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

[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.

[Jon Middleton]

I've thought about that, but am concerned about ghosting when I rub out a top coat applied by wiping in on. I saw a thread on brushes, but can't find it. I'll look for a Gramercy. Thanks!

[Alan Lightstone]

BTW, if you haven't seen Scott's video on brush cleaning / care, it's great. Definitely changed how I care for my brushes, and they look and work much better now.

What do you use for citrus cleaner, Scott? The only stuff I found at home was Goo Gone. I'm going to find something better in the supermarket, but I was wondering if you had a favorite.

I went and bought a Grammercy brush, and it's soooo much better than the Purdy or Woodcraft brushes I was previously using.

[Scott Holmes]

Just any citrus clean; it's sole function is to help get the mineral spirits out of the brush so you can get the soap and water to suds faster.

[Harvey Pascoe]

While we're on the subject, I recently bought a gallon of Odorless MS. Was shocked to see that it looked as if someone had cleaned a brush full of white paint in the stuff leaving a heavy white sediment. Shake the can and it almost looks like white paint. I could not bring myself to clean a varnish brush with this stuff, yet alone thin varnish with it. What on earth is this crap?