HF is a rather nasty chemical. Treat it with lots of respect. It is used
for glass etching, and may be in the CWW mix to strip off any coatings on
the wheel. A funny property of HF is that it doesn't burn when you get it
on your skin. It will get absorbed through your skin, and then attack the
calcium in your bones. Nice touch.
Note that this is info I had when working with much more concentrated HF
(40+%, as used in semiconductor manufacturing) and may not be at all
applicable in the lower dilutions you'd find in a cleaner. Be that as it
may, I wouldn't dream of having any of it around anyway. Thanks for
letting me know enough to read the label on stuff more carefully.
Mark the chickenhearted Miller
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From: The Honjos[SMTP:fm7m-hnjy@asahi-net.or.jp]
Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 1997 3:22 PM
To: shop-talk@Autox.Team.Net
Subject: Hydrofluoric Acid
This is a chemistry question.
I picked up a bottle of chrome wire wheel cleaner and noticed that
they contained phosphoric acid and hydrofluoric acid. In fact, I
realize that most CWW cleaners have it. Now the phosphoric acid I
understand -- it's a rust remover, and also provides a skin on top
after the rust is removed. What does the hydrofluoric acid do?
Regards
Makoto Honjo
Phone/Fax +81-3-3473-1848
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