Is Lighter Fluid and Naphtha the Same?

[Kracken McGraw]

Naptha was originally called VM&P (varnish makers and painters) naptha and is a low boiling point aliphatic hydrocarbon. Differences between different grades are evaporation rate and flash point.

I would use them all interchangeably. Mineral spirits is in the same chemical class but has a higher boiling pt. and flash pt. I would see no problems using any of these as a degreaser, some will just take longer to evaporate. All are very good solvents for grease and oil.

Chris

You can still find this at most hardware stores.

 

[muleman69]

Is barbecue starter not good for cleaning?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Is barbecue starter not good for cleaning?

It was never recommended.

 

[antelopedundee]

Naptha was originally called VM&P (varnish makers and painters) naptha and is a low boiling point aliphatic hydrocarbon. Differences between different grades are evaporation rate and flash point.

I would use them all interchangeably. Mineral spirits is in the same chemical class but has a higher boiling pt. and flash pt. I would see no problems using any of these as a degreaser, some will just take longer to evaporate. All are very good solvents for grease and oil.

Chris

Yesterday I got rid of some mineral spirits that were in a plastic bottle [Jasco brand from Lowes] IIRC and it had thickened. Totally useless. Never buy solvent that's not in a metal can, tho charcoal starter seems to stay clear over time. The most likely reason that there would be residual oil/s in these solvents is from transfer lines or storage vessels or from filling equipment or even the empty can itself. The nature of their intended uses doesn't require meticulous handling in bulk.

 

[Catfur]

Naphtha isn’t any one thing. It is a generic term for petroleum distillates from crude oil. Naphtha as an ingredient just means “contains petroleum distillates.”

 

[Ccrider]

Naphtha isn’t any one thing. It is a generic term for petroleum distillates from crude oil. Naphtha as an ingredient just means “contains petroleum distillates.”

This keeps getting better and better.

So are we now at just flush your trigger with any type of petroleum distillates?

 

[ED3]

Yesterday I got rid of some mineral spirits that were in a plastic bottle [Jasco brand from Lowes] IIRC and it had thickened. Totally useless. Never buy solvent that's not in a metal can, tho charcoal starter seems to stay clear over time. The most likely reason that there would be residual oil/s in these solvents is from transfer lines or storage vessels or from filling equipment or even the empty can itself. The nature of their intended uses doesn't require meticulous handling in bulk.

I've got mineral spirits in plastic jugs that's several years old, and no degradation. I also have solvents - acetone, lacquer thinner(toluene, etc,) in metal cans with rust forming inside the cans...

 

[antelopedundee]

This keeps getting better and better.

So are we now at just flush your trigger with any type of petroleum distillates?

The truth of the matter is that most of that stuff would end up working just fine; maybe even white gas, kerosene or Coleman stove fluid too tho some of the odors might be a turnoff. Then there's toluene and xylene. Probly stay away from Instant Fels Naphtha tho.

 

[antelopedundee]

I've got mineral spirits in plastic jugs that's several years old, and no degradation. I also have solvents - acetone, lacquer thinner(toluene, etc,) in metal cans with rust forming inside the cans...

If they pick up water that would result in the rust.
Can anyone comment on powders [esp. the IMRs] being less likely to go bad since they've been putting it in plastic bottles?

 

[divingin]

The truth of the matter is that most of that stuff would end up working just fine; maybe even white gas, kerosene or Coleman stove fluid too tho some of the odors might be a turnoff. Then there's toluene and xylene. Probly stay away from Instant Fels Naphtha tho.

I'd stay away from toluene due to toxicity and a low flash point. Though to be fair and open, I also use MEK as a degreaser on occasion, so go figure.

I don't know anything about Xylene.

