Love that Wikipedia... (http://www.wikipedia.org)
Ether can have several meanings: Ether, a general class of chemical compoundsDiethyl ether, a common solvent, chemical compound, and anestheticAether (classical element), in the context of physics and philosophy... And Methylated spirit (or Meths, also Methyl Hydrate or denatured alcohol) is ethanol which has rendered toxic or otherwise undrinkable, and in some cases dyed. It is used for purposes such as fuel for spirit burners and camping stoves, and as a solvent. And in the US we identify rubbing alcohol, which is what I would probably use: Rubbing alcohol is a liquid prepared for topical application to skin prepared from specially denatured alcohol and containing 68.5-71.5% vol./vol. of absolute (ie. 100%) alcohol. However, recent formulations seem to contain 95% v/v of ethyl alcohol component. NOTE: the British Pharmacopoeia and United States Pharmacopoeia define the term "Alcohol" as a mixture of ethanol (Ethyl Alcohol, C2H5OH=46.07) and water of fixed proportions. Alcohol, B.P. = ethanol 96% v/vAlcohol, U.S.P. = ethanol 95% v/v Therefore, the term rubbing alcohol refers to a mixture using ethyl alcohol. These are just little bits of the information available -- take a look and see what else Wikipedia has to say. --Dennis Sherman Chicago, IL, USA ----- Original Message ---- From: Keith Freeman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, June 7, 2006 7:59:51 AM Subject: Re: [HG] Cleaning your wheel > I don't think ether is an "over the counter" thing in the UK. > Would industrial spirit (also known as surgical spirit) do instead? Isn't ether just the informal name for the stuff the nurse paints your arm with before inserting the needle, i.e. surgical spirit? Over here in Holland we use 'denatured alcohol' (which I presume is the same, or similar) as a general grease remover. Also good for removing grease by absorbing it is Fuller's Earth, though I've no idea whether it works on wheels and whether you can still buy it. -Keith
