Cleaning Up Epoxy Messes

Excerpts from The Messageboards

Brian Hahn in SW Wisconsin wrote: I was working with epoxy this morning and thought I'd pass along this information about cleaning up epoxy:

Acetone	Many people use acetone and it works reasonably well. But it always evaporates too quickly for me and I'm not particularly fond of the odor. Plus it dries out my skin.
Denatured Alcohol solvent	Works better than acetone for dissolving partially cured epoxy. It doesn't evaporate as quickly, so I can use less to get the mess cleaned up. And it's a lot easier on the skin. I've used it to clean epoxy coated brushes even after the epoxy has set up. By the way, this explains why glue-blocks that are attached with epoxy come off when the bowl is soaked in denatured alcohol. Epoxy can take a week or more to fully cure.
Isopropyl Alcohol	Rubbing alcohol from the first-aid supply section of the drug store or grocery store. Often it is available both as 70% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol and as 91% Isopropyl Alcohol. These work even better than denatured alcohol. The price is reasonable and it doubles as a first-aid antiseptic when something else goes wrong.

John in Kerrville TX: I use plain white vinegar, but then I only clean it up when it is still not cured. It has always worked though and I think this came from West System Epoxy.

Jorge Castañeda - Downeast Maine: I have been using white vinegar for years and years to clean epoxy before it sets. It does the job very well, it is not flammable, and there are no fumes. Give it a try—a quart goes a long, long way.