Thread: Actual Testing OMG - Alcohol and Razors

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Alcohol (C3H8O) itself obviously won't cause rust. But if you are using a low concentration solution that has WATER in it, then you will run the risk of rusting. I guess Glen's experiment sheds a little light on how low you can safely go. I would assume that the rust spots from the splash occurred because the alcohol there quickly evaporated, leaving behind some water residue. But in the solution itself, there must not be enough free water to cause rusting.

I wonder how long you'd have to let it sit for enough alcohol to evaporate to cause rust under the liquid line.... And how low (in concentration) can you safely go. Those would actually be interesting tests.

Originally Posted by cudarunner

How would wood working/painting denatured alcohol work? It's a lot more expensive, and I'm not sure if there is H2O in it! Any thoughts?

The alcohol's evaporation leaving H20 makes sense. Thanks!

Just wondering!

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

No, I didn't miss that. I said that pure alcohol won't cause rust, but the water used to dilute it might; from the information you provided, all your alcohol solutions were diluted. Your setup begins to suggest a timeframe in which that might happen; the importance of which I alluded to in my proposed followup question. Did you happen to note more precisely than at the next complete hour when that started to happen for the different concentrations? Do you know what the alcohol contents actually were at that time?

(The mental picture I'm forming suggests that at higher concentrations, the change in concentration with respect to time will be higher than at lower concentrations - a greater concentration of alcohol near the surface means a greater rate of alcohol evaporation than if there was water occupying the surface and preventing the alcohol from escaping. No idea if the rate of change of concentration vs concentration would be linear or not... but I'm inclined to think not.)

Also interesting that the buffed razors show rust first... more information about the surface textures of the razors would be helpful, as that appears to be a variable that affects the outcome. That is another possible reason (different surface texture) that one of the buffed razors began to rust before the other. Many variables makes it impossible to figure out which one (or more) is actually causing the varying outcomes.

Originally Posted by MickRussell

Over extended time exposed to air two things will happen. Firstly the alcohol will absorb water from the air and very slowly dilute the solution. I do mean VERY slowly. Second the water in the solution will slowly absorb carbon dioxide from the air and become slightly acidic. Leave the whole solution exposed to air long enough and it will turn into a very weak acid solution. How long? Probably days.

LOL you guys crack me up, Way, way to much science involved there,,, In my eyes, I have already decided that anything over 1 hour risks rust, the rest is all just for fun and because I had the razors, the glasses, and the alcohol already set up with the camera...
To be totally honest I will probably never soak a razor just a wipe down and let it dry

In fact the only thing that has surprised me is the SS razor is doing so well...