Chemicals have changed our lives we are surrounded by Chemicals like soap is a chemical, creams are made up of chemical likewise so many things are made up of chemical. Sometimes these chemicals are good for us but sometimes harmful also. We should not use any chemicals without any prescription.
The quality of a liquid chemical depends on its volatility or evaporation speed, acidity, and strength. By considering all these quality checks, a liquid chemical is categorized. Acetone and Lacquer Thinner are liquid chemicals where Acetone evaporates easily without taking much time, while Lacquer Thinner takes time to completely evaporate.
Acetone vs Lacquer Thinner
The main difference between Acetone and Lacquer Thinner is that Acetone can be used in many things like dissolving plastics, denaturing alcohol, etc. Because of its fast evaporation time, it is considered to be better than Lacquer Thinner. In contrast, Lacquer Thinner takes more time to evaporate. And it is used to remove paints or other materials from the surface, break adhesive bonds, etc.
Acetone is a dimethyl ketone which is a colorless liquid with a strong smell and does not take much time to evaporate. It is flammable and has a boiling point of 56 degrees Celsius with a melting point of -95 degrees Celsius. It comes under the family of ketones and can be called dimethyl ketone. Inhaling an excess amount of Acetone can cause infuriation in the eyes, nose, and lungs.
Lacquer Thinner is another liquid chemical that can be called methyl ethyl ketone. It contains some amount of Acetone in it and is highly flammable, watery in color. It smells strong and is more toxic than Acetone. It is made by mixing several other chemicals that are used for liquefying plastics, removing stains from fabric, and dissolving many more types of materials.
Comparison Table Between Acetone and Lacquer Thinner
| Parameters of Comparison | Acetone | Lacquer Thinner |
| Definition | Acetone is a dimethyl ketone that is a colorless liquid and is used to remove nail paints, fabric stains, etc. | Lacquer Thinner is another liquid chemical used to remove plastics and cement, or other materials from their surfaces. |
| Formula name | Dimethyl Ketone. | Methyl Ethyl ketone. |
| Family | It belongs to the family of Ketones. | It also belongs to the family of ketones. |
| Characteristics | Acetone is a colorless liquid solvent, has a bad smell, and its flammability rate is high but less than lacquer thinner. | Lacquer Thinner is also a liquid chemical that is watery, volatile in nature, and highly flammable with good strength of liquefaction of other materials. |
| Boiling point | The boiling point of this liquid chemical is 50 degrees Celsius. | The boiling point of this liquid chemical is 153 degrees Celsius. |
| Smell or odor | Has unbearable or bad odor which might irritate your nose. | It contains a strong smell or odor and is more toxic than acetone. |
| Uses | It is mainly used for removing stains from fabric, denaturing alcohol, and dissolving materials like plastics, etc. | It is used in removing paints from the surfaces and stains from the fabrics. |
What is Acetone?
Acetone is a liquid chemical that is thin, watery in texture, and has a high dissolving rate. It is mostly used for removing stains from the fabrics and dissolving or liquefying plastics from surfaces. It is a highly flammable solvent and, if inhaled, might irritate the nose, eyes, and other body parts.
Acetone or dimethyl ketone belongs to the ketones family. It is also used as helping solvents that are added in other liquid chemicals for increasing the properties of other solvents because it is highly volatile in nature. Acetone is usually used to remove materials like grease, oil, and plastics.
Acetone is more preferred in cosmetic products and is famous for removing nail paints from nails. It does small wipings or cleaning. It can also be used as a preserver because of its bad and unbearable smell. It is hard to find because it is rare, so it is used in doing small kinds of work.
What is Lacquer Thinner?
Lacquer thinner is available in abundance, and it is cheap. It is mostly used for industrial purposes like removing paints, dissolving things. Acetone is also added in lacquer thinner in some amount to make it a good solvent. Lacquer thinner is also highly flammable. It contains a strong smell and takes more time to evaporate.
Lacquer thinner is also called methyl ethyl ketone. It also belongs to the ketones family as it contains some amount of Acetone. It looks watery and is more flammable than acetone, so it should be used with care or precaution. Lacquer thinner is cheaper than acetone.
Lacquer thinner is more dangerous because its volatility rate is slow and is flammable in nature. Therefore, this thinner is not recommended for household usage. And because of its strong toxic smell, it is handled with care.
Main Differences Between Acetone and Lacquer Thinner
- Lacquer thinner is a liquid chemical available in abundance and is cheaper. While Acetone is rare to find and is more expensive.
- Acetone does not contain many other chemicals, but Lacquer thinner contains several other chemicals or solvents, including Acetone.
- The evaporate rate of Acetone is high or is highly volatile in nature, while it takes more time for evaporation in Lacquer thinner.
- Both of the liquid chemicals are flammable, but Acetone is less dangerous because it has a high volatility rate as compared to Lacquer thinner.
- Acetone is mostly used for household purposes and is find more in cosmetics products. On the other hand, Lacquer thinner is usually used in industries.
Conclusion
Chemicals help us to do things easily with less time. Sometimes it becomes difficult to remove stains like oil and grease from the fabrics these chemicals helps us to remove these stain without taking much time. Acetone and Lacquer thinner are two of them. Where Acetone is more used for removing stains but because of its non-availability, it is expensive in some places.
Lacquer thinner is cheap and easily available but is highly toxic in nature. And has a low volatility rate, is highly flammable, which is not a good combination, and is dangerous. Therefore, lacquer thinner is not recommended for household usage. Acetone can be used instead of Lacquer thinner.
References
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC373084/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3338240/