# Mineral spirits Vs traditional thinner?



## JimSC (Apr 17, 2014)

When should I use mineral spirits over traditional thinner? I just invested is some really good brushes and was told to use ONLY mineral spirits for bush cleaning. Is that true?


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I thought thinner and mineral spirits were the same thing. Basically a varsol.


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## cocobolo1 (Dec 31, 2015)

I agree with Chuck.

I'm assuming that you are speaking of oil based paint now. For latex of course, you only need warm soapy water.

What you really need to consider is whether or not the brush cleaner will do the job on the paint at hand. If you are using lacquer, you'd use lacquer thinner.

Many years ago I used to do sign painting. A good lettering brush can be very expensive, even though it may be very small. In order to prolong the life of a high quality brush I used to add lard to the bristles and then wrap it up in wax paper. This keeps the bristles pliable. I still have some lettering brushes in excellent condition which I first used way back in the 1960's!

Some things are worth taking care of, and a good brush is one of them.


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

You can use gasoline or lacquer thinner to clean brushes but I wouldn't. Maybe this is why they said use mineral spirits. Also some people call mineral spirits paint thinner. All I have ever seen are the same.


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## tvman44 (Jun 25, 2013)

I always thought the 2 were one in the same????


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## coxhaus (Jul 18, 2011)

The rule I always used to keep good brushes clean and pliable using oil paint is to clean the brushes 3 times with mineral sprits and them wash with warm soapy water at the end. Let dry then put back in cover to keep the brush's bristles in shape. Three times means start with fresh mineral sprits each time for each brush. Anything less and I have sticking brush bristles a couple of days later.

I have some 30 and 40 year old brushes which are only used for oil paint and finish depending on the brush and hair content. I am not a commercial painter though but my rule has worked for me over the years.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JimofSC said:


> When should I use mineral spirits over traditional thinner? I just invested is some really good brushes and was told to use ONLY mineral spirits for bush cleaning. Is that true?



since you asked...

.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> I thought thinner and mineral spirits were the same thing. Basically a varsol.


Usually, paint thinner is cheaper to purchase by a pretty good amount. Mineral spirits can be up to double the cost. The reason for this is mineral spirits receives more thorough refinement. This cleaning of the material also is what makes it less noxious to use. The bottom line is that it takes more work to produce mineral spirits than paint thinner, and you get what you pay for.

Read more: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/3-advantages-of-using-mineral-spirits-over-paint-thinner#ixzz269kUZ...

In addition, turpentine is distilled from tree sap. Chemically similar to mineral spirits, but smellier and slower evaporating.

More than you probably wanted to know: http://news.thefinishingstore.com/?p=357


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

More refinement means they are basically the same thing but with some elements removed. According to the PDF its the xylene and toluene. I believe both are forms of varsol. When I worked for an Esso bulk dealer we had available for sale up to 5 different grades of varsol. One or two were odorless, one of which was also sold to dry cleaning shops (yes they used varsol to clean your clothes). I would suspect that the odorless ones were closer to mineral spirits, or the same, and that the ones for parts cleaning were closer to or the same as being paint thinner.


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## JimSC (Apr 17, 2014)

*Thanks for all the good reply's. As always I got my answer. And yes I meant "paint thinner" when I said "traditional thinner".*


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

There may be an Australian vs US misunderstanding issue here however I have always used what ever the reducer is to clean the brushes, with oil based paints then the reducer is mineral turpentine and with acrylic coatings then as the reducer is acrylic thinner then thinner is what is used to wash brushes, water based paints then use water, shellac flakes are dissolved in methylated spirits so that is also the reducer for shellac so it is also the cleaner, I don't use anything called mineral spirits however Wikapedia says -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_spirit

- that the US call white spirits mineral spirits and that this is also Mineral turpentine so -

Turpentine and thinner are not compatible and they cannot be mixed or used to clean up for each other and with all coatings then the correct 'reducer' is also 'the cleaner'. I don't suggest that anyone do it but if you use an oil based stain then you cannot use an acrylic lacquer directly over it if its still wet as the two will not mix and the lacquer will peel off, now it can be done but only if the oil based stain is left for days and days to be thoroughly totally dry, so in general this issue is so important that I only use stains which are reduced by the same reducer that is used with the lacquer being used.

Turpentine, and lacquer thinner do not mix so as to your 'mineral spirits' if that is mineral turpentine then that also does not mix with thinner based products, or visa versa. Use whatever the reducer is to clean up brushes. N


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

JimofSC said:


> *Thanks for all the good reply's. As always I got my answer. And yes I meant "paint thinner" when I said "traditional thinner".*


*

Jim don't stay away so long.*


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## cocobolo1 (Dec 31, 2015)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> According to the PDF its the xylene and toluene. I believe both are forms of varsol.


