I am forever reading in tech manuals on MTB stuff, or in service videos etc etc, "clean with Isopropyl Alcohol" or we always use Isopropyl Alcohol….. like its something we all have in our kitchen cupboards, what the heck is it, does it have a common trade name, and where do I get it from ? ta

that's what it's called, it's a degreaser/cleaner which i use for servicing my forks and i got mine from ebay

It's an alcohol (common alcohol is ethanol, meths is an alcohol). You can get it from Maplins or a large chemist.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=28994&C=Froogle&U=28994&T=Module

IIRC Halford "electric contact" cleaning spray is Isopropyl.

THIS is where I get mine from. I prefer the spray stuff.

It's propanol. Propan-2-ol to be precise. C3H8O.

Since it has 3 carbon atoms, rather than 2 for ethanol, or 1 for methanol, it has a higher boiling point and is less volatile. Also less good at getting you drunk than the ethanol that is in drinks.

Thanks for the info
My nearest Maplins is 20 miles away, but Halfords is just round the corner so will pop there for some of the electrical contact cleaner spray, which seems to be the right stuff.

we have gallons of it, it's always fun to squit it at your work mates when they are not looking, it dries in minutes and looks F-in hilarous in the crouch area !!,

We call it IPA here, but you wouldn't want to drink it

I got mine from the local chemist.

Get it via eBay, costs pennies. Worth having in stock as it has loads of uses.

What the heck do chemists use it for ?

hughjengin
Why do Chemists have it.. To see to people like us?

Just ask your local pharmacy for some.
Will probably be a special order but will only take a day or two to arrive – and will only cost a couple of quid.

Always useful to have around.

Some hardware shops might stock it. It's often used to clean things. That's what we use it for at work although now we use xylene as it's cheaper (and IMO less pungent).

Why do Chemists have it.. To see to people like us?

Its used to sanitise surfaces from microbiological contamination thats why chemists have it. It also acts as a mild degreasant which is handy to use as a non toxic cleaner albiet a flammable one

It's propanol. Propan-2-ol to be precise. C3H8O.

Since it has 3 carbon atoms, rather than 2 for ethanol, or 1 for methanol, it has a higher boiling point and is less volatile.

To be more precise its an isomer of propanol, CH3CHOHCH3, versus the linear n-propanol which is CH3CH2CHOH 😉

And dont drink it, it might kill you.

Ah, brings back memories of working in Process Research at Glaxo 🙂

Very useful stuff. As above, don't drink it!