Mineral Spirits Substitute

this new Environmentally Friendly stuff on the market called
Mineral Spirits Substitute is NOT for woodworking projects !!!!
I wouldn't wash my sidewalk with it, much less thin my paint or clean my
brushes with it or on any wood project prior to painting.
use at your own discretion.

.

 

this new Environmentally Friendly stuff on the market called
Mineral Spirits Substitute is NOT for woodworking projects !!!!
I wouldn't wash my sidewalk with it, much less my paint brushes
or any wood project prior to painting.
use ar your own discretion.

View attachment 394977

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I agree, John. I tried this stuff and did not like it.

 

Naphtha was once described to me as "High Octane" mineral spirits. It is more flammable and evaporates faster.
I think it cleans brushes more thoroughly and leaves behind less residue than spirits. And most importantly, no longer available where I live!

I don't think Coleman Fuel is Naphtha. I think Coleman Fuel is highly refined gasoline "white gas"

 

The Coleman Fuel came up from a search that I did on naphtha. Confusing results I guess.

 

If you have no other options you can use cheese cloth sprayed with shellac as a tack cloth to dust off

 

Everclear is expensive, had to get some for doing French Polish finish. My go-to for wiping something down is and has been Naphtha for the past 30-40 years. Flashes off quickly and leaves no residue or odor.

David

 

I can find naphtha locally as Coleman Camp Fuel at $20 / gallon which would be great. The warnings on the can about harmful vapors and being extremely flammable are not comforting. I will try a small can out. I appreciate the advice.

Gary

 

Honestly, even though I can get and use Naphtha, my normal MO for getting rid of dust is just compressed air. I usually wipe things down with Naphtha when I want to see what the wood will look like with a finish.

David

 

Methyl Hydrate is just another name for Methanol or wood alcohol. I don't see any reason you couldn't use it. Mineral spirits on the other hand wouldn't evaporate so fast. It could stay in the wood for several hours and cause the wood not to accept the stain right. Perhaps you still don't have compressed air. I prefer to use a soft bench brush and compressed air to clean wood off before staining.

 

Thanks, Steve. Nice to get your advice again. I will try methyl hydrate. In another comment on this thread I mentioned ... Finico DNA which shows 85% ethanol and 15% methanol. Any comments about how this might work?

Gary

 

It is expensive here, but I'm told it's mostly because of the liquor tax. I didn't know if maybe liquor taxes are different there.

 

Alcoholic beverages are taxed heavily in Canada. If you can buy grain alcohol like Everclear, I bet it is very very expensive.

 

So, what was used in wood working during prohibition?
johnep

 

I assume that they used denatured alcohol, much like today in places where it is available.

According to this Wikipedia article, the government required industrial applications to use denatured alcohol during Prohibition:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denatured_alcohol

CORRECTION:
I want to correct my statement above about low levels of methanol in denatured alcohol. According to the Wikipedia article, which I had not read before, "The main additive has traditionally been 10% methanol..." but then they add, "In the United States, mixtures sold as denatured alcohol often have much greater percentages of methanol, and can be less than 50% ethanol."

 

Everclear grain alcohol is an option. Some folks prefer it to denatured for making shellac. Available at liquor stores.

 

Thanks for the quick feedback. I am not finding it listed in our liquor stores. I suspect it would be very expensive.

Gary

 

Accidental double post.

 

I use mineral spirits to clean up after sanding and it works well for me. If you're looking for something natural you could check out this citrus solvent. I just started using it to thin tung oil but some people use it as a final cleaning step. It doesn't dry quite as quickly as mineral spirits and it is not the cheapest option but it does smell nice! :smile2:

 

Thanks, Bernie. I will try mineral spirits since I have lots of that. Citrus solvent is pretty pricey.

Gary

 

If your are just cleaning up sanding dust, mineral spirits works quiet well. What you use should depend on the existing finish and the finish you plan to apply. If the existing finish is shellac, you probably shouldn't use alcohol for cleaning as it will tend to dissolve it. Mineral spirits would be better. If you plan to use a water base material for the final finish, you can clean up sanding dust with a cloth or paper towel dampened with water

 

Some interesting considerations especially regarding water based stain which I use often. Thanks.

 

Fortunately, we can still get Naphtha here in the south. it's about $12 gallon and readily available at local paint stores. The Lowe's website says they no longer sell it but they had it in quarts and gallons a couple of weeks ago.

In all the years I've used it there has not been an issue with flammability - I don't have open fires in the shop and there are no open containers of Naphtha sitting around. If there were it would evaporate in no time.

David

 

Thanks. It looks like I am going to have trouble finding that in Canada too. A search on Amazon.ca brings up nothing useful. Ugh!

