking (aluminium sulphate used for pool cleaning) with 1.5 litres distilled water per 4 litres to treat, run the wash for 20 minutes then hand stir occasionally for 30 minutes and let settle, pour off extremely clean liquid in less than an hour for reuse. works really well with ipa that i cant get hold of lol. would love to see how well this mix would go in an ultrasonic cleaner but im pretty happy with the current results.
Just FYI, nitrile is, well, not super great when working with acetone. The acetone can both penetrate the nitrile and damage it. Found that out the hard way in a college lab lol, when I suddenly could feel liquid on my skin and my gloves turned colors from blue to an orangish brown. Apparently we weren't supposed to be using the acetone to dry our glassware in the class I was in lol, and that's probably a pretty good reason as to why. That being said, acetone is pretty harsh on skin, but if you wash it off quickly it's not a super big deal. It's the primary ingredient in nail polish remover, after all! Believe it or not standard latex gloves stand up better against acetone than nitrile, though the absolute best are generally considered to be butyl rubber gloves
Warning!!! Do not use Nitrile gloves with Acetone. You want Butyl or Latex Rubber if handling acetone
Much appreciated for the info. You've helped clear up quite a few different things with your videos. Very happy I subscribed! 😉
Since IPA is more expensive and harsh, I just dip a chip brush in a cup of IPA and use that to brush off all the residue over my cleaning tank with the parts still on plate. It uses way less IPA and does a thorough job very quickly with no special equipment.
Lol, it cracks me up that you guys still use gallons as a measurement - it's like a flashback to the dark ages. :)
if you like working with bigger/stronger ultrasonic cleaners, you can put those prints into thin zip-bags with alcohol etc (you have to see, if the bags react to the cleaning liquid) and fill the cleaner with water.
depending on the hertz etc. the cleaning wouldn't be as fast, but you can also gently shake it as a finish.
pro
you won't sit in the fumes
you won't risk an explosion
reusable
the ultrasonic cleaner won't get contaminated with resin
con
the ultrasonic cleaner wouldn't cean at 100%
the bags can be damaged
De Natured lol Drove me nuts hearing you say it wrong :P haha, S'all good. Great vid uncle Jessy
my tip: turn the klean strip so the spout is on top let the can become a basin and youll have less glug glug and a smooth pour
hello unle jessy, is it safe to use kitchen gloves for resin
Everytime you say dentured, it feels like my teeth are guna FALL OFF JK JK
The reason the denatured alcohol splashed everywhere? You are supposed to orient the spout to be the high point. That’s why the spout is in a corner. If you look at how you held the can to pour, just do the opposite of that. 😌
also you can use flammable solvents (ipa, acetone, alcohol etc) in an ultrasonic cleaner you just need to put it in a baggie that then goes in your ultrasonic cleaner (which is filled with water or other ultrasonic solution)
I’m still using Mean Green which leaves it a bit tacky but a quick rinse in IPA completely removes the tacky feeling!
I use metho (denatured alcohol) in a plastic tub with a secure lid and vibrate the tub with a jigsaw. Does a really good job cleaning every little crevice.
pro tip when pouring have the spout on the top. It seems like the wrong way to do it but as the air gets in the can it does spray if the spout is at the bottom
I recommend isobutane, white gas. Can be recovered using same methods and isopropyl. Not harsh like acetone.
you can use denatured ethanol which should be much cheaper than isopropanol but work the same.
i feel like there may have been 2 bottles of everclear before he started and the missing one explains the chemical name pronunciation.
Thank God you just put this vid out Unc! My Mars printer will be here any minute now! Lol talk about convenient timing!
I saw the comments about denatured alcohol and I was prepared for it.
But I still scratched my teeth by the time he said it the 3rd time and there after.
WARNING! if you turn this into a drinking game, you will in fact die! Good video though. 🍻
Been using denatured alcohol for years to clean electronic circuit boards. The main advantage over IPA is there is no residue with Denatured. Thanks for the great video.
That makes no sense whatsoever. IPA is alcohol and water. Denatured is alcohol, water and bitterants... any iso should evaporate completely clean.
@@renny9879 The fact is that there was ALWAYS white residue left after using IPA to clean our electronics boards. Using denatured did not leave that white residue. That is the same reason for its use on tape heads back in the day. I will conside that the higher percent alcohol may also work, but I am speaking from my first hand experience here.
@@RadioTeal that’s very interesting and quite the mystery. A test I commonly do with solvents is to pour some out on a black tray and let it evaporate. Then inspect the tray for residue. I would love to know what is going on that gives you a different result. They are essentially the same thing but one is ethyl alcohol with additives. Usually it’s methanol at around 10%, common additives include isopropyl alcohol, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, and methyl isobutyl ketone. In the US, denatured is often only 50% ethyl alcohol. But hey, if it works for you, who am I to say otherwise! Happy printing.
I didnt like the mean green when i tried it. After mean green the parts smell like degreaser long term....
