> From: Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> ... news from Photographic Solutions that Eclipse (methanol) was
> thought to be damaging tin oxide coated sensor filter
All methanol is not equal.
If you really want 100% CH3OH, you need to specify "reagent quality"
methanol, and get it from a chemical supply house.
"Common" methanol can contain about 20% ethanol, isopropyl, and other
liquid hydrocarbons. Some of these may be reactive or leave a residue.
I suspect that methanol is the primary ingredient in PEC-12, the
popular photographic emulsion cleaner. Also, common gasoline anti-
freeze treatments, such has HEET, are primarily methanol. But either
of these also have other stuff that may damage coatings or leave
residue.
Bottom line: I'll bet it was not methanol that was damaging sensors,
but impurities in methanol-based products.
Also, be careful with this stuff. 10ml is enough to kill half the
people ingesting it (LD50 dose). It is absorbed directly through the
skin, and vapours go right through your lungs. Tiny amounts in the
eyes will blind you. The effects tend to be cumulative and
progressive. No hazmat filters will make it safe to breathe -- you
need an external source of air when working around the fumes.
On the up side, the antidote to methanol poising is ethanol. So after
cleaning your sensor, have a couple stiff drinks, just in case.
(There was some controversy last time I posted the ethanol antidote,
but I have since double-checked it with the MSDS and other sources.
Google or Wikipedia before flaming.)
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