# Mineral Spirits Uses



## perfecto (Jun 2, 2007)

What are some of the uses for mineral spirits?



I use it prep process for hardwood floor finishing.


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## ProWallGuy (Apr 7, 2007)

I use it to clean oil-based paint from my brushes.


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## slickshift (Apr 8, 2007)

Makes a great Manhattan
Smoooooooth....


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## Rich (Apr 26, 2007)

huffing


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## Wolverine (Apr 17, 2007)

Mix:
95% mineral spirits
3 % Stain Base
2% Propylene Glycol

You've got stain!


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

ProWallGuy said:


> I use it to clean oil-based paint from my brushes.


Same here.


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## Zip (Apr 18, 2007)

Wasps


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## Wolverine (Apr 17, 2007)

I think Slickshift is winning...

Come on guys... is this ALL we GOT??? lol


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## Brushslingers (Apr 11, 2007)

Cleaning, opening up wood, huffing and making drinks.


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## slickshift (Apr 8, 2007)

Brushslingers said:


> Cleaning, opening up wood, huffing and making drinks.


Welcome to My World


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## Rich (Apr 26, 2007)

....a very impractical fuel alternative


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## Miller (May 11, 2007)

Mineral spirits damaging driveways? Is it possible? Have a cust. claiming it ate at his drive way and now the whole drive way is sinking. One of my guys used a lil bit to clean some oil paint off his concrete steps, and i mean just a lil paint. Then washed and cleaned the steps with soapy water. I'm guessing the cust. is trying to get a free job, He was a pita on the first job we did for him and i mean a pita. Not sure why i went back but i guess work is work until this crap happens. Has anyone had any problems like this?


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

Yeah mineral can damage asphalt or concrete. 
A better practice would be not to spill paint or thinner on the driveway. Park on the street, that way everyone will be able to see your vehicle lettering. 
The more simple practices you have, the better your rep will grow. Its the little things that people enjoy.


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## nextlevelpaintco. (Jun 21, 2007)

I like to use MS to run through sprayers when the ball starts getting hung to much wich tells me paint is getting built up.I think LT may be to harsh to packings and seals.


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## Wolverine (Apr 17, 2007)

> Yeah mineral can damage asphalt or concrete.


I know that organic solvents can damage asphalt. In fact, if you use some MEK on fresh asphalt you can light the whole road on fire. It will actually ignite the oils before they dry... not that I've ever done that... twice... :whistling2: 

However, I can't think of a reason it would hurt cured concrete. In fact, I can't even think of a way it could hurt 'green' concrete. Solvent based acrylic curing sealers are 72-80% Mineral Spirits or Aromatic 100. Regular solvent based acrylic (thermoplastic) sealers are ALSO about 72% Mineral Spirits, Aromatic 100, or Xylene. So, wouldn't you expect those to damage it at such a high percentage?

Now, if the concrete already had an Acrylic (thermoplastic) sealer on it, it may soften or even whiten the sealer... but... the sealer would recover as good as new when the Mineral Spirits evaporates. 

So, maybe it's because it's midnight, but... I'm stumped... 










How does mineral spirits damage concrete?



?


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## nextlevelpaintco. (Jun 21, 2007)

actually even motor oil can damage asphalt over time look at the parking lots at stores and you can see where the oil spots are it's cracking.not sure about concrete or what solvents will do for that matter.yeah mek is mean.


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## Miller (May 11, 2007)

The concrete is fine and not damaged at all. He is claiming the driveway is damaged and has sunk a inch. I have talked to several people about this and they laughed at me and said mineral spirits would not damag a driveway like that. They may dry it out and the color will change a lil but it wouldnt damage it. Hell they use mineral spirits to clean oil off drive ways.


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

Miller said:


> The concrete is fine and not damaged at all. He is claiming the driveway is damaged and has sunk a inch. I have talked to several people about this and they laughed at me and said mineral spirits would not damag a driveway like that. They may dry it out and the color will change a lil but it wouldnt damage it. Hell they use mineral spirits to clean oil off drive ways.


Yeah he is full of it.
What i meant as far as damage to concrete was leaving it marked, stained. That is damage in my eyes. Simple practice is to not park on ppls driveways, unless the job is a long way up the driveway. jmo.


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## Wolverine (Apr 17, 2007)

> The concrete is fine and not damaged at all. He is claiming the driveway is damaged and has sunk a inch. I have talked to several people about this and they laughed at me and said mineral spirits would not damag a driveway like that. They may dry it out and the color will change a lil but it wouldnt damage it. Hell they use mineral spirits to clean oil off drive ways.


Ok, I'm confused... I guess I assumed that the driveway was concrete since that is the only material you mentioned in your post. So, I'm guessing that the stairs are concrete... and... you want to know whether mineral spirits will damage a driveway... but... we have no idea what the driveway is made out of? Or, did I miss where you told us what the driveway was made out of?

Are there driveways that mineral spirits can damage? YES... Absolutely...


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## Miller (May 11, 2007)

My bad, I just re-read my post. Yes it was the driveway, there was a small amount of oil paint on the concrete steps, One of my guys cleaned it off with a lil mineral spirits and wire brush. Then rinsed off with a hose and hes claiming in one spot it ate away at the driveway and then 2days later calls and says it must of gotten under the driveway cause the whole driveway sank a inch. In my opinion he's full of it and trying to get a free job cause he was a pita on the last job we did,not this bad just picky as hell. I have heard it will discolor tar but it wouldn't eat away or sink a driveway like that. SPecialy since he just used a lil bit.


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## Wolverine (Apr 17, 2007)

If this is an asphalt driveway... The kind of damage that he is describing is certainly possible. The only questions I have is... How much is a little bit of Mineral Spirits? Usually when you go and ask and employee about something like this they ALWAYS downplay what actually happened. 

Here is one possible way this type of damage can take place:

The mineral spirits has to penetrate into the driveway. It will then attack the 'liquid bitumen' (or 'mineral pitch' or 'brea' or 'asphalt cement') and soften it while lowering the viscosity. Other solvents that will attack asphalt are other organic solvents (like toluene, hexane, methylene chloride, Stoddard solvent), aqueous sodium hydroxide solutions (caustic), and hydrochloric acid solutions (like muriatic). If the top layer of asphalt 'recovers' it can hold the mineral spirits under the surface and keep it from evaporating. If this happens, the bitumen would become fairly liquid (depending on the amount of MS) and the bound rocks and agregate could become unbound. This could cause the asphalt to 'sink'.

Hope this works out for you...


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## Miller (May 11, 2007)

Thanks for the feed back that helps a lot. Hopefully it will work out without putting a dent in my account.


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## Museum FM (Nov 21, 2008)

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I have a related question.

I am the facility manager of an art museum that is made of concrete and stainless steel. Over the weekend our concrete was graffiti-ed.

I was able to remove about 95% of it with a citrus cleaner, brass brush and power washer but my boss thinks it can still be cleaned even more. He suggested using mineral spirits.

Will mineral spirits damage/stain my unsealed portland cement?

Thanks


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## Bender (Aug 10, 2008)

You might try lacquer thinner. It will evaporate much faster and PROBABLY wont stain.
It will damage painted surfaces so be careful. Wear gloves as well.

And, you should consider hiring a professional to apply a "graffiti proof" coating to your concrete, no offense.


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