What Disolves Wite-Out

[Brian Rupnow]

When I am going to silver solder something but I don't want to have the solder get onto adjacent areas, I coat the areas with Wite-Out by Bic. It is a typewriter correction fluid. It does a good job of keeping the silver solder away, but then after the soldering is finished, I have a Devil of a time getting the Wite-Out off. This week when I siver soldered the needle onto the knurled brass needle cap on the carburetor I was building, I coated the knurling with Wite Out. Then I tried afterwards to get the Wite out off. I tried paint thinner, Varsol, rubbing alcohol, dishsoap, Goo Gone, and a high strength degreaser. None of them dissolved it. I finally got it mostly off scrubbing with toothpaste, hot water, and an old toothbrush. You can't sand it off or get too aggressive, or it damages the brass knurling. Does anybody know of something that will dissolve this stuff?---Brian

 

[chucketn]

Wikipedia says there is a solvent available for Wite-Out, as it tends to dry out and get thick. Most of those listed are health hazaerd or not available. It does mention bromopropane, but I have no idea what that is.
Wikipedia entry here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correction_fluid

Chuck

 

[mcostello]

Thought some said a pencil line would also work. Best try out first. I don't like wrestling with my memory sometimes, now and then it wins.;D

 

[Brian Rupnow]

I buy the theory that heat may transform the Wite Out into some chemical compound that can not be dissolved. Its only an issue on knurled surfaces. Anywhere else it can be sanded off.

 

[mu38&Bg#]

Do you have a brass wire brush for the Dremel tool?

 

[goldstar31]

I said it! HB pencil or softer grade. My wife taught me initially. I used it for both silver soldering and brazing. There is something which is a proprietary thing- but why bother when you always have a pencil handy?

Regards

Norman

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Do you have a brass wire brush for the Dremel tool?

I don't think I do. I will have to check and see---it came with a whole bunch of small attachments.

 

[Tin Falcon]

IIRC the old office girl trick is nail polish remover aka acetone.

Tin

 

[BaronJ]

IIRC the old office girl trick is nail polish remover aka acetone.

Tin

Not after its been heated to red heat. It turns into some kind of ceramic !

 

[Rustkolector]

Brian,
Acids do a good job of removing oxidation products. After silver brazing I usually soak the ugly mess in a pickle solution of citric acid (canning section of grocery store). It is a mild acid that generally either removes or softens any oxidized materials including fluxes and ceramic anti-oxidation coatings. After a 24hr soak, a brass brush usually removes any discoloration caused by oxidation. If you use citric acid, Immerse the piece completely in the solution. It seems to act more agressively at surface of the solution where the object might project above the solution.

Jeff

 

[Rustkolector]

Brian,
I forgot to add that I have used mason's soapstone markers for containing silver braze and it works similarly to your white out. I haven't noticed any residual after brazing.

Jeff

 

[goldstar31]

Thank you, Jeff! I'd sort of forgotten what you call soapstone marker's and what we Brits called French or Tailor's Chalk which are all varieties of talcum. My father, a blacksmith/farrier of the old school certainly used this medium.

Again, my thanks for refreshing my memory about naturally occurring graphite for pencils.
I'd forgotten that this was, at that time of the distaff side of the family living 'Back o'Skidda' that this was perhaps the only place for the stuff to make pencils in Keswick.

So using graphite is- an English thing!

Norman