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Gilding size solvent question

Kalia Kliban

Kalia Kliban

Joined
Feb 16, 2012
Messages
196
Likes
905
Location
Sebastopol, California
A question for gilders out there who use oil size:
I live in California where I can no longer get true mineral spirits. I have about half a quart of the good stuff left, which will get me through this upcoming big gilding job and a couple of other projects, but after that..? The closest thing available here is "odorless mineral spirits," which doesn't do a good job of cleaning the size out of my brushes and is a pretty wimpy solvent. Will naphtha work for cleaning oil size out of brushes? I plan to visit a hardware store in Oregon when I'm up there next year for the symposium and pick up a can of mineral spirits, but in the meantime, any suggestions?
 
Naphta will clean the brushes but I do like mineral spirits better. It's hard to believe that california bans M.S. and not naphtha.
I also like the oil based guilding medium. I get my guilding foils and medium from lagoldleaf.com there in california. You might try contacting them and see what they say. They sell the water based and oil based guild.
Also, I would search craigslist for garage sales that have woodworking tools. I buy lots of my solvents and finishes that way. When a woodworker retires or dies and they are getting rid of tools the chemicals can always be bought for pennies on the dollar because the people don't know how to dispose of them. If you make a road trip to any adjoining state I'd just buy some of the good stuff there. You could buy a 5 gal can that would last he rest of your life.
 
DON FRANK said:
Naphta will clean the brushes but I do like mineral spirits better. It's hard to believe that the peoples republic of california bans M.S. and not naphtha. Those people are nuts but you already know that.
I also like the oil based guilding medium. I get my guilding foils and medium from lagoldleaf.com there in california. You might try contacting them and see what they say. They sell the water based and oil based guild.
Also, I would search craigslist for garage sales that have woodworking tools. I buy lots of my solvents and finishes that way. When a woodworker retires or dies and they are getting rid of tools the chemicals can always be bought for pennies on the dollar because the people don't know how to dispose of them. If you make a road trip to any adjoining state I'd just buy some of the good stuff there. You could buy a 5 gal can that would last he rest of your life.
Click to expand...
These days you may find a specie of 'nut' just about anywhere. Similar to what my dad said about the guy who kissed the cow, "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder".
 
Naphtha will be much faster drying than mineral spirits. Should only take a few drops to experiment if it would work for you. But asking the manufacturer is the way to go. I checked on Sepp's website and the SDS they have only says petroleum distillates, and they are heavier than air. That would indicate a lacquer base, but that's a guess.
 
I live in California.
I went and tried to find Naphtha . Could not find it. Went to a paint store and they told me they could not carry it.
For the chemist or two in the group......how does Naphtha compare to "White gas"?
What about lacquer thinner?
 
DON FRANK said:
Naphta will clean the brushes but I do like mineral spirits better. It's hard to believe that the peoples republic of california bans M.S. and not naphtha. Those people are nuts but you already know that.
I also like the oil based guilding medium. I get my guilding foils and medium from lagoldleaf.com there in california. You might try contacting them and see what they say. They sell the water based and oil based guild.
Also, I would search craigslist for garage sales that have woodworking tools. I buy lots of my solvents and finishes that way. When a woodworker retires or dies and they are getting rid of tools the chemicals can always be bought for pennies on the dollar because the people don't know how to dispose of them. If you make a road trip to any adjoining state I'd just buy some of the good stuff there. You could buy a 5 gal can that would last he rest of your life.
Click to expand...
Here in Canada is extremely difficult to get denatured alcohol. But I can wander into any big box store and buy gallons of far more dangerous methyl hydrate. The rules don't always make send, that's for sure.
 
Lots of different chemicals can be labeled "mineral spirits", it's always been a bit of crapshoot what you actually get in the can. The so-called "odorless" varieties have had some of the more obnoxious aromatic compounds distilled out of them. You might try some Kingsford charcoal lighter fluid, it is, apparently, mineral spitits by another name. Naptha should substitute for many uses, acetone for some. For as little thinner as one uses in gilding I might ask someone out of state to send you a quart of turpentine.

For brush cleaning something like acetone or naptha should work just fine, or a water based brush cleaner. Or, go to disposable brushes. I've only done relatively small gilding projects, but McMaster sells nice, relatively fine bristle acid brushes that actually worked just fine with the size I used.
 
Roger Wiegand said:
Lots of different chemicals can be labeled "mineral spirits", it's always been a bit of crapshoot what you actually get in the can. The so-called "odorless" varieties have had some of the more obnoxious aromatic compounds distilled out of them. You might try some Kingsford charcoal lighter fluid, it is, apparently, mineral spitits by another name. Naptha should substitute for many uses, acetone for some. For as little thinner as one uses in gilding I might ask someone out of state to send you a quart of turpentine.

For brush cleaning something like acetone or naptha should work just fine, or a water based brush cleaner. Or, go to disposable brushes. I've only done relatively small gilding projects, but McMaster sells nice, relatively fine bristle acid brushes that actually worked just fine with the size I used.
Click to expand...
I'm fussy about my brushes since they're an important tool, and I don't like to throw them away. Acid brushes are fine for dabbing, but if you want a smooth, even layer of paint or varnish, you need a brush with a well-shaped working edge. The gilding size I'm using (Dux quick-dry) says mineral spirits for thinning. I'm assuming that's for clean-up as well. I did a test patch for the client a few days ago and used some of my precious remaining stash of mineral spirits for clean-up and it worked fine. The odorless stuff is truly useless for getting brushes clean. I'll just eke out my current supply through this job and stock up when I'm in Oregon :>)
 
DON FRANK said:
Also, I would search craigslist for garage sales that have woodworking tools. I buy lots of my solvents and finishes that way. When a woodworker retires or dies and they are getting rid of tools the chemicals can always be bought for pennies on the dollar because the people don't know how to dispose of them. If you make a road trip to any adjoining state I'd just buy some of the good stuff there. You could buy a 5 gal can that would last he rest of your life.
Click to expand...
Great idea about keeping an eye out at garage and shop sales!
 
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