Difference between mineral spirits and paint thinner. Most often though paint thinner means less refined mineral spirits with 5 percent or less benzene content added for better solvency and aroma. Most mineral spirits have kerosene like odor though new refined mineral spirits have been produced so as to allow people to use them in screen painting and oil painting. Mineral spirits are a type of solvent typically used for cleaning tools and machinery that tend to build up grease and grime. A gallon of mineral spirits goes for 10 on average and odor free mineral spirits costs on the order of 15 per gallonnearly double the cost of paint thinner at a.
Mineral spirits or paint lacquer thinner which is better. As stated above paint thinners are actually a form of type ii mineral spirits. The difference between mineral spirits vs paint thinner. It can refer to anything used to thin paint.
Paint thinner vs mineral spirits though mineral spirits are a kind of paint thinner paint thinners are in general considered more toxic than mineral spirits. Paint thinner is cheaper. Both are petroleum products. In fact it is often confused to be the same as lacquer thinner or mineral spirits.
For cleaning brushes paint thinner is best since its half the cost of mineral spirits and basically works the same. Mineral spirit is composed of alicyclic c7 to c12 aliphatic hydrocarbons and fewer hydrocarbons than that of paint thinner. Products labeled as paint thinner can refer to pure mineral spirits blended mineral spirits turpentine acetone naphtha or any number of other products capable of thinning oil based paint.