At 12:08 PM 9/21/2009, pdooley wrote:
>I for one have unknowingly put myself in danger by prepping surfaces for TIG
>welding with brake cleaner...
>
>http://www.brewracingframes.com/id75.htm

Seems to me that's why we don't have Carbon-Tet(rachloride) fire
extinguishers any more.  I'm always amused/irritated that the two
types of brake cleaner shout "Nonflammable" or "Nonchlorinated" but
leave the implications to the small print.

In any case, using any sort of household or shop chemical without
reading every last word of the small print is simply asking for trouble.

A somewhat similar incident where reading labels was perhaps* not
involved -- several years ago, a Model Engineer was badly burned by a
flash fire at his grinder.  Turned out that he'd been previously
grinding aluminum, and the aluminum dust mixed with the steel dust to
make very finely ground thermit which flared fast enough to make a
fireball that involved his face and hands.

*The grinder I bought a few years back clearly says "Don't grind
aluminum" -- I rather suspect it was because of the above incident.