Kami mounting fluid -- Formula

[sanking]

The question of what is in Kami mounting fluid comes up from time to time. In the US Kami can be purchased from Aztek, but in many parts of the world it is not available. The formula, which comes from a Kami MSDS sheet, is fairly simple.

Mineral Spirits <10%
Solvent Naptha <90%
n-Hexane <4%

Mineral spirits and solvent naptha can be purchased at many hardware stores, or easily on the web. n-Hexane can be purchased on the web, or substitute an equal amount of methyl alcohol.

Home mixed Kami works just like the store stuff, and is also just as flammable and explosive.

Sandy

[Ed Bray]

This is very useful information Sandy. What are the ratios between each constituent part?

[JBelthoff]

I'm no mathematician but doesn't that equal 104%?

[sanking]

This is very useful information Sandy. What are the ratios between each constituent part?

Hum, perhaps I confused myself, but I took the formula to mean a bit less than 10% of mineral spirit, a bit less than 90% of solven naptha, and a bit less than 4% of n-Hexane.
I would mix the fluid mount one part mineral spirit + 9 parts solvent naptha + one-quarter part 1/2 part n-Hexane (or methyl alcohol).

If that does not make sense hope someone will correct me.

Sandy

[Drew Wiley]

The other 4% or maybe 14% is excess water. I doubt that Kami gets their ingredients at
the local hardware store. You have to be careful about quality these days.

[JBelthoff]

Also, is that "Solvent Naphtha" or Solvent Naptha?

[sanking]

I'm no mathematician but doesn't that equal 104%?

I don't think so. All of the percentages are given as less than (<). I take this to mean that the MSDS data does not give the exact formula.

And yes, it should be solvent naphtha.

Sandy

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

Sandy already said it, but these are off an MSDS sheet, so all they are telling you is that less than X% of the composition of the whole is made of Y. They don't have to tell you the exact proportions for safety precautions, and certainly wouldn't want to to prevent home-brewing.

Were it me, I would buy them through a reputable chemical supply house. Much more expensive, but they would come as a known quality.

[adam satushek]

Interesting, but personally ill keep buying the real stuff through Aztek as long as I can. I really like Aztek and appreciate that they still service my scanner so I try to buy as much from them that I can. Just my opinion though. But it is good to know the ingredients in case Kami is not always available.

[sanking]

Just for the record, there is another MSDS sheet for Kami that lists the ingredients as follows.

Naphtha (petroleum) < 90 %
Isododecane < 10 %

I have never seen Isododecane for sale but brief search indicates that it is a fairly common synthetic hydrocarbon that functions as a solvent and dispersant.

Sandy