OK as an Albertan who was educated many years ago in the wiley ways of organic chems- and remembers a bit, I just ran into this. Hard. What a mess our government has made with the regulation...and indirectly, of my garage. I have to go out tomorrow and buy something that works, so I spent a couple hours researching this.
Brake clean
used to be: n-heptane and a bit of isopropyl alcohol (
Ethanol contains two carbon atoms, methanol has one, and isopropyl has three) and carbon dioxide as a propellent
It
was replaced by sprays that contained mainly acetone. That was a disaster. You used 5x as much (See vid in the OP's first post) and it damaged things- plastics.
As far as human effects, subjectively, it stinks.... though (arguably) has less damaging effects.
This was made more inconveniencing by the manufacturers not changing the damn part number. Absurd.
So two things have happened. New
3rd generation products hit the shelves this past fall ('25). By re-introducing "Heptane, branched, cyclic and linear" versus the old "n-heptane" as the main ingredient, some function has been returned.
IMO, its more or less "obfuscation" by the manufacturers, but what the difference is, is ... first, that n-heptane and linear are the same. But now we have mixed in, branched and cyclic. Think of them as slightly less effective versions.
The good stuff, N-heptane has a formation kind of like geese flying.
Cyclic heptane, as the name suggests, is more packed- a common comparison is an old fashioned wood chair- you have carbon atoms at positions of the 4 feet, two prongs up high and another one somewhere central. (to make 7 in total- "Hept" is between Hex- and Oct-)
Branched heptane is somewhere in between: an assortment of asymetical T shapes.
So what I think the manufacturers may be doing is certifying the 3rd generation formulas with a batch of mostly cyclic, which is very subtly least reactive (functional) but also least volatile of the three kinds...allowing it to certify. Then, they "may" let the batches drift back toward having a decent amount of linear/N-type. That's what I am hoping...?
So
Kleenflo 313 has a revision:
313R (can is vertical split red and blue, very distinctive) SDS here:
https://www.kleenflo.com/msds/313R.pdf
In
Gunk, I believe the best is
M705R SDS here:
https://gunk.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/M705RC_EN.pdf
In
ACDelco, the Heptane based one is
19434493 SDS here:
https://www.gmparts.com/trade-professionals/safety-data-sheets-ingredient-disclosures and enter 19434493 in the last field of the search screen that opens.
CRC...Well I'm a little confused so far.
But, they do have a different chemistry "Parts Cleaner" that is getting good reviews. Seems to work well in this video
It uses as #1 ingredient, methyl acetate, which is closely related to good old ether. Hunter S Thompson was not consulted.
https://www.crcindustries.ca/fr/media/msdsen/msds_en-1755528.pdf
There is a CRC formula that has naptha in it. I'm doubtful of that working well.
I'm uneasy using anything clorinated. For two reasons- that horrible PSA that went out using it around welding, and the fact that it can go through gloves and be absorbed. Chlorinated is resistant to burning. But when it is forced to by, say a welding arc, it can do you permanent damage in a single session.
AFIAK this can be said as a PSA- all known non-chlorinated is very flammable. But just burns off clean.
Bottom line, this should be your approach- #1 you do NOT want acetone.
Besides that one to avoid, there are at least 2 other possibilities (naptha and the ether derivative) that are a little doubtful.
And then there's the topic of using various electronic cleaners.
But, really if you are like me, you just want it to go back the way it was. You don't want surprise reactions.
So.. if you are standing in the store and need something - (or, if you are researching what to buy- same system): google the part number and "SDS". Check that your result is, if possible, hosted on the .ca domain of the manufacturer or otherwise clearly noted as in effect for Canada. I'd have thought the part numbers would differ, but have been caught, like you OP, and our friends in the video, where it
didn't. If you see Heptane as #1 ingredient you are good to go.
