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Alan,
I use a mixture of 1:1 Acetone and Denatured Alcohol. Both from Home Depot. Both are inexpensive. Skip the grain alcohol, except for celebrating your results. I run a film of the mixture onto the board, and then put the artwork down onto the wet film. I let it sit for about 20 seconds and then press down. While I am waiting the 20 seconds, I flood the top of the artwork with more of the mixture. At that point I run a brayer over the board in the x and y directions for about a minute. By that time, the board is usually pretty dry. When it is completely dry, I drop it into the sink with some water, and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes. I peel off what ever peels off, and then rub the rest off with my fingers. The paper I use is the shiny, but not coated brochure paper. I tried to use some form the Viking River cruises catalogs we get once a week, but the paper was too thin for my printer. The purpose of the brayer is to improve adhesion, especially at the edges of the pattern. I bought a 6 inch one on ebay for a few dollars. I was floored that first time I tried it this way. I had had success without the brayer, but always had issues at the edges of the artwork.
Tried the "cold toner transfer" process today using what I had
at home, acetone and 80-proof vodka (40% alcohol by volume) for my solvent.
Printed the PCB artwork on standard, white, office paper using my HP Laserjet. Using the 8:3 mix and didn't get any transfer to the copper.
So I dabbed the solvent onto the other toner patterns on the paper
and let it set half an hour before I tried rubbing it off again. Still wouldn't lift off the paper. D'OH! I forgot to print it onto something slippery. So I printed four patterns on Oracal 651 vinyl for another go at it.
Did everything according to the video, but the part where the paper and plastic are supposed to peel off the board, leaving the toner still sticking, failed miserably.
So I added another capful of acetone to the bottle, put the cap back on and shook it up, and tried again. No results.
I repeated the above two sentences about three more times. Still the toner did not detach from the Oracal. So I let put a few drops of solvent onto a different piece of Oracal with a toner pattern printed on it, and let it sit about half an hour.
Then I could rub the toner off with my thumb, but it took a good bit of pressure to lift the toner from the plastic.
This was my first try to use the "heatless" toner transfer. I think
I'll buy some 100% ethanol (grain alcohol) and try again later in the
week, unless somebody has a better idea.