# Names for common solvents - American/British English translations



## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

Just following on from the thread on denatured alcohol, I thought I would post my list of translations between the US names and UK names for common solvents. I think many other English-speaking countries use some of the British names too. Exact formulations may vary from country to country. Please add any I've missed:

Denatured alcohol = methylated spirit / meths
Mineral spirits = white spirit
Mineral oil = liquid paraffin B.P.
Kerosene = paraffin / paraffin oil
Naphtha / white gas / Coleman fuel = lighter fluid / lighter fuel
Gas / gasoline = petrol
Rubbing alcohol = surgical spirit
Trisodium phosphate = sugar soap


If anyone knows of a similar list for adhesives I'd very much like to know about it. American plans or how-tos often call for a brand-named glue that we don't have here... e.g. I have no idea what the difference is between "white glue" and "yellow glue" - all our PVAs and wood glues are white!


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Andy; on the "Naphtha" item, in spite of it being named that here in NA, I don't think I've ever heard anybody actually call it that(?). I'm pretty sure it's what we used to call 'white gas' or Coleman fuel. Anybody confirm this? I'm pretty sure Coleman stoves would burn normal unleaded gasoline but I haven't had the nerve to try it.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

you would be nuts to put unleaded gasoline in your Coleman stove, white gas is not the same as gasoline

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphtha

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphthalene


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Yeh, kind of why I haven't tried it!  Funny though, as many people as I've asked, nobody has ever given me a definitive answer, and what the actual difference is(?).


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## AndyL (Jun 3, 2011)

Thanks Dan, I added white gas and Coleman fuel to the original post for reference. Naphtha is a term I knew from reading old issues of American Woodworker.


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## gainesvilledgl (May 19, 2012)

I'm not familiar with naphtha, but back in the days when almost all gasoline had lead added to it, AMOCO sold a gasoline that didn't have any lead added to it and it was called white gas.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Thanks, Jim; see, I'm _not_ senile! And _that_ is why I was tempted (but resisted)...


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

"If anyone knows of a similar list for adhesives I'd very much like to know about it. American plans or how-tos often call for a brand-named glue that we don't have here... e.g. I have no idea what the difference is between "white glue" and "yellow glue" - all our PVAs and wood glues are white!"
-Andy

"Polyvinyl Acetate (PVA) Glue
Any glue consisting primarily of polyvinyl acetate polymer. This category
includes most traditional white glues and more advanced yellow aliphatic resin
glues. Although PVA glues can vary in strength, flexibility, water-resistance and
sandability, they offer good performance, cleanup with water and are non-toxic.
Because PVA glues tend to “creep”, or slowly stretch under long-term loads,
they are not recommended for structural applications."
From Titebond's website
Titebond - News Article > Need technical assistance?


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Inquiring mind needed to know (more)...
Aliphatic Resin Glue | New To Woodworking


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

Seems to be a pretty good reference type of snapshot, to look at them together and see the uses, pros and cons of each:

Wood glue - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Note that some glues are considered as cross-overs between groups (such as titebond II and others)... But that list has the basic types.

EDIT-- Looking into that closer, that list I posted seems incomplete...


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## 57759 (Apr 8, 2011)

Spent many nights on the river bank with a Coleman burning white gas. Back in those days the choice at the pump was regular, ethyl and white. Why anyone would pay a buck 50 for a gallon of Coleman fuel when white gasoline was 0.22 cents is beyond me.

Vapor pressure is an important measure of what works in what piece of equipment or what's best for safety, cleaning, thinning etc. Is that information readily available to the general public? Probably not.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

*Get The Lead Out!*



SandburRanch said:


> Spent many nights on the river bank with a Coleman burning white gas. Back in those days the choice at the pump was regular, ethyl and white. Why anyone would pay a buck 50 for a gallon of Coleman fuel when white gasoline was 0.22 cents is beyond me.
> 
> Vapor pressure is an important measure of what works in what piece of equipment or what's best for safety, cleaning, thinning etc. Is that information readily available to the general public? Probably not.


