cellulose thinners

[marcros]

Is it a standard product?

I have the remains of my chestnut bottle, which was a tenner for 500ml, but I see I can get https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333123189130 as a first item on eBay.

I use it for thinning cellulose sanding sealer mainly. can't recall using it for anything else, but it is possible I have used it to thin paint once.

 

[LaymarCrafts]

Yes and the cheapest way to buy it, I have used this supplier too mix with sanding sealer for perhaps 10 years.

Also use it to degrease items, clean away gunk on bed bars, and clean away Dye from anything that got in the way.

Richard

 

[Rorschach]

Lidl paint thinners is the same stuff as well I think, at least it was when I bought some a while back. I recall it being a very good price.

 

[RobinBHM]

I found a local car pain supplier company recently -general purpose thinners was £15 for 5 litres

it was basically cellulose thinners, used for cleaning, probably not ok for thinning paints.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

The cheap ones, often sold as gun cleaner are less pure than than the ones used for first class paint jobs. I seem to remember reading they are often recycled. They are fine for our purposes, however.

 

[Robbo3]

The late Mark Raby & several other professional turners have always advocated steering clear of reconstituted thinners. When they cause you problems with your finishing you will have difficulty in identifying the cause, difficulty in rectifying the faults then wonder if saving a fiver was worth all the hassle.

 

[CHJ]

I would say a comparison of the Safety Data Sheet for the product would tell you if they are the same thing.

Another aspect to consider is their final use, do they have Toy Safe certification etc.
Recycled or cheaper products sold primarily as cleaning agents may contain higher levels of contaminants.

 

[Terry Smart]

The cheap ones, often sold as gun cleaner are less pure than than the ones used for first class paint jobs. I seem to remember reading they are often recycled. They are fine for our purposes, however.

You're saying your work is second class?? (I'm sure it isn't really)

There's no such thing as 'Standard Cellulose Thinners', each brand will vary, sometimes considerably.
Gun Cleaner is meant to be used exactly for that, to clean spray guns. It can contain dregs and recycled solvent and many other impurities.
Some solvents are cheaper - and nastier - than others. Toluene springs to mind immediately - it stinks, is carcinogenic, narcotic, hazardous to health and to the environment. We don't use it, or anything like it (aromatic hydrocarbons) in any of our cellulose based products.

So our Cellulose Thinners is expensive. It's a pure, less-harmful (it can never be 'harmless') solvent which will do the job first time, every time.
It's only when that important job goes wrong due to using an inferior product that might make you wonder why you tried to save... what, 50 pence maybe on the amount of thinners used for that job.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Our club used https://www.advancedpaints.co.uk/produc ... t-thinner/ and sanding sealer from the same place. I expect they ordered enough to escape delivery charges - I can't see from the site what they are.

 

[Sideways]

I would say a comparison of the Safety Data Sheet for the product would tell you if they are the same thing.

Another aspect to consider is their final use, do they have Toy Safe certification etc.
Recycled or cheaper products sold primarily as cleaning agents may contain higher levels of contaminants.

The only issue with a comparison of the MSDS is that manufacturers often list the constituents but with a (wide) percentage range that each can account for. If something is listed as containing (for example) 15 to 35% Methyl Ethyl Ketone etc, you really can't compare formulations. This level of detail is good enough for you to choose appropriate safety measures, but doesn't reveal the recipe.

 

[CHJ]

….
The only issue with a comparison of the MSDS is that manufacturers often list the constituents but with a (wide) percentage range that each can account for. If something is listed as containing (for example) 15 to 35% Methyl Ethyl Ketone etc, you really can't compare formulations. This level of detail is good enough for you to choose appropriate safety measures, but doesn't reveal the recipe.

This is why checking if a product has been certified to EN71-3 or an equivalent international standard* is important if using in association with Toys or furniture for very young persons if you are into producing such items, if you are not then as you infer, you only need to appropriately protect yourself whilst using the product.

Of course just because a product does not have certification does not automatically label it as 'unsafe' but without it having the certification it's unknown whether the supplier has just not submitted it for test or even if it failed such a test.

* The product has to be the same purity or blend ratio as the original test sample to continue the use of the certification.

 

[Terry Smart]

... but without it having the certification it's unknown whether the supplier has just not submitted it for test or even if it failed such a test.

...and without a certificate any claim to toy safety is worthless. (Slightly off topic I know, but worth mentioning).