Oils : Solvent question...

[Bhrazz]

Hey guys, I'm not very familiar with oil painting and I'm wondering if Paint thinner will do the same as Turpenoid?

The price difference is huge but it pretty much smell and look the same to me...

Anyone have experienced both?

Thanks for your help!

[Flake]

"Paint thinner" could be loads of different things.

Spend $10 at Dickblick for a pint of Turpenoid or OMS, that should last you a year.

Alternatively, take the chance on low grade substitutes and deal with the potential headaches (literally..)

[sweetoblivion314]

you can recycle turpenoid (and any other Mineral spirit) so that it will last you a very long time.
Pigments are to heavy to suspend themselves in turpenoid so if you get a mason jar and put your dirty turpenoid in it and let it rest, the pigment will sink to the bottom in a few days and you can pour off the clean stuff into a new jar.
so buy the turpenoid (i actualy prefer gamsol) and keep recycling it and you will have it for a while.

[Ilaekae]

You have to ask yourself one very important question...

"Do I like things that blow up/can kill all life in a 200-square-mile area/were probably made from alien bug juice?"

[Bhrazz]

It was more a question of ''it is the same'' than about saving money, but the price gap just made me wonder if it was the same, and I bought the turp this afternoon, thanks to all of you guys:)

[Elwell]

Hardware store paint thinner will work fine for diluting oils, but will have a higher aromatic content. It will smell more and probably evaporate faster. It may also have a slightly stronger solvent power. Even hardware store mineral spirits labeled "odorless" may have some smell to them. The advantages of Turpenoid and Gamsol are that they are refined to a much higher degree, removing more of the aromatic components, and that their quality is more consistent and reliable. Of the two, Turpenoid has only a very slight smell, while Gamsol has practically none.

[deepbluehue]

If you are just going to use it to clean your brushes, vegetable oil works very well and isn't toxic. Wipe out as much pigment as you can with the vegetable oil, and then follow up with soap and water, I like Murphy's Oil Soap. You can't use the vegetable oil to paint with though, it goes rancid.

One thing to note, both odorless and regular turpentine are toxic and dangerous if you are exposed to enough of it. The problem with odorless turpentine is that it gives you a false sense of safety because you can't smell it, and you won't know that you've overexposed yourself to it until you start to feel sick. Just remember to keep a window open when you're using it, don't stick dirty turp rags in your pocket (you'll burn yourself), and soak them in water and let them air dry when you're done with them so they don't catch on fire.

[Carl Dobsky]

You have to ask yourself one very important question...

"Do I like things that blow up/can kill all life in a 200-square-mile area/were probably made from alien bug juice?"

I don't know about you guys, but my answer to this question is "YES!!!!":bomb: