Where to get 100% denatured absolute alcohol

Until now I have been using Diggers Brand from Bunnings which seems to be nearly half water. So for the last 3 days I've been visiting specialist paint stores, all the big hardware stores I can find etc etc with no luck.

This morning, out of desperation I went to Saddingtons (Broadmeadow) and the guy behind the counter must have taken pity on me. He rang up lots of places and found a chemical company that could supply him with IMS 100. The drawback is the smallest quantity he could get from them was a 20 litre drum. So the upshot is I have 12 litres too much of this stuff! Of course if no-one else is interested, I'll just keep it and never have to order any more until I die 'cos I'm sure it won't "go off".

However, if anyone is interested in buying a litre or more, and picking it up from Charlestown (adjacent to Newcastle, NSW) let me know. I've got the receipt in the garage, but from memory it cost $166.16 (of course I'll double check later I haven't overstated the price and you'll be very welcome to see the receipt). My calculator says that's $8.30 per litre and you'll have to bring you own container(s). I don't know whether that's too expensive or a good deal for IMS 100, so you might like to do some research to see if I'm ripping you off or not because this is the first time I've bought it and I was so happy to find some I probably lost all sense of reason! :doh:

Saddingtons said they expect to get it next Mon or Tues, so I should have it here (at Charlestown) in the latter part of next week. If you're interested, just reply to this thread. I admit I don't expect to be crushed in the rush, but if the 12 litres is over-subscribed, I'll do it according to the timestamp of the post in this thread.

Cheers
Phil

Quote:

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Originally Posted by antiphile

The drawback is the smallest quantity he could get from them was a 20 litre drum. So the upshot is I have 12 litres too much of this stuff! Of course if no-one else is interested, I'll just keep it and never have to order any more until I die 'cos I'm sure it won't "go off".

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Do yourself a favour, decant the the stuff into smaller containers once you've started using what's in the 20lt drum, for example fill 3 5lt containers than 5 1lt containers. Reason for this, is that Metho absorbs moisture from the air, so once you've created air gap in container, it absorbs any moisture that is in the air and then next time you open it, more air in, more water absorbed, so by decanting into smaller bottles and sticking to just that one 1lt bottle you're not constantly opening the bigger one all the time. Use glass or plastic containers not metal containers as condensation does form on the inside of metal containers.

Ooops! Thanks for the tip, DJ. I would have never even thought of that, but now that you explain it, it makes sense. I've got plenty of one and 2 litre containers, but a few 5 litre one won't go astray.

Much appreciated
Phil

After a visit to Bunnings and Masters who only had the Diggers methylated spirits (claimed to be 95% ethanol - but after reading this thread I'm going to avoid that), I made multiple phone calls and finally ended up speaking to Paint Spot in Moorabbin. I double checked that we're talking about 100% ethanol for french polishing, and I've ordered a 4 litre bottle from them (1 litre bottles can also be ordered). It may take a week or so to get in, but at least it's available in reasonable quantities and not too far from me.

Hope that helps some of you out there.

I should have read this thread before buying some.... Charlestown is just up the road from me....

Anyway, I needed a small amount for a repair, and found some at my local Chemist - 95% pure...medical grade, for $9.20 per 250ml

It did the job, but was expensive !!

Geoff