Mineral Spirits vs. IPA

Mineral Spirits versus IPA

Is oderless mineral spirits just as safe and effective to use as a 50/50 IPA wipedown?

Plus' or minus' to either one?

I had some streaking issues with 50/50 IPA on some black paint, so I switched over to the mineral spirits (I had some in the garage). Seems to be just as effective to me, but I haven't used them both as extensively as some of you have.

This isn't a debate about whether or not to do wipedowns, so please don't turn it into that . I am just asking about the selected product for doing so.

Thanks.

DLB

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Originally Posted by DLB

Is orderless mineral spirits just as safe and effective to use as a 50/50 IPA wipe-down?

Plus' or minus' to either one?

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I'm not a chemist and don't ever pretend to be one so take that into consideration with my answers.

Mineral Spirits in my opinion and from experience seem to work better for removing most residues off paint better than Isopropyl Alcohol. I've never seen any harm take place to a modern clear coat finish but I wouldn't normally strip antique, original single stage paints as they are much more porous than clear coats and easily stained and dried out.

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Originally Posted by DLB

I had some streaking issues with 50/50 IPA on some black paint,

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Good observation...

This is why I'll either use MS or at least finish with MS as it leaves a nicer looking and more clear finish and that's important if you're trying to visually inspect results or take a picture of the results.

Plus anytime you have smears and streaks the normal reaction is to try to rub them off and this can potentially instill light toweling marks.

If it's a casual inspection then wiping with just MS is god enough. If I'm inspecting results and I want to be 100% sure everything is off the surface I'll tend to get a lot more AR than most people I know and go to these kinds of extremes...

• Wipe with APC
• Wipe with IPA
• Wipe with MS
• Wash with Dawn then dry
• Then inspect with bright sunlight or the Brinkman Swirl Finder Light

Yeah.... it's a little overboard but it also gives you 100% confidence when you post any kind of results from your inspection on a public forum.

Like this,


1-Step versus 3-Step Process by Hand



:)

No Mike - not AR, just HDO (HIGHLY D.O.) :D

Thank you for the sharing of your observations. I know you have performed more details to this point than I will in all my life, so that holds great value (chemist or not).

I actually used mineral spirits on an 1987 original Single Stage paint last weekend, and had no issues. So sometimes you just get lucky with how a certain product interacts with a certain paint I suppose. I can 100% understand though how it could be an issue.

Thanks again. I shall continue with my MS.

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Plus anytime you have smears and streaks the normal reaction is to try to rub them off and this can potentially instill light toweling marks.

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You are absolutely correct. And I didn't want to do that, so I didn't give the IPA another thought initially.

DLB

I'm not a chemist either, but mineral sprits is used as a cleaner and paint thinner. Not sure if I would want to use a paint thinner on my paint. I guess using it occasionally would not hurt, but I think I will stick with Prep Sol or IPA for wipe downs. JMO.

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Originally Posted by Rsurfer

I'm not a chemist either, but mineral spirits is used as a cleaner and paint thinner. Not sure if I would want to use a paint thinner on my paint.

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For what it's worth...

I learned about using MS on paint from chemists...

:laughing:

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Originally Posted by Rsurfer

I'm not a chemist either, but mineral sprits is used as a cleaner and paint thinner. Not sure if I would want to use a paint thinner on my paint. I guess using it occasionally would not hurt, but I think I will stick with Prep Sol or IPA for wipe downs. JMO.

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Ron -
For what it is worth from me as well - I did do a bit of research (Google) on that exact thing last week. It seems that after the paint has cured, the MS will loose its effectiveness in that right. I read of several people mixing it as a thinner with SS and BC/CC paints, but no harmful effects mentioned of using it on already hardened paint.

I am not saying it can't happen (logically you see where it might), but I would guess you would have to rub down an area several times repeatedly to get that effect.

I haven't tried Prep Sol. However, in reading about it, it could leave a "film" on the surface seemingly. According to Dupont, it is recommended following it's use with Final Kleen or Kwik Kleen. The Kwik Kleen is supposedly for sensitive surfaces.

DLB

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Originally Posted by DLB

Ron -
For what it is worth from me as well - I did do a bit of research (Google) on that exact thing last week. It seems that after the paint has cured, the MS will loose its effectiveness in that right. I read of several people mixing it as a thinner with SS and BC/CC paints, but no harmful effects mentioned of using it on already hardened paint.

I am not saying it can't happen (logically you see where it might), but I would guess you would have to rub down an area several times repeatedly to get that effect.

I haven't tried Prep Sol. However, in reading about it, it could leave a "film" on the surface seemingly. According to Dupont, it is recommended following it's use with Final Kleen or Kwik Kleen. The Kwik Kleen is supposedly for sensitive surfaces.

DLB

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Thanks for the info, but I'll stick with IPA, even if I need to do it several times. BTW when using IPA (91%) I do not cut it.

Mineral Spirits is a very good solvent that will not hurt paint at all. It is the mildest of all solvents.

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Originally Posted by Rsurfer

BTW when using IPA (91%) I do not cut it.

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I may try that - thanks for sharing.
DLB

Nice to hear that Mineral Spirits can be used as well.

In a lot of countries IPA is a controlled substance because of its use to make cannabis oil so IPA can only be purchased (privately) in small containers at high prices.