Good one @Bing
I went looking for the bulb paint in the '80s to coat the instrument panel lights in my '79 Toyota and it was no longer available. I did find “mood lights” in the color I wanted, however. I needed green, because the instruments were black with white indices and needles, and white bulbs (the ones listed as replacements) simply washed out the speedo etc. at night.
I’d like to improve my current instrument panel, but they have LED lights, and I don’t feel like desoldering/soldering surface mount LEDs. I know how, and “mood” LEDs are available, but it’s too much of a PITA.
Not only are our supplies endangered, WE are becoming endangered too…
Good point.
Not only are the supplies becoming rare so are the people working in auto parts with the knowledge of older vehicles. Or any knowledge of vehicles. Last week I asked for front brake pads for my 02 Camry, the dolt behind the counter actually asked me, “disc or drum?”.
Hee, hee. Good one, PVT.
There are companies which in this century were making tube stereo amps. They get a fortune, but I think the tubes come from Russia for obvious reasons.
I gave my old RCA tube manual to my SIL, and he got a couple jobs repairing those tube stereos, because the factory didn’t seem to be able to do it. I worked with him until he got the idea. Smart man.
" Last week I asked for front brake pads for my 02 Camry, the dolt behind the counter actually asked me, “disc or drum?”."
That’s because the catalog needs to know. How would he know what brake system your car has? Some cars use different front brake pads depending on if it’s 4 wheel disc or disc/drum. The guy wasn’t a dolt, he was asking for all the info of your car so he could get you the correct parts the first time.
Heck, between what industrial chemicals the EPA doesn’t want people to have, and what industrial chemicals the DEA doesn’t people to have…I’m surprised we can get our hands on anything!
The latest is brake cleaner: basically all non-polar solvents are either hydrocarbons, or fluro- or chlorocarbons. The first tends to explode; the latter two tend to cause cancer. I’d think it obvious that “potentially getting cancer in 20 years” is better than “potentially blowing up the garage in 20 minutes”; but I seem to be in the minority–tetrachloroethylene is on its way out, to be replaced by hydrocarbons.
I’m actually surprised you can still walk in to a store and buy spray paint!
yeah I think you re in the minority on that one…
Both the blowing up and the cancer are avoidable. Working outdoors or in a well-ventilated area does a lot. Goggles and gloves are nice, but you don’t want to be inhaling xylene. I used to read the Material Safety Data Sheets and some fairly common chemicals are very nasty stuff. Oddly, many of the chemicals found in a research lab are fairly innocuous compared with common industrial chemicals. Our office did safety training for the research staff at a huge biomedical research University. Employees (and the Government) overstated the risks of radioactive materials used in labs, most of which have long half lives, emit the least dangerous kinds of radiation, and/or are used in very small quantities. They had a fairly realistic understanding of biological risks, which were fairly slight except for people working with large numbers of lab animals and wastes, like the technicians who care for them. Potentially dangerous microorganisms are handled very carefully in special facilities. Chemical risks were always underrated. The old school researchers did the most appalling things, eating at their benches and stuff. Every year we had chemical incidents - large spills, burns, ether explosions, exposure to nasty chemicals that should have only been worked with in a fume hood.
So don’t be like them. Treat corrosive and flammables and carcinogens with respect. Some paints included. If you can’t vent away the fumes work outdoors. An open garage door is better than nothing, but not much if you’re at the other end of the room.
There are companies which in this century were making tube stereo amps. They get a fortune, but I think the tubes come from Russia for obvious reasons.
They still are making them. The old Western Electric plant that built the WE-300 tube was recommissioned over 10 years ago because of the demand for tube amps. If you ever listened to a nice tube system you’ll understand why.
Both the blowing up and the cancer are avoidable. Working outdoors or in a well-ventilated area does a lot
Oh, absolutely. Volatile HCs are especially unfriendly in an indoors scenario…they are heavier than air, so they lie on the floor, and spread, potentially igniting off the pilot light on the water heater (for instance) and arc back to the worksite.
I guess that’s why I’m in favor of halogenated solvents: they only hurt the user of the product; whereas, if the guy working with butane or di-ethyl ether catches the attached house/apartment on fire, he’s taking a lot of innocents with him.
@asemaster: “How would he know what brake system your car has?”
If you ask for brake pads, they’re for disc brakes. If you have drums, you’re going to ask for brake shoes.
@asemaster: “How would he know what brake system your car has?”
02 Camry uses the same front pads whether it is 4 wheel disc or not, and the computer knows this, so the kid was a dolt for asking. I don’t think any Toyotas had front drum since before this kid was born. The last car I worked on with front drums was a 69 Cutlass.
Give the kid behind the counter a break guys. It was probably just his way of making polite conversation.
I used to read the Material Safety Data Sheets and some fairly common chemicals are very nasty stuff
Yeah, but some of those things only cause cancer if you are in California 
My gripe with the computerized parts finders are they must be followed to completion for the thing to work and sometimes that is way more information than is needed to figure out which part is appropriate. I don’t blame the worker, they are just using the tools they were given…I will always bring in the old part if at all possible as added insurance against getting the wrong part. Been burned too many times. Trust, but verify!
Not to belabor the point, but before you are able to access any part numbers in the catalog, you are asked whether the car has rear disc or rear drum. You have to choose one in order to continue. That’s why he asked.
I remember when we first had to start collecting MSDSs for everything we bought. White glue was considered hazardous if you drank it. Yuk.
Didn’t you ever eat white glue in grade school when you were a kid? We used to think it tasted pretty good.
When I worked retail, you had to get 18+ ID for all aerosol products…including bedliner spray. I was told the reason for this was inhalant abuse. Wow, the thought of huffing bedliner for a buzz…I’d sooner just bang my head against a brick wall 'till I saw stars, than resort to that!