White vinegar and epoxy resin

[Old School]

I had read that common white vinegar from your local supermarket was a cheap alternative to expensive acetone when cleaning up brushes and equipment when fibreglassing but until this morning I had not been able to test it. Locally, a one litre container of acetone is $11.00 Aud and two litres of white vinegar is $1.50 Aud.

With commencing epoxy fibreglassing on a hull interior I did not wish to sacrifice expensive metal rollers but when looking at the price of acetone even cleaning a single roller after one resin/cloth layer application was going to cost several dollars to clean the roller. With the price of the white vinegar I can even save the cheap brushes as well.

As soon as the brush is immersed the vinegar starts its work dissolving the resin. I do not know how effective it would be on cured epoxy resin, however, I am very pleased with the results with the uncured resin.

[rol243]

the good old vinegar works wonders with many things. i never knew the white vinegar would clean epoxy coated brushes etc etc , i have always used acetone [ smelly stuff ] will try the vinegar next time, thanks for this tip.

[Old School]

The white vinegar ($1.20 Aud for 2 litres) works better than acetone for cleanup. It may not rescue a hardened squeegee roller or brush.

[fweasel]

I clean my dishwasher with it.

[Bp9145]

I clean my dishwasher with it.

so does my wife and among other stuff as well but for cleaning. Awesome, now I can use it. . . .thanks for the tip

[Prodrvr]

Yes, white vinegar is the ticket.

[rol243]

i must also say the vinegar is great for cleaning floor grout on tiles , spray on and a light scrub with a brush and its like new again..

[ray schrauwen]

You can get food grade vinegar and you can get cleaning grade as well, just look for it in different stores. I forgot where I saw it.

I has higher % acetic acid.

[HTVboats]

First off alcohol is better for cleaning epoxy than acetone. For polyester (fiberglass) acetone and MEPK seem to be the standard. I was laying up a small repair with vinyl ester resin today and tried cleaning my hands and a small brush with vinegar. The brush stayed gummy and my hands sticky till I went back to acetone. Just my experience.
Mic

[rol243]

I mainly use 30 minute z-poxy which is great for also sealing new timber hulls once thinned with some acetone. i hope the white vinegar works to clean out my brushes with this epoxy type.

[Insanity Plea]

White vinegar will take the shiny off new bolts also. I did this with my old bench vise, the new shiny bolts stuck out like a sore thumb, now they blend in.

[MadProps]

for those that may not know......soapy water on your finger tip will allow you to move the "epoxy resin" where you want it as it just starts setting up, you can flatten to a feather edge for less sanding or actually mold it to best suit your application if you keep working it while it hardens

[Bp9145]

for those that may not know......soapy water on your finger tip will allow you to move the "epoxy resin" where you want it as it just starts setting up, you can flatten to a feather edge for less sanding or actually mold it to best suit your application if you keep working it while it hardens

great tip . . .soapy water on your finger tip

[JohnZ]

This is the first I've heard of using distilled vinegar for cleaning up epoxy. I normally use either acetone or denatured alcohol. As far as cleaning my hands I use 91% rubbing alcohol. Using acetone all the time is not a good idea as your skin will absorb some of it.
Distilled vinegar is also good for cleaning you expensive coffee maker. It will also remove lime and calcium stains from kitchenware when left to soak for a while.
I drink a couple tablespoons of Braggs unfiltered/ organic apple cider vinegar...good for digestion and health.

[rol243]

i tried cleaning a brush out with white vinegar which had some z-poxy on it but it won,t remove all epoxy .