Chuck, several years ago we had to get a special batch of paint made up by General Paint in Richmond. It was made to cover metal roofing and contained - among other things - silicone.

The thinner they gave us was xylene. I don't know if you have ever used that stuff in the raw, but it's a wicked smelling thinner/cleaner. I would certainly hope it is removed from regular paint thinner. Pretty sure you don't want to add any of that to your morning coffee!


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Hey, Neville;
it's all in the 'lingo'... 
If you weren't confused before re our terminology up here then this should do it!
Anti-freeze, windshield wash, solvents, Global supplier of automotive liquids & household chemicals - Recochem Inc.
This is our major supplier though basically all of the supply chain in BC...can't speak for RoC (*r*est *o*f *C*anada as we like to refer to it)


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Stopped using brush on oil based paints I don't know how many years ago. Now it's exterior latex for all my projects. It's as good as, if not better than oil based paints, smells better, and cleans up with tap water. What's not to like about that?


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

"... What's not to like about that?"

'90 Day Warranty' here in the Pacific Northwest. On a surface exposed to the weather, especially horizontal surfaces, don't even bother.
I just spent a week over in Victoria giving my SiL a hand...back porch painting one of the projects.
All the railings are new WRC (we installed last Summer then let them cure for a year...I coated (2 coats) the top plates with liquid acrylic when I installed them ).
This time we painted them with a product called 'Sharkskin'.
-20 year warranty
-6 years on horizontal surfaces...the clerk says plan on repainting in _three_

SharkSkin Deck & Siding Stain
Yeh; it's water cleanup. The good news is that it's got Linseed oil in it.


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## coxhaus (Jul 18, 2011)

Latex also does not require the high quality brushes which oil paint does. It is an all around win. The only thing with latex paint is it does require a more expensive air less sprayer if you are going that route over oil based paint.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

cocobolo1 said:


> Chuck, several years ago we had to get a special batch of paint made up by General Paint in Richmond. It was made to cover metal roofing and contained - among other things - silicone.
> 
> The thinner they gave us was xylene. I don't know if you have ever used that stuff in the raw, but it's a wicked smelling thinner/cleaner. I would certainly hope it is removed from regular paint thinner. Pretty sure you don't want to add any of that to your morning coffee!


I realize now I wrote that wrong Keith. I didn't mean to imply that xylene and toluene were normal parts of varsol but instead are sometimes parts left in. Xylene and toluene are both bad stuff and I'm pretty sure without checking that both are known carcinogens. I had the opportunity to work in the oil patch service industries for about 7 years and I learned that both crude oil and methane gas have lots of contaminants that get removed to various extents. H2S is one of the major ones but ethane, propane, and butane get removed from gas wells and xylene, toluene, naptha and a few other compounds get removed to various extents from crude.


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## cocobolo1 (Dec 31, 2015)

Something else just popped into my addled brain. We used both Xylene and Xylol. Can't remember the difference, but neither one is very nice.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

and there's MEC....


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## schnewj (Nov 18, 2013)

Stick486 said:


> and there's MEC....


Typonese?

MEC, or MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone)? We used to refer to it as Methyl Ethyl Death.

Yes folks, most of the aliphatic hydrocarbons (MEK, Toluene, Acetone, Xylene are known carcinogens).


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

schnewj said:


> Typonese?
> 
> MEC, or MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone)? We used to refer to it as Methyl Ethyl Death.
> 
> Yes folks, most of the aliphatic hydrocarbons (MEK, Toluene, Acetone, Xylene are known carcinogens).


no typonese...

Methylene chloride (MEC)

Dichloromethane (DCM or methylene chloride) is an organic compound with the formula CH2Cl2. This colourless, volatile liquid with a moderately sweet aroma is widely used as a solvent. Although it is not miscible with water, it is miscible with many organic solvents.

Dichloromethane is produced by treating either methyl chloride or methane with chlorine gas at 400–500°C. At these temperatures, both methane and methyl chloride undergo a series of reactions producing progressively more chlorinated products. The output of these processes is a mixture of methyl chloride, dichloromethane, chloroform, and carbon tetrachloride. These compounds are separated by distillation.

DCM's volatility and ability to dissolve a wide range of organic compounds makes it a useful solvent for many chemical processes. Concerns about its health effects have led to a search for alternatives in many of these applications.


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## Dejure (Jul 27, 2009)

Exception being book, dish and other shelves. The items set on it won't stick to hardened oil like it will to latex.




JOAT said:


> Stopped using brush on oil based paints I don't know how many years ago. Now it's exterior latex for all my projects. It's as good as, if not better than oil based paints, smells better, and cleans up with tap water. What's not to like about that?


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