Mineral spirits

[Driver]

Here's a basic question with what I hope will be a simple answer. Many of the US magazines and websites talk about "mineral spirits". What is it? Does it go by a different name in Oz?

Driver

[q9]

We call it "turps". Not to be confused with white spirit which is different again.

Look around these two sites and you'll find chemical compositions, etc.

www.msdsonline.com
www.inchem.org

[Driver]

q9

Thanks. "Turps". Does that mean it is the same as or different from mineral turpentine?

Driver

[q9]

Turps is mineral turpentine and is the yank equiv of mineral spirit.

[Driver]

q9

Thanks for the advice and for your patience!

Driver

[Sir Chiz]

Actually,mineral spirits and turpentine are two different critters.
Turpentine is refined from turpentine oil,
mineral spirits is refined from petroleum.
Mineral spirits is in between naptha(lighter fluid) and kerosene.

Naptha,mineral spirits and turpentine are used as solvents for paint and varnish,naptha being quicker to evaporate than mineral spirits and turpentine being the slowest of the three.

I believe mineral spirits in the U.S. is akin to your white spirit.

Phil.

[Driver]

Now I'm really confused!

[q9]

Me too...

trust the yanks to come in at the last minute...

[q9]

I will contact one of my chemist friends and find out for sure.

[Sir Chiz]

What is the base of your white spirit?
Is it petroleum,alcohol or something else?

At one of the links above,you can type in mineral spirits and white spirit comes up,but turpentine is something different.

Inquiring minds wanna know. :D

Just found these:

http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/WH/white_spirits.html

http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/TU/turpentine.html


Chiz.

[journeyman Mick]

Jusr my 2.2c worth (gst included) what you generally get when you buy turpentine is mineral turpentine which is a synthetic version of the old time gum turpentine which is distilled from tree resin. It is still available in artist's supply stores and smells a lot nicer than mineral turps. Of course this doesn't answer your question, Driver but it does explain why it's called mineral turps.

Mick

[AlexS]

Gum turps may smell better than mineral turps, but I believe it's even worse for the brain cells. As my chemist friend says, if you can smell an organic solvent, you're being poisoned. It's just that some are worse than others.

[barnsey]

Sir Chiz

Our White spirit is petroleum based
You use it in the Zippo
Sold here as Shellite for a good many years
AKA Lighter Fluid

Jamie;)

[Sir Chiz]

Jamie,sounds like you white spirit is closer to what we get as naptha,the main ingredient in Zippo fuel.It evaporates faster than our Mineral spirit.
Tastes horrible too! ;)

I use both naptha and mineral spirits for thinning varnish to make a wipe on varnish.
Naptha flashes off quicker and is good for a smaller piece but can tack up too quick for a larger piece,so for a larger piece,I'd thin with mineral spirits.

Chiz.

[Sir Stinkalot]

Mixed with a little orange juice over ice it doesn't taste that bad ... it depends on how cheap you like your drinks. :D

[Sir Chiz]

Thanks Mate,I'll stick with the Guinness. :D
Makes a nice wood stain too!! :D

Chiz.

[ubeaut]

The Mineral Spirits of USA equates in Australia to Mineral Turpentine, also known as petro pine or just plain turps.

The closest thing to turps is White Spirits also used for most of the same things, it a little cheaper (or used to be) and supposedly has less smell than the turps. Both turps and white spirits are pertochemicals and both are 100% Liquid Hydrocarbons.

Pure turpentine (or gum turpentine) is distilled from turpentine pine trees and as AlexS rightly said, it can rattle your brain. It is thought to be a cause kidney failure if abrorbed through the pores of the skin. It can cause many mental problems and is one of the reasons why so many of the great artists were certifiable nut cases. Don't be fooled into thinking that natural is always better. Often times is definitely is not.

Naptha is different again and is a combination of aliphatics, xylene and ethylbenzene and has an unmistakeable smell of napth (moth balls). It also has some pretty nasty medical side effects.

Hope this has helped a little bit and not thrown more confusion into the debate.

Cheers - Neil :)

[q9]

So I was right then?

[DaveInOz]

:confused:

So someone finish this table
USA Oz
Mineral Spirits ?
Pure Turpentine ?
Mineral Turps ?
Naptha based spirits ?

[Dod]

well I am also now completely confused.
In my shed I have bottles of Turps (mineral); Metho ( metholated spirits); Shellite; Dry Cleaning Fluid; and white spirits. None smell the same.

Interestingly, the Metho is labelled "contains 99% ethanol.

They all come from the "Grange" company.


Regards
Dod

[Driver]

Neil

Thanks mate. You've answered the original question. Well, I said it was a basic question in the original post but - hell's teeth! - it didn't have a simple answer, did it?

Oz and the US, two nations separated by a common language!

Now here's one that has nothing at all to do with wood but just for the hell of it: why do the Americans leave an "i" out and turn aluminium into aluminum?

