Will Lighter Fluid Harm Hard Rubber?

[Readymade]

Want to explore using lighter fluid to remove super-sticky melted-down lumps that were once an ink sac.

 

Will lighter fluid hurt hard rubber?

[Lloyd]

If you ignite it, it will...

[watch_art]

what about denatured alcohol? isn't that what you mix with shellac flake to make it gooey anyways? wouldn't that 'thin' it down and make it easy to clean?

[Garageboy]

I wouldn't use alcohol, might soften the HR

[Readymade]

So... Is lighter fluid safe to use on hard rubber?

[Ron Z]

Keep in mind that the properties of soft latex rubber, and hard vulcanized rubber are different. The hard rubber is much tougher and more resistant to chemicals than softer rubbers. A dead sac, or one that has turned to goo is going to break down and dissolve much more quickly than the hard rubber of the barrel.

 

Lighter fluid is naphtha, which evaporates quite quickly, and leaves little or nothing behind once it has evaporated. If you left the barrel immersed in naphtha for an extended period, I might have some concern. But the length of exposure needed to remove the goo is much shorter than the length of time that it would take to do any damage to the hard rubber of the barrel. It is what I would use if faced with a melted sac.