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Message:: [QUOTE="-jeffB, post: 1493457, member: 27832"]Hexane gets metabolized into a particularly nasty product, 2,5-hexanedione. Oddly (and unfairly) enough, it's much worse if you're exposed to acetone at the same time, even though acetone by itself is relatively safe. <a href="http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0486.htm" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0486.htm" rel="nofollow">Detailed summary (warning -- pretty heavy going if you aren't a biochemist)</a> I'd rather use heptane, which isn't nearly as toxic, and has a lower vapor pressure as well. But it's probably harder to find. Chloroform should be right out. It's pretty toxic, and I'm generally opposed to using chlorinated solvents on reactive metals anyhow. I doubt that heating an acetone bath would make much difference -- the difference between room temperature and acetone's boiling point just isn't that great. You could use MEK, I suppose, but its BP isn't much higher. If you really want a non-polar solvent that can be used at a high temperature, you could always try a paraffin bath. Just not with any of my coins, please. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]