 

[Ned Ludd]

Lighter fluid, naptha, and several other solvent mixtures with similar properties could all be used to clean triggers. I doubt you would ever be able to tell the difference. None of these solvents "pick up water", they are quite hydrophobic in nature. However, even much more polar solvents such as acetone, methanol, or ethanol that are completely miscible with water can be used to clean triggers. They are all extremely volatile and evaporate long before attracting any water to the trigger internal parts; they just don't work that way.

With the use of any solvent, you want to pick the solvent that is likely to loosen and dissolve the gunk you're trying to get rid of. If it's mostly dust, dirt, and related grit that contains long chain hydrocarbons (i.e. non-polar materials), regular cleaning with lighter fluid works just fine. However, if you've somehow managed to get any water-soluble type cleaner down in the trigger during the process of routine cleaning, hitting it with a very non-polar solvent like lighter fluid is likely to cause it to form an oil or even precipitate inside the trigger and become even harder to remove. In other words, like dissolves like...you don't generally want to try to dissolve polar materials in very non-polar solvents, or non-polar materials in polar solvents like water...it simply won't work. Also, solvents that are fairly viscous and have relatively low volatility like toluene are also not the best choices, primarily because they're harder to completely get rid of and may leave significant residue within the trigger housing.

FWIW - I have used the barbecue lighter fluid to clean Jewell and other manufacturer's triggers for many years. It works just fine. Nonetheless, there is no real need to re-invent the wheel. People have used lighter fluid (i.e. Ronsonol) with great success for many years. It's proven to work well for routine cleaning, so why monkey around with other solvents/mixtures that may or may not work, or may even cause serious problems?

 

[hfinkle]

Bix and Andy say to use brake Kleen , it leaves no residue, and the trigger should be dry. Good video on Bullet Central

 

[antelopedundee]

I'd stay away from toluene due to toxicity and a low flash point. Though to be fair and open, I also use MEK as a degreaser on occasion, so go figure.

I don't know anything about Xylene.

Xylene is a higher boiling derivative of toluene and you can buy it in gallon cans at Lowes for one.

 

[antelopedundee]

Lighter fluid, naptha, and several other solvent mixtures with similar properties could all be used to clean triggers. I doubt you would ever be able to tell the difference. None of these solvents "pick up water", they are quite hydrophobic in nature. However, even much more polar solvents such as acetone, methanol, or ethanol that are completely miscible with water can be used to clean triggers. They are all extremely volatile and evaporate long before attracting any water to the trigger internal parts; they just don't work that way.

With the use of any solvent, you want to pick the solvent that is likely to loosen and dissolve the gunk you're trying to get rid of. If it's mostly dust, dirt, and related grit that contains long chain hydrocarbons (i.e. non-polar materials), regular cleaning with lighter fluid works just fine. However, if you've somehow managed to get any water-soluble type cleaner down in the trigger during the process of routine cleaning, hitting it with a very non-polar solvent like lighter fluid is likely to cause it to form an oil or even precipitate inside the trigger and become even harder to remove. In other words, like dissolves like...you don't generally want to try to dissolve polar materials in very non-polar solvents, or non-polar materials in polar solvents like water...it simply won't work. Also, solvents that are fairly viscous and have relatively low volatility like toluene are also not the best choices, primarily because they're harder to completely get rid of and may leave significant residue within the trigger housing.

FWIW - I have used the barbecue lighter fluid to clean Jewell and other manufacturer's triggers for many years. It works just fine. Nonetheless, there is no real need to re-invent the wheel. People have used lighter fluid (i.e. Ronsonol) with great success for many years. It's proven to work well for routine cleaning, so why monkey around with other solvents/mixtures that may or may not work, or may even cause serious problems?

Toluene is neither viscous nor of low volatility. It's readily available in high purity and is volatile enough to evaporate easily. Boils roughly the same as waater. Should work as well as lighter fluid. If you store your rifles muzzle up and action open I'd put a piece of Kleenex in the chamber so that anything that runs down won't get into the trigger area. Maybe it's all the bolt lube that's the issue. Frankly, I never saw a reason to oil a stainless bore. OMMV. A small cheap hair dryer can be used to blow dry the trigger after cleaning. It matters not if you use lighter fluid, xylene, charcoal starter as long as it will dissolve any oils in the trigger. Acetone and alcohols are less likely to do so.

