While acetone has a wide array of uses such as the preparation of metal before painting, thinning polyester resin, dissolving superglue, removing nail varnishes, removing rosin flux to prevent the rusty bolt effect as well as in the pharmaceutical industries, paint thinner is commonly used to remove any type of paint in paints and coatings. Oil-based paints should be thinned or cleaned up only with petroleum or mineral-based products. Acetone … This is for you. It can also be reused several times when stored properly. If you are painting oil-based paint on top of latex paint then you have to prime the latex first. Acetone is becoming more and more prevalent as a paint thinner or thinner component because of increased air emission regulations (VOCs). It does well for thinning the material. Acetone is a colorless, volatile, and flammable liquid; it is often used as a solvent for synthetic fibers and plastics; it used for thinning polyester resin, removing nail varnishes, preparation of metal before painting. Paint Thinner is the most widely used paint solvent for thinning of oil-based paints, varnishes, and enamels. Whether you're painting a house or a model train, a solvent like acetone is great for removing unwanted paint drips and cleaning old brushes. To thin oil paint for a home improvement project, mix 2 parts oil paint with 1 part turpentine. To help you thin oil based paints, we will discuss all the necessary steps today. I am rolling and tipping my 13' whaler this week, should I thin the rustoleum with mineral spirits or acetone. It will dry a little slower is all. It's a solvent found in some nail polish removers. This makes it excellent for removing paint, but less ideal for thinning. Adding mineral spirits violates the VOC regulations. It is a solvent that is exempt from regulations. Used to dissolve and remove non-oil-based paint. Lacquer thinners come in two general categories: cleanup thinner and, for lack of a better term, true lacquer thinner. It is used in pharmaceutical industries as an excipient in some medicine. The usual ratio is about 3 or 4 parts varnish to one part of the mineral spirits. Other odorless thinners are inferior. I'd like to know myself. Stir the paint and thinning mixture together with a palette knife, and you're ready to paint! Automotive paints are generally lacquers or catalyzed compounds. No relation to traditional oil-based enamels. Cleanup thinner is probably mostly acetone and so it will behave similarly. Need to remove non-oil based paint or epoxies? Based on manufacturer’s recommendations its good to avoid products such as lacquer thinner or mineral spirits for thinning – although you can use them for the quick clean-up. For thinning it, you will need to get some acetone which will thin the paint properly. Keep reading to learn how. Flammable and evaporates easily. The good news is that thinning oil-based paint is not hard if you do it correctly. Check the label to see what ingredients are in your nail polish remover before using it as paint thinner. Re: Thinning Rustoleum Oil-Based Paint Re: Thinning Rustoleum Oil-Based Paint That's a GREEN thing. Will improve brushing qualities when painting. Often including some very slow-drying types. Some nail polish remover is composed entirely of acetone, and can be safely used to thin paint. If the weather is humid you might want to stay with the acetone. It should also tell you what thinning ingredients you can use, but in case it doesn’t, mineral spirits or turpentine are usually good options. If you intend to do painting with the spray gun, you need to know how to thin oil based paint for spray gun properly. Some nail polish remover is composed entirely of acetone, and can be safely used to thin paint. Rustoleum products used to have their own proprietary "thinning oils" and cautioned not to use anything else. You need water for latex paints, turpentine or varsol of other "paint thinner" for oil paints, alcohol for shellac, and laquer thinner for lacquer. 3 – Fill a cup with a cup or so of acetone, I happened to have a can of it on hand from that time I tried to cut a bottle with string. Mineral spirits will work fine and won't adversely speed up the drying time but you may draw the ire of the VOC black-suit dudes. However, if you are going to use oil-based products, you will need to know how to properly use paint thinners or solvents to thin paint, and clean brushes and other equipment when you’re done. Kelly Medford is an American painter based in Rome, Italy. Don't worry about it. Acetone is a powerful solvent for both oil-based and latex-based paint, and can be used to remove uncured paint from a wide variety of surfaces. Latex paint and oil-based paint expand and contract at two different rates. Thinning paint that’s just been freshly opened allows the painting pro to account for temperature, room humidity and absorbency of the surface being painted. It also dissolves two-part epoxies and thins fibreglass resin and most ad hesives. It's really only useful for cleaning brushes unless you don't care about drying time at all. I have read to thin it with whatever the can lists to use to clean up with, (which is mineral spirits) but I have read here to use acetone with rustoleum paint up to 10% when roll and tip and up to 25% when spraying. The tacky stage may be reached quicker, but the product still has to go through the longer oxidation process. Typically, when you are thinning out oil-based polyurethane or oil-based varnish, you will be working with mineral spirits. Thin your oil-based polyurethane with mineral