Well that's why I was tempted. I had been told the difference was the lead, and that it would damage the stove. I just never found anyone else who'd actually tried it.


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

Where does the solvent Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK or Butanone) fit into this list?

And why the big push lately to market MEK alternatives instead? The flammability risk, health risks, risks of birth defects?

Personal curiosity. I have lots of this in my garage...


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

DaninVan said:


> Andy; on the "Naphtha" item, in spite of it being named that here in NA, I don't think I've ever heard anybody actually call it that(?). I'm pretty sure it's what we used to call 'white gas' or Coleman fuel. Anybody confirm this? I'm pretty sure Coleman stoves would burn normal unleaded gasoline but I haven't had the nerve to try it.



Being old, I have had a chance to read many things.:wacko: (Can't remember the important things???)

I recall reading somewhere that the Coleman stoves were originally designed to use multi fuels , gasoline included. This was so WW II soldiers could use the gas out of the Jeep to run the stove if necessary.. Would this be before lead was added?

PS found this on the internet:
http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?68019-Coleman-Stove-and-Gasoline-as-fuel
http://www.campingblogger.net/camp-cooking/coleman-liquid-fuel-camp-stoves.html


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## 57759 (Apr 8, 2011)

jw2170 said:


> Being old, I have had a chance to read many things.:wacko: (Can't remember the important things???)
> 
> I recall reading somewhere that the Coleman stoves were originally designed to use multi fuels , gasoline included. This was so WW II soldiers could use the gas out of the Jeep to run the stove if necessary.. Would this be before lead was added?


Tetraethyl lead (a colorless, oily, poisonous liquid), commonly called "lead," was used as a gasoline additive for automobiles made between the mid-1940s and the end of the 1970s. There were several reasons for adding lead to gasoline. First, lead improved the way that gasoline burned. Second, it reduced or eliminated the "knocking" sound caused by premature ignition in high-performance large engines and in smaller, high-compression engines. Lead also provided lubrication, which prevented the close-fitting parts of the engine from chafing against one another.

New cars (cars made between the 1980s to the present), however, require the use of lead-free gasoline. This is because new cars come with pollution control devices called catalytic converters, and lead destroys the substance used as the catalyst.

Source: Mark's Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, pp. 7-16.


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## rwl7532 (Sep 8, 2011)

gainesvilledgl said:


> I'm not familiar with naphtha


I was introduced to naphtha a few week ends ago. My wood guy (where I picked up pen blanks and others odd wood pieces) uses it as a wipe on to view grain figuring. Something about it doesn't leave traces after it has evaporated.


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## The Warthog (Nov 29, 2010)

DaninVan said:


> Andy; on the "Naphtha" item, in spite of it being named that here in NA, I don't think I've ever heard anybody actually call it that(?). I'm pretty sure it's what we used to call 'white gas' or Coleman fuel. Anybody confirm this? I'm pretty sure Coleman stoves would burn normal unleaded gasoline but I haven't had the nerve to try it.


I had about 40 years experience with Coleman stoves and lanterns in Scouting. We called the fuel "naphtha" until about the mid 70s, then "Coleman fuel" got more common. I have still heard it called naphtha in the last 20 years.

Anyway, I've switched to propane, easier, safer, and the kids can't pour it on the campfire.

Oh, unleaded gas will work for a while, but it will gum up the generator. (The brass tube that gasifies the fuel.)


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## The Warthog (Nov 29, 2010)

MAFoElffen said:


> Where does the solvent Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK or Butanone) fit into this list?
> 
> And why the big push lately to market MEK alternatives instead? The flammability risk, health risks, risks of birth defects?


It's hard to find a good mix with it, and it tends to leave you with a headache. 

Methyl alcohol is sometimes sold as "Methyl Hydrate" in Canada. I buy it in the paint store and use it as gas-line antifreeze in winter. Works a charm!


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

White gas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coleman fuel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Natural-gas condensate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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