Ron notes that “Purple Power” is not the same product or formula across the globe

We’re shared a number of posts here about how well the product “Purple Power” cleans the sticky residue off of portable radios than once had a rubberized coating (the coating breaks down over time and becomes incredibly tacky).

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, RonF, who writes from Australia with this important note:

Tip for non-USonians: what’s sold as “Purple Power” (and “Simple Green”, and several other frequently-recommended cleaners for this sort of thing) are not necessarily the same products around the world.

For example, in the US “Purple Power” is an ethylene glycol based cleaner/degreaser; here in Aus, if you ask for “Purple Power” you’ll get a sodium hydroxide based degreaser.

One will clean the gunk off your radio; the other will clean the gunk *and most of the labelling* off…

Wow–that is an important distinction! Thank you for sharing, Ron!

Spread the radio love

6 thoughts on “Ron notes that “Purple Power” is not the same product or formula across the globe

  1. Robin

    I have just removed all of the sticky gooey coating from my Pure One Flow internet radio by using methylated spirits on a fibre-free cloth (I used an old vest). 2 or 3 applications worked well, then a rub with WD40 to remove any residue. Finished with some furniture polish for a high gloss. Finally I tried Carnauba wax which gave it a really deep piano-black wet-look shine. Well satisfied!

    Reply
  2. Bill Lee

    for example search purple power msds data sheets
    and get many entries
    The newer SDS, Safety Data Sheet
    https://questcarcare.com/wp-content/uploads/PURPLE-POWER-sds.pdf

    or the older MSDS Material Safety Data Sheet
    https://www.targetsolutionstt.com/wp-content/uploads/PURPLE-POWER-MSDS-UPDATED.pdf

    or a longer set of warnings
    https://www.lloydslaboratories.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Purple-Power-57601-57620.pdf

    And in Canada
    Aiken 4315PS Nettoyant Violet Power 12/907,2 g
    Le nettoyant/dégraissant Purple Power fonctionne sur une grande variété de surfaces dans l’automobile, la ferme, la marine, la maison et les applications industrielles.
    with a reference (in English) on the Amazon.CA page to cleaning an Eton radio

    Reply
  3. Dave

    1 re “One will clean the gunk off your radio; the other will clean the gunk *and most of the labelling* off…” would have been great to know which one does what 🙂

    2 In fact there are a number of slightly different safety data sheets on the web if you do a search, and at least one US SDS lists a strong alkali ingredient (“Potassium Hydroxide 4 – 6 %”) so it’s not entirely clear to me what the active ingredients are and if they vary for different markets. I would guess though that the key component for sticky removal is the glycol ether (note: glycol ether [listed as Ethylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether for example] NOT ethylene glycol, no reason to include EG in the formulation that I can think of) which is a common cleaner ingredient. (I write as a chemist who has worked in chemical specialities formulating industrial cleaners).

    Anyway I have a sticky Grundig G4 and I’ll look out for a glycol ether containing cleaner locally and see what happens.

    Dave

    Reply
  4. Andrew (grayhat)

    ethylene glycol ?

    man, be careful with that, probably the cleaner is diluted or mixed with something, otherwise the glycol can burn w/o visible flame and that’s a nasty thing (just imagine breathing it, if it starts burning…)

    Reply
    1. Ron F

      It’s not straight ethylene glycol (typo on my part in my original comment); US “Purple Power” is a mix of a couple of different compounds, including a wetting agent / emulsifier (poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), a-(2-propylheptyl)-w-hydroxy) and diethylene glycol butyl ether (which is non-flammable) as a solvent.

      However, my point was that the common names are meaningless since the actual formulation varies from place to place, so don’t rely on them being the same. Always worth checking the MSDS/SDS for details…

      Reply

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