spirits. Turpentine is no longer necessary. Here's What Cleans Everything Up. Paint thinner; Acetone is a high-strength solvent for many plastics, and is also used for thinning oil-based paints and resin, as well as cleaning up after they’ve been used. The paint thinning process needs to be handled with care because oil, latex, lacquer and enamel based paints can require different paint thinners and treatment for optimum results. Any hardware store employee will tell you that acetone is a solvent and used for thinning paint or removing adhesives and glues. Acetone is an organic compound. Clean your brushes and your palette with CITRUS THINNER (made with orange peels). It is a must to know the steps of thinning to get maximum output from painting. This solvent works very well at removing oil-based paints, enamels and acrylic paint. I want to spray the paint on an old riding mower instead of rolling it. Paint is divided into two categories: oil-based (or alkyds) or water-based paints. She founded Sketching Rome Tours in 2012 where she teaches sketchbook journaling to visitors of Rome. Acetone evaporates faster is all. Water-based stains are commonly known as "latex Stains". 1. She studied classical painting, drawing and printmaking both in the U.S. and in Italy. Water-based finishes, however, tend to coagulate when acetone is added. It’s is similar to paint in its composition and mixes well with oil-based paints. Any Poison Control Center employee will tell you it's perfect for removing superglue from one's fingers. It's not recommended, however. The … Can be use to remove dirt and grease from parts and surfaces before painting. of Rustoleum Oil-based paint for spraying? Why don't you try some MinWax Antique Oil? Can you use mineral spirits to thin polyurethane? 2. Dilute Wood Stain with Water. However, you can go as far as half mineral spirits and half poly. The oil based can be thinned with paint thinner (mineral spirits). Uh, acetone is the only VOC compliant solvent readily available in stores that can legally be added to oil based paint. In contrast, latex paint is water-based and should be cleaned up and thinned only with water. Paint Thinner: It also contains a less pure form of mineral spirit with chemicals like naphtha, acetone, glycol ethers, xylene, etc. Paint thinner is a solvent used to clean oil-based paints. Paint Your Car With Rustoleum: Do you have a fun car that you just KNOW will go faster with a brand new paint job?This method is based on the idea of using a foam paint roller to put many layers of Rustoleum on your car. Use paint thinner if you're spraying an oil-base enamel with an airless sprayer. Gamsol is an excellent solvent for thinning oil paints and other media and is available in 32-ounce and 1-liter bottles. First of all, you need to think about ratios. She works primarily en plein air on the streets of Rome, and also travels for private international collectors on commission. How much acetone should I mix with 1 Qt. So, if you paint oil-based paint on top of a latex paint without priming first, the latex will flex so much underneath that the oil-paint will quickly fail. While latex-based primers and paints are convenient and versatile, oil-based primers and paints still are good choices in certain applications. Most oil-based paints that you buy will give you instructions on how to thin your paint. You may want to thin your polyurethane for a variety of reasons: because you want to your finish coats to be less heavy, because the polyurethane has thickened over … How To Thin Oil-Based Paint. OIL PAINTING MATERIALS Thinner. Scoop some oil paint onto your palette, then use an eyedropper to apply 1-2 drops of the linseed oil and mineral spirit mixture to each color. Gamblin Gamsol Oil. Mineral spirits are better for thinning paint. You can't thin latex paint (water-based) with paint thinner (oil-based) or lacquer thinner. Many people have avoided oil paint because of the odor and toxicity of the turpentine that was necessary for cleaning. If you’re a model car or train enthusiast, you can use acetone to dissolve paint and glue from old models, degreasing them at the same time before repainting them to look like new. Except, I used a professional airgun and only 2 coats. "Paint thinner" can be pretty much any mix of aromatic solvents. Acetone is more of a paint stripping material that will change the nature of paint. Acetone is very volatile and evaporates very quickly, therefore you will have very short working time and drying time if you use straight acetone to thin lacquer. Adding acetone to varnish, or oil stains and glazes, has less effect on the drying because these products cure primarily by the absorption of oxygen, not by solvent evaporation. I'm using a small electric dewalt paint sprayer that uses the plastic cup that screws into the spray gun. You can't thin lacquer with oil or water. Don't ask me why it's exempt. Also effective as a clean-up solvent for brushes, rollers and spray equipment. Acetone is a powerful solvent for both oil-based and latex-based paint, and can be used to remove uncured paint from a wide variety of surfaces. It will be fine. Matte appearance, wipe on, wipe off. Water is a thinning agent in these stains that are made up of water-compatible artificial resins. 1 – Find some oil paint and dunk your brush in it. There are very few solids in MinWax, thinning just makes an already thin product even thinner. You should test first. 2 – Wipe as much excess paint out of the brush with a rag, or in my case a dish towel. 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