Mineral spirits in California

[dgman]

I Finnish all my Scrollsaw work with a 50/50 mixture of mineral spirits and boiled linseed oil to bring out the color and grain of the wood. For a while now, I haven’t been able to find mineral spirits in any hardware store. I was in Home Depot today and found they have it back in stock! I don’t know what the issue was, but it looks like it’s back for good!

[OCtoolguy]

I will have ro check my store. From what I have read, you might live where it is still allowed. I know Ventura was cleared to sell it. Thanks.

[Foxfold]

Ooh, I thought 'mineral spirits' was paint thinner, It's what I use to remove my patterns, but perhaps it's not the same in the USA,

 

[dgman]

1 hour ago, Foxfold said:

Ooh, I thought 'mineral spirits' was paint thinner, It's what I use to remove my patterns, but perhaps it's not the same in the USA,

 

Brenda, mineral spirits is a refined version of paint thinner. It is completely clear and has very little odor. 

Ray, before I checked out Home Depot, I checked Amazon. They carry it with no mention of restrictions to any part of Ca.

[OCtoolguy]

47 minutes ago, dgman said:

Brenda, mineral spirits is a refined version of paint thinner. It is completely clear and has very little odor. 

Ray, before I checked out Home Depot, I checked Amazon. They carry it with no mention of restrictions to any part of Ca.

Thanks Dan. I'll do that too.

 

[loftyhermes]

8 hours ago, Foxfold said:

Ooh, I thought 'mineral spirits' was paint thinner, It's what I use to remove my patterns, but perhaps it's not the same in the USA,

 

Brenda,

Try repositionable spray glue, no need for thinners to remove the pattern. I'm currently using one from Crafters Companion (the purple can) and I've found it to be very good. I apply the glue to the back of the pattern, sand the wood to 240, clean off the dust then stick the pattern on. It leaves little or no residue that can't be removed with a quick sand.

https://www.crafterscompanion.co.uk/craft-essentials/glues-adhesives/glue-sprays.html

[Sycamore67]

I thought that real mineral spirits were banned in California because of their VOC laws.

[John B]

14 hours ago, Foxfold said:

Ooh, I thought 'mineral spirits' was paint thinner, It's what I use to remove my patterns, but perhaps it's not the same in the USA,

 

I had to look it up too, to see what our equivalent was.
White spirit (UK) or mineral spirits (US, Canada), also known as mineral turpentine (AU/NZ),
White spirits in Oz is a dry cleaning fluid.

[Rob]

On 6/13/2019 at 12:12 AM, John B said:

I had to look it up too, to see what our equivalent was.
White spirit (UK) or mineral spirits (US, Canada), also known as mineral turpentine (AU/NZ),
White spirits in Oz is a dry cleaning fluid.

I often think we need a translation reference document for those of us down here John.  It took me ages to find out Mineral Oil was called Paraffin Liquid in NZ!

Rob

 

[WayneMahler]

Not living in California me heart goes out to you that do. They just seem to be over regulated on things from my perspective . Best wishes for the future. 

[OCtoolguy]

11 hours ago, WayneMahler said:

Not living in California me heart goes out to you that do. They just seem to be over regulated on things from my perspective . Best wishes for the future. 

It has finally gotten to the point where the great weather is no longer worth all the other B.S. that we must endure. If I were 10 years younger, we'd be gone.

 

[OCtoolguy]

Well, I stopped in at our local H/D in Huntington Beach yesterday. Still no mineral spirits. I can buy all the paint thinner I want though. I don't get it. Paint thinner is mineral spirits but less refined and much smellier. WHY IS THAT? I would think that for cleaner air it would be better to have m/s over p/t. But nothing in the People's Republic of California makes any sense.

 

[Karl S]

I'm surprised that California even allows water to be had, It does contain chemicals you know! Sure glad i live in Kentucky!

 

[dgman]

2 hours ago, octoolguy said:

Well, I stopped in at our local H/D in Huntington Beach yesterday. Still no mineral spirits. I can buy all the paint thinner I want though. I don't get it. Paint thinner is mineral spirits but less refined and much smellier. WHY IS THAT? I would think that for cleaner air it would be better to have m/s over p/t. But nothing in the People's Republic of California makes any sense.

 

Well, it must be an Orange County thing. Up here in the Home Depot in Simi Valley, Ventura Co. they have pallets full of gallon size Mineral Spirits. Try a paint store or Ace or True Value.

@Karl S I would never talk bad about your state!

[Karl S]

1 hour ago, dgman said:

Well, it must be an Orange County thing. Up here in the Home Depot in Simi Valley, Ventura Co. they have pallets full of gallon size Mineral Spirits. Try a paint store or Ace or True Value.

@Karl S I would never talk bad about your state!

Sorry dgman, I wasn't degrading your state. Here's how we treat our water in Ky   It takes about 7 years 

 

[new2woodwrk]

On 6/14/2019 at 1:42 AM, WayneMahler said:

Not living in California me heart goes out to you that do. They just seem to be over regulated on things from my perspective . Best wishes for the future. 

It's just one of the reasons we moved out a few years back - so glad we did!

[OCtoolguy]

5 hours ago, dgman said:

Well, it must be an Orange County thing. Up here in the Home Depot in Simi Valley, Ventura Co. they have pallets full of gallon size Mineral Spirits. Try a paint store or Ace or True Value.

@Karl S I would never talk bad about your state!

Yes, it seems to be L.A./Orange Co. I can't figure out why. Something to do with South Coast Air Quality Mgmt. District. They have waaaay too much power and they dearly love to flaunt it. 

 

[ScollSaw Slasher]

Oft time these crazy regulations do make sense in the big picture of things. Down here in Florida, can't buy lawn fertilizers from about June 1 to September 30th. Why? Most of you have probably heard of Red Tide which annihilates the fish along the gulf coast. And I would imagine that you've seen pictures in the news of our green algae blooms that have been choking our rivers and lakes and also killing the fish. Yes, California can go overboard at times, but I sure don't want to go back to the days when the river in Cleveland caught fire, the New England streams were toxic dumps, couldn't breathe the air in my old home of Hammond Indiana, etc. etc. Hopefully, mankind will get it right someday as to the environment.

[OCtoolguy]

38 minutes ago, ScollSaw Slasher said:

Oft time these crazy regulations do make sense in the big picture of things. Down here in Florida, can't buy lawn fertilizers from about June 1 to September 30th. Why? Most of you have probably heard of Red Tide which annihilates the fish along the gulf coast. And I would imagine that you've seen pictures in the news of our green algae blooms that have been choking our rivers and lakes and also killing the fish. Yes, California can go overboard at times, but I sure don't want to go back to the days when the river in Cleveland caught fire, the New England streams were toxic dumps, couldn't breathe the air in my old home of Hammond Indiana, etc. etc. Hopefully, mankind will get it right someday as to the environment.

I might agree with you if paint thinner were banned and mineral spirits weren't. It makes no sense to ban the more highly refined stuff and allow the less refined stuff. Just the difference in odor would be a good reason to ban it. I realize that I'm not a scientist and have no idea why they do what they do but what I have found is that is usually boils down to money at some point. They find a way to make things more expensive so they can reap the higher taxes and fees. Ala California gas taxes. They say it's to fix out roads but that is hogwash. They have been collecting gas taxes for decades but have always found a way for those funds to disappear.