Where to buy Ethanol for French polish-

[Zach Schryer-Lefebvre]

Anyone know how or where I can buy alcohol for French polish? I live in Ontario and I am looking for something totally non-toxic, so... ethanol, probably 200 proof.
How do I get my hands on this stuff - do I need a permit or license?
Any help would be much appreciated!!
Thanks!
-Zach

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[Jim McConkey]

Mario (also from Ontario) will hopefully see this and chime in, but for now, here is a years-old quote from him:

"As far as I could ever tell, we can't get denatured alky here (Canada). Methyl hydrate is pure methyl alcohol, and works great for shellac. After bringing home various denatured alcohol from trips south of the 49th, I happily returned to methyl hydrate. Cheaper, available everywhere, less odor, and works, perhaps, even better than denatured."

[Mario Proulx]

I'm still using methyl hydrate, for all the reasons I previously listed. It's not exactly non-toxic, but I've not had any issues with it, and even washed my hands many a time with it...

I've looked into lab-grade/hospital-grade ethanol, and even that stuff is de-natured, usually with camphor, which is slightly oily and I'm not sure that it would be all that good for french polish. In fact, I can get 500ml bottles of 95% ethanol at my drug store, and it's the same stuff, again with a bit of camphor, so if you want to try it, just ask the pharmacist.

If you're dead-set on pure, non-denatured ethanol, go to Michigan(I've seen 95% Everclear at the Duty-Free) or Quebec(simply labeled as "95% Alcool").

Don't look for 100%, because that doesn't exist.

[Christ Kacoyannakis]

Here in the US, there are some states that sell 95 percent grain alcohol, so you might be able to find an area in Canada where it is legal to sell. I also just did a quick Google search for 100 percent pure ethanol and found several chemical supply places that sell it. I don't know what the laws are in Canada, so you might want to check those. But if you find a chemical supply house in Canada that sells it, they should be able to advise you on who can purchase it and in what quantities. Tools for working wood used to sell it, but I can't find it on their site any more. Maybe they could help you, since they sell shellac.

[Mario Proulx]

100% ethanol is impossible without using dryers, which are themselves a de-naturing agent. And even then, once you open the container, ethanol, being highly hygroscopic, will immediately begin to take-on water until it reaches its happy place at just over 95%....

There is no such thing as 100% pure alcohol, as it is physically impossible.

[Halgeir Wold]

Mario - I know and understand what you are saying - but I still have to disagree......
Many moons ago I was playing around with UV spectrometers, and the only cleaning agent used was 'Absolute Alcohol - 100%'
I also have a few bottles of US imported Science grade ethanol - I think they are also marked 100%..
It is most certainly obtainable, - albeit not easily, I should think.....

Methyl alcohol is also known as methanol, and while it may work perfectly with shellac, I most certainly would not wash my hands in it, as the stuff diffuses through the skin. Vapors are not exactly healthy either.... be cautious.....

[Mario Proulx]

I hate to do it, but here's a quote:

"Most of the water is removed by distillation, but the purity is limited to 95–96% due to the formation of a low-boiling water-ethanol azeotrope with maximum (95.6% m/m (96.5% v/v) ethanol and 4.4% m/m (3.5% v/v) water). This mixture is called hydrous ethanol."

There are a few methods to bring alcohol to 100%, but they are all expensive and make use of other chemicals. And even if you have 100% alcohol, as soon as you open the bottle, it will begin to take-in water and will soon re-balance itself to 95-96%. So why go through the bother and expense of trying to locate 100% alky when: a) it is expensive, b) is adulterated with other chemicals which may affect your french polish, and c) will become 95-96% alcohol within a short period of time(minutes), anyhow!

And as I said regarding the methyl hydrate, it's not non-toxic, but methinks its toxicology is greatly exaggerated. Perhaps our methyl hydrate is mostly ethanol with a wee bit of methanol mixed-in to denature it. Who knows, because there's nothing I can find that tells me exactly what it is. I sure wouldn't drink it, and I won't even recommend anyone wash their hands with it as I have done countless times, but.... It makes for a fine french polish.

[Halgeir Wold]

I did say I understood what you said, and I do know the process. What I was merely saying, is that 100% IS available.
And - if you think you have problems getting stuff in CA-land, over here yo need a police permit to buy either, which you'd probably have a hard time getiing anyway without a company registration. We only get *denatured' which is dyed sickly pinkish....

[Greg Robinson]

For anyone interested in the properties of, and particularly the toxicity of methanol/methyl hydrate/wood alcohol, the Wikipedia article contains a lot of good information.
Note that methyl hydrate is commonly known as wood alcohol, the stuff that can potentially blind you if consumed in even small amounts. It is absorbed through the skin as Halgier mentions, I would also not use it without gloves, and only in a well ventilated area.

Metholated spirits, as it is sold in Australia, was the go-to industrial solvent, but due to its toxicity, has been replaced in most applications by denatured ethanol. Methanol can still be purchased, but is significantly more expensive and is only available to consumers in small volume packages. The ethanol which has replaced it is most often denatured with barium salts (depends on the manufacturer).

[Ron Belanger]

Commercial Alcohols http://www.comalc.com/ will supply ethyl alcohol. They are in Brampton or Bramalea. It is sold in case lots only and you have to get a license from the LCBO and pay the taxes etc. I believe the minimum order is a case ( 12 - 500 ml amber glass bottles $113.00 plus $70.13 excise duty). If french polish is your primary finish, it may be worth looking into. I 've considering it, but haven't yet.

[Alain Lambert]

I have been using the ethanol sold for fireplaces. The brand I found is called Fanola
If you look in your neibourhood for a fireplace store, you can probably find it, or something similar. I paid $12 for 1 liter.
The smell is not too bad as it is denaturated with acetone, isopropyl alcool and isopropyl acetate.
Here is the MSDS: http://anywherefireplaces.com/wp-conten ... %20doc.pdf