Originally Posted by cyccommute

There are far better...as in safer...solvents out there than gasoline. Gasoline has a flash point of -40F. That's damned cold. You can ignite it in a blizzard on the Arctic Circle in January. In more normal climes, handling it outside of a gasoline tank on a vehicle requires a lot of thought and caution.

Mineral spirits has a much higher flash point. Odorless has the highest flash point (>131 F), few aromatics, is about $7 a gallon (enough for hundreds of chain cleanings) and does a damned fine job since it's, essentially, the same material as gasoline without that pesky flammability problem. Overall a much, much better choice.



Not holier-than-thou, just better informed.

As for our grandfathers catching fire: some did. So did their kids. My bother and the neighbor kids managed to burn one the kids pretty badly while playing with gasoline. My dad managed to burn his motor home to the ground because of a leaking fuel hose. Toasted the house a bit too.