 

BioFlame Ethanol @ CanadianTire & Home Hardware


or, since it's just a wiping fluid that evaporates completely.... isopropyl alcohol, altho that's may also be hard to find as it's used in homemade hand sanitizers....

 

You are right about it being hard to find. Amazon.ca shows some options but the price is outrageous at $75 Cdn a gallon.

 

A few comments:

* Very pure alcohol gets diluted over time. It absorbs moisture from the air. The water dissolves in it.
* Alcohol can raise the grain. It isn't the alcohol, it is the water in it.
* Denatured Alcohol (DNA) is ethanol with toxins mixed in. Methanol is used or at least included for that purpose. The reason for denaturing is to prevent people from drinking it in order to keep liquor taxation structures in place.
* I live in Southern California. Denatured alcohol has been banned here for some time as a solvent. You could buy "alcohol stove fuel" in camping stores, the same product. Perhaps @GAF can find it that way in Canada. We can't - about a year ago, denatured alcohol was banned throughout California, even as stove fuel.
* There are many other woodworking solvents that are also unavailable in California, including mineral spirits, naphtha, and many others.

 

Lots to consider. Thanks. Your California rules are so, so tough.

 

Just go to the local drug store (Chemist?) and buy some rubbing alcohol. It is isopropyl alcohol. It is typically 70% maximum but for your purposes the 50% will work just as well.

And Dave, you have given me a new reason to hate SCAQMD / CARB.

 

Good idea. I had asked about denatured alcohol at the drug store. Now I have another question to ask them.

 

I was talking to the owner of my local hardware store when he told me they could no longer sell Naphtha because of VOC regulations. Instead they sell a substitute called “Painters Thinner” which is mostly Acetone. I had always thought of Acetone as being nastier than Naphtha, but I guess not where VOCs are concerned.

 

I had always thought of Acetone as being nastier than Naphtha, but I guess not where VOCs are concerned.

I am thinking that if the VOC in Buttermilk exceeded the EPA limits, it too would be banned in some states.

I still have a pint of oil based gold leaf size that contains lead. even with the skull and crossbones on the label.
I hope the Paint Police never stops by my home to inspect my paint box !!!
when I hear even a rumor that 100% mineral spirits and Naphtha will be banned in Florida,
I will be stocking up on it for sure.

.

 

I use denatured mostly to check for sanding marks, dings, missed spots . . . .
I'm not normally real happy to find I missed sanding out some tooling marks/ridges/bumps/whatever with the urethane brush.
a tack cloth works well for dust - especially for "interior" spaces where a blast of compressed air simply stirs it up into a different corner.


it also 'brings out the grain' so I can oooh and uuuh in the shop, if I want . . .

 

Tom, those are some good points that I had not considered. I use mineral spirits to demonstrate the impact that top coating will have.

Gary

 

Here is the information on the Finico DNA:

https://ardec.ca/en/p/35/denatured-alcohol

Steve - it’s good to hear from you!

Tom

 

I was under the impression denatured alcohol was banned north of the border. It sounds like it's just scarce because it is also a disinfectant. It has been scarce here too. It's just high priced now. My local lumber company has gallons of it for $40.00 a gallon.

 

A possibility, seeing as Canada is (was) closely linked to the UK.... Try searching for Methylated Spirits, which is europes name for denatured alcohol. Its usually tinted deep purple as a safety thing, but its great for making shellac with.

 

A possibility, seeing as Canada is (was) closely linked to the UK.... Try searching for Methylated Spirits, which is europe's name for denatured alcohol.
It's usually tinted deep purple as a safety thing, but its great for making shellac with.

what do you do with purple shellac ??

.

 

If DNA gets becomes prohibited everywhere, what will people use to make shellac?

Are the VOCs different in DNA than in Grain Alcohol?

 

Currently in stock on Amazon at about $21 / gallon. Note the disclaimer.

https://www.amazon.com/Klean-Strip-...t=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9051925&hvtargid=pla-593419161794&psc=1

 

Currently in stock on Amazon at about $21 / gallon. Note the disclaimer.

There is a note on mine that says, "This item cannot be shipped to your selected delivery location. Please choose a different delivery location."

Is that the disclaimer you were referring to? I live in So Cal, where DNA is banned, so I am not surprised.

 

Oh......

This is the disclaimer I was referring to:

“Not intended for sale or use as a thinner“

 

You might want to check out this video on YouTube: Quick Tips #27 A Cheaper Alternative To Naphtha. He suggests usng "Kinsford orderless lighter fluid." I haven't used it myself but think I might give it a shot on some scrap wood. Target has 32 oz. for less than $4 as compared to Amazon at $15.

 

The price is right. Thank you.

Gary