Mineral spirits, paint thinner, turpentine, which and why?

[Ole Anderson]

Lately I have been using mineral spirits for varnish thinning and final brush cleaning, but in past times I have used regular paint thinner, turpentine (smells wonderful) and even kerosene just for cleaning brushes. Anybody use anything other than mineral spirits? Are there other similar products? On my shelf I have Acetone, MEK, brush cleaner (real nasty but it brought back a badly abused rock hard latex pro brush) and denatured alcohol for cleaning and shellac. And of course lacquer thinner which seems to be a combination of many of the above.

[Howard Acheson]

Most "paint thinner" is all or mostly mineral spirits. For all intents and purposes they are the same and can be used interchangeably. Some paint thinner contains a dollop of naphtha in the mineral spirits. By itself, naphtha can be used to thin paint or varnish but it will cause the finish to become dry to the touch more quickly. However, this will also mean that the finish may not flow out or smooth as well.

Old timers frequently used kerosene for brush cleaner as it was cheaper than turpentine. There is little use for turpentine these days.

[Jeff Monson]

Most "paint thinner" is all or mostly mineral spirits. For all intents and purposes they are the same and can be used interchangeably.

Thats good info Howard, I did not know that!!

[Ole Anderson]

Interesting, I just went to my local hardware store for a gallon of thinner/MS. Paint thinner was $10/gal and was labled as 100% low odor mineral spirits. A gallon of low odor "mineral spirits" was $14. Same brand (Sunnyside). Go figure.

[Jim Rimmer]

Interesting, I just went to my local hardware store for a gallon of thinner/MS. Paint thinner was $10/gal and was labled as 100% low odor mineral spirits. A gallon of low odor "mineral spirits" was $14. Same brand (Sunnyside). Go figure.

They are the same but low odor ms sounds better so it costs more. HD used to do the same thing.

[Alan Lightstone]

I thought it was because "mineral spirits" has more letters than "paint thinner". HD usually charges about a buck per letter.

[ray hampton]

Alan could be right

[Jon Middleton]

Odorless MS doesn't clean brushes when I use Behlen's Rock Hard varnish. I find I have to use stripper each time. Anybody else have this problem?

[Scott Holmes]

Odorless and Low oder MS are not a strong as regular mineral sprits yet they charge MORE!

Behlen's uses a different thinner in their varnish and I like their thinner better to thin the varnish; reg MS to clean is fine.

Make sure you soak your brush in mineral spirits or the Behlen's thinner BEFORE you use the brush, it conditions the bristles; makes the finish flow better and the brush cleans MUCH easier.

[Jon Middleton]

Thanks, Scott. I also need a better brush. I'm using a 1" Purdey, but the varnish doesn't go on as smooth as I'd like. It's not easy to get full coverage on a gunstock without getting sags. Or, at least, I find it so. I think a better brush will help.

[Scott Holmes]

OR thin the varnish more and wipe it on.

If you're lookng for a good brush Gramercy brushes are some of the best.

[G Douglas Fowler]

Several years ago I ran accross an article regarding turpentine, the gest of which was that it has one property that other solvents don't have: it does not totally flash off and chemically bonds with the resins present in the finish. I am not a chemist so I can't vouch for the accuracy of this information nor can I explain why that is a good feature. That said, when I am using a combination of BLO/tung/varnish as a wiping finish I add turp as my thining agent. So far the results have been excellent.