Thanks for trying all these alternatives. I have some 99% IPA but I still don't use my resin printer unless I have to. You'll be like Edison, trying 100 things to find the one replacement for us.
Can't get Mean Green, or any of those brands of cleaners over here in the UK, but I'm looking to make my office less..... flammable. I've been testing with a TFR in an ultrasonic bath with great results!
Mr green is just Flash all purpose cleaner here in the UK.
Also a tip on pouring from those 1 gallon containers, rotate the can 180 degrees and pour from the other side. No mess.
Dentured or Denatured?
Also last time you had people inform you about Isopropyl (as written on the bottle) isn't called isopropanol alcohol. It's Propanol 2, or Isopropyl Alcohol.
😂🙃🤘
Congratulations :)
This helped me a lot dude, thanks!
You told us what to use, how about HOW to actually clean the parts? Good video. Very informative.
toothbrush with mean green is the way to go, takes a lil bit of work but if we don't have a sonic cleaner its the way to go
Hi Jessy. Please tell me you didn't pour the dirty Everclear back in the bottle! 😂 My first 3d printer and some resin etc. are on order; while I'm waiting for them to get here I'm reading and watching videos all I can about it. A few cleaners I intend to try: (what do you think?) Thanks.
1) 35% IPA in an ultrasonic cleaner; mix cheap 70% drugstore IPA half-n-half with distilled water.
2) Acetone and water in different dilutions; either dunking it like you did, or if you dilute it far enough it would be safe in an ultrasonic that has a stainless steel tank.
3) E85 gasoline (manual washing only, obviously) It is mostly denatured alcohol.
Get yourself an old toothbrush and a glass jar with a mouth you can fit your fist through. Fill jar with acetone, scrub prints for literally two seconds per square inch of surface area and you're done. Completely done. Pop it right under the UV. When it gets cloudy, stick the jar outside for the day and it clears right back up
Deeee - Natured dude 😉👍🏻
I noticed that using the water washable and 70% IPA which I can still get easily and cheaply works great. Better than just straight water.
The Klean Strip has a lower percentage of denatured alcohol than something you would find in a lab grade/industry grade brand - should try something in the 95% range which should work just as well as isopropyl (and cheaper). Otherwise, great video :)
Hmm.. This is good to know, im tight with money so might go with Mean Green till i can afford the Dental Alcohol.
Just wondering if you try Goo-Gone or Off-Goo. I seen them at my hardware store and just wonder.
I usually clean my prints on ethanol, which is very cheap here in Brazil, and you can find it easily on gas stations for less than a dollar per liter.
Worth noting that Everclear is basically just grain alcohol, or ethanol. And denatured alcohol is just ethanol with additives. They're basically the same thing.
You need some Jolt Cola for that Everclear.
In the UK its called flash, usually £1-2 per liter... looks awesome and smells great
Thanks i just got my 1st printer. I gotta check out more of your vids
thx for this. What do you do with the liquid afterwards? Also if I switch to water washable and then clean with water what should I do with that dirty water?
Kids thats are under 21 trying to go to the wine and alcohol shop trying to get everclear 😆
You are one brave Uncle brushing like that so close to your eyes on the iron man mask with no protection! great video though and this sold me on the turps/white spirit/DEEEEE natured 😁 alcohol solution for washing, ISO is 5 times the price of turps in the UK.
Isopropyl is buying restricted in some countries. It's used for pharmacy compounds and recipes but only available for professionals.
question. If I'm going to be painting the miniatures, should I care about the little white spots?
Great video as always Uncle Jessy. Please, please, please - you should cover the safety stuff first like respirators, nitrile gloves, safety glasses, etc. From the start of the tour videos. Never mention how things smell! Kids watch this stuff and someone is going to follow the same procedures. Safety first!
Kids need to be taught proper safety and be supervised by the parent or a teacher, they should NEVER be allowed to operate any 3d printer unsupervised, this Is unnecessary to add to every video.
Love the video. What type of solution do you use in your wash-n-cure? Just IPA?
I was actually using Simple Green in my washer but it felt tacky. I would do the same, spray some IPA and even wash it with some dish soap and water. Is that okay?
Just something which was bothering me... it's De-natured alcohol, not denture'd. Think killing trees, vs chomping teeth.
Love the content. It was just stabbing my brain every time you said the word :P
How do these compare with any of the water washable resins?
they dont, water is the solvent for that type of resin, not as resistant to chemicals.
For anyone outside the US. Denatured Alcohol is Methylated Spirits.
You didn't mention if you heat your Mean Green. Without heat I get sticky prints. My typical cycle is Mean Green pre-heated to 50ºC in the ultrasonic cleaner, then add the prints and run the cleaning cycle for 10 min. After that, my small parts come out as clean as they did with 1 minute in the IPA pickle bath, no shine or stickiness. For larger parts I run the cleaning cycle longer.
BTW don't forget to turn off the heater afterward since it doesn't turn off automatically.