BOYINGTONR wrote: > > I've inquired at several drug stores locally and it seems as tho the feds have > put a ban on the sale of methanol. Have any others had a similar experience. I would think it more likely that they would ban the sale of absolute ethanol--I know that it is jealously guarded in University labs, because it is expensive. It is expensive because it is very difficult to refine. Alcohols form associations (called azeotropes) with other liquids (water, benzene, other alcohols) which cannot be easily separated by distillation. That is why you can get very sick drinking lab-grade (95%) ethanol (grad student Christmas punch, etc.). They may have banned the sale of absolute methanol in drug stores, but as long as they still sell shellac at the paint store, they will have to sell methanol there. It may be called methyl alcohol, or methyl hydrate, but it is still the same thing: CH3-OH. If you are not using it as a chemical reagent, but only as a solvent, the miniscule amounts of water and other contaminants in it should not be a problem. Be aware that it is toxic, and absorbed through the skin and lungs, not just by the gut. It will damage your liver and your nerves with prolonged exposure. You don't have to drink it to go blind, it just takes a lot longer by other routes. Skol! Tim Keenan Noteworthy Piano Service Terrace, BC
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