 

[mousegunner]

I cleaned the switch on my Shop Vac with lighter fluid. It had stopped working and I traced it to the switch. Put some in, blew it out, let dry and now it works.

 

[dave@aDave]

Electric motor degreaser.

Leaves no residue.

 

[Old Navy]

I do not find it that way.

Tide soap and aviation gas.

 

[Old Navy]

Bix and Andy say to use brake Kleen , it leaves no residue, and the trigger should be dry. Good video on Bullet Central

Finally!

 

[Ned Ludd]

Toluene is neither viscous nor of low volatility. It's readily available in high purity and is volatile enough to evaporate easily. Boils roughly the same as water. Should work as well as lighter fluid. If you store your rifles muzzle up and action open I'd put a piece of Kleenex in the chamber so that anything that runs down won't get into the trigger area. Maybe it's all the bolt lube that's the issue. Frankly, I never saw a reason to oil a stainless bore. OMMV. A small cheap hair dryer can be used to blow dry the trigger after cleaning. It matters not if you use lighter fluid, xylene, charcoal starter as long as it will dissolve any oils in the trigger. Acetone and alcohols are less likely to do so.

Toluene has lower volatility as directly compared to lighter fluid, acetone, hexane, or other organics that have been discussed in this thread for use in cleaning triggers. The boiling point of toluene is ~111 degrees C, even higher than that of water. That is anywhere from 2 to 4 times higher relative to the other solvents I mentioned and actually IS quite high for an organic solvent you want to use as a cleaner, then evaporate away the remainder. A comparison of their vapor pressures will tell the same story. The viscosity of toluene is ~1.5 to 2 times greater than the other solvents mentioned.

What that basically means is that toluene is more difficult to get rid of than the other solvents mentioned. Xylenes would be even worse. Does that mean you can't use them to clean a trigger? Of course not. As you noted, you could theoretically use almost any moderate to fairly non-polar organic solvent that wasn't acidic or corrosive and get away with it. It would certainly be better than not cleaning the trigger at all. But toluene wouldn't be my first choice due to its physical properties, as well as for a couple other reasons. After I clean my triggers with lighter fluid, I use a hair dryer to heat up the housing and internal parts for 30 seconds or so prior to re-assembling the rifle. This approach works quite well, and would probably also work well with a less volatile solvent such as toluene, even if it required just a bit more time. I have always used plain charcoal lighter fluid and it works just fine, even if it may be a bit more heterogenous mixture than is found in pocket lighter fluid. It's cheap, readily available, and it works.

The primary reason for flushing a trigger with lighter fluid is to remove dust and other fine particulates than get into the mechanism and potentially interfere with its function. In that light, it is doubtful that lighter fluid or any of the pother organics mentioned are actually dissolving the bulk of the undesirable material. Rather, they are more likely just flushing most of the particulates out. The fine insoluble particulates flushed out of a dirty trigger are quite easy to see as almost a black dust if you collect the runoff in a glass dish. That is also the primary reason why using a solvent that evaporates easily is desirable; it's easy to completely get rid of it after use. In fact, some shooters have suggested that lighter fluid actually leaves a very light coating of an oily substance that may act as a beneficial lubricant. I haven't personally noticed that particular effect, but it could be due to some long chain alkyl trace component of relatively low volatility, which could easily be present in the lighter fluid mixture. Of course, the downside to that is that any traces of organics that remain in the trigger mechanism long term are likely to increase potential problems over time by trapping more fine particulates than would otherwise accumulate.

Regardless of the solvent someone chooses, routine trigger cleaning is smart idea and a good preventative for more serious problems that have a habit of showing up at the worst possible times, like in the middle of an important match.