Driver

[journeyman Mick]

Originally posted by Sir Stinkalot
Mixed with a little orange juice over ice it doesn't taste that bad ... it depends on how cheap you like your drinks. :D
Well you could mellow it out a bit first by straining it through a loaf of unsliced white bread. This tip from one of the clients of an alcohol rehab centre I worked at years ago.

Mick

[q9]

Now here's one that has nothing at all to do with wood but just for the hell of it: why do the Americans leave an "i" out and turn aluminium into aluminum?

Funnily enough I almost put this in a message a couple of days ago...I think it is because they have problems with English as a language. Geez, I've seen yank shows where they subtitle English, Scots, Irish and Aussies...


Now methylated spirits is ethanol that has methyl alcohol added to it, therfore "methylated". This is done so the government can continue to collect taxes through the sale of alcohol. Other than that, no reason for it.

TUT TUT!!!! .;)

[Sasha]

I have seen on a couple of US shows where they used and recommended "mineral oil" to stain their cutting boards.
Is this the same stuff?
Or is it something else.

Regards
Alex

[Neil]

Mineral Oil is mainly sold in Australia as paraffin oil, a clear pretty well odourless liquid. It is available from the supermarkets, chemists and some hardware shops. Its main claim to fame is that it does not dry or skin like most oils, so it is excellent for use as the oil for lubrication during french polishing. It is basically non toxic and will not go rank or toxic like most vegetable oils will in time. However it is entirely impractical for use as a finishing oil because of its non drying characteristics. It is often used as an initial oiling of food implements purely for aesthetic purposes, it usually disappears with the first washing of the implement which anyone with any brains will do before the use it for the first time.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers - Neil :)

PS Paraffin Oil (Mineral Oil) is my first choice for use in french polishing because it doesn't dry like the traditional oil for this job, Linseed. This means that a job can be left at mid point for weeks on end and can be taken up where it was left off at any time where otherwise you would either have to finish the job or remove all the linseed from the surface before leaving it, or there would be a thin skin of oil on the surface when you return making it a pain in the but to pick up where you left off.

[BrianR]

The link that q9 gave as a reference to chemical names seems to answer many of the questions placed here:

" White spirit is a mixture of saturated aliphatic and alicyclic
C7-C12 hydrocarbons with a maximum content of 25% of C7-C12 alkyl aromatic hydrocarbons (Henriksen, 1980)........

Common synonyms:
Lacknafta (Sweden); Lakkibensiini (Finland);
Mineral Spirit; Mineral Turpentine; Mineralsk
Terpentin (Denmark); Mineralterpentin
(Sweden); Petroleum Spirits; Solvent Naphtha;
Stoddard Solvent; Terpentin (Denmark);
Testbenzin (Germany), Turpentine Substitute
(Henriksen, 1977; Hass & Prior, 1986; IARC,
1989a).

Common trade name:
B.A.S.; C.A.S.; Clairsol; Dilutine; Exxsol;
Halpasol; Hydrosol; Indusol; Sane;
Kristalloel; Laws; Ragia; Solfina; Sangajol;
Shellsol; Solfina; Solnap; Solvesso;
Spezialbenzin; Spirdane; Spraysol; Stoddard
Solvent; Supersol; Terpentina; Tetrasol;
Thersol; Varnolene; Varsol; W.S.; White
Spirit (CEFIC, 1989; IARC, 1989a).[B]

[q9]

This back from the lab:


Mineral spirit is equivalent to petroleum spirits

Mineral turpentine is equivalent to mineral turps, etc, but there was a listing that said "mineral turps high aromatic white spirit"

White Spirit came up as mineral spirit/s, and low aromatic white spirit (turpentine substitute)

[Sir Chiz]

Ok,I think your use of "turps" for a non-turpentine product confused me more than usual. :D

Now mineral oil,a petroleum based product considered non-toxic, can be purchased at woodworking stores here in the U.S. as
"Butcher Block Oil" or "Salad Bowl Finish"
for about $7-8 for 8 ounces or....
the same product can be purchased at a pharmacy
for $2 a quart as....brrrrrrrrrrrttt
a Laxative product. :D

Pays to be a smart shopper!! ;) :D


Chiz.

[Mac Simmons]

I hope this helps...
Mineral Spirits is similar to Paint Thinners (not to be confused with Lacquer Thinners) both the MS and the PT are petroleum distilates .
The MS follows after Naptha in the distillation process, this means the MS will be slower drying because it containsa little more oil residue, allow you a little more open time for working out your stains, oils, glazes, ect.
If you cannot purchase MS, the Paint Thinner is your next best choice.
G'day, to those who may remember me.
Mac Simmons

[Rowan]

Now for the $64000 question.

What will mess your mind quicker.

a)drinking any or all of the above mentioned products
OR
b)trying to follow this thread???:)