Any such thing as a safe paint thinner?

[LightningInAJar]

TL;DR

A friend of mine is an oil painter and she is concerned with safety.

My friend is an oil painting artist and is concerned about the toxicity of paint thinners. She says she has found things labeled "non-toxic" and yet they warn not to get any on you. She has dabbled with essential oils but is worried that might be bad around her cat. She has small work space. Does anyone have any suggestions to look into?

 

[symbolipoint]

TL;DR Summary: A friend of mine is an oil painter and she is concerned with safety.

My friend is an oil painting artist and is concerned about the toxicity of paint thinners. She says she has found things labeled "non-toxic" and yet they warn not to get any on you. She has dabbled with essential oils but is worried that might be bad around her cat. She has small work space. Does anyone have any suggestions to look into?

Although nothing great to add to this question, maybe read the material safety data sheet for the oils or the thinners. Maybe what "non-toxic" means could be, "when used as directed".

 

[BillTre]

Install an exhaust fan in her work area. A fume hood would be great.

In my opinion, there is little guarantee of finding a lot of harmless solvents for use in the arts.
In addition, many arts people are not too concerned about it.

 

[256bits]

TL;DR Summary: A friend of mine is an oil painter and she is concerned with safety.

My friend is an oil painting artist and is concerned about the toxicity of paint thinners. She says she has found things labeled "non-toxic" and yet they warn not to get any on you. She has dabbled with essential oils but is worried that might be bad around her cat. She has small work space. Does anyone have any suggestions to look into?

Why not try linseed oil - which is flaxseed oil and non-toxic.
It is the thinner go to product and has been for years.
Wonder what Michelangelo used for his paints - most likely this , or some other plant based oil, that we eat.

As an example,
Paint by number sets would / should be non-toxic as any kid might want to taste the bright colors.
I wouldn't think they used any type of mineral solvents to help the drying process, as it took a while for the paint to dry - usually a couple of days.

You can add turpentine if you like, which may have a bit of a smell to it.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/turpentine-oil
Note that it is used is some foods and cosmetics, direct ingestion as a drink is not recommended in large quantities. As the article mentioned, Vics Vapour Rub ( there is a click to Vic's )does have turpentine as one of its ingredients and is still being sold as a 'medicine'.

Or any other mineral spirits, Varsol, even gasoline or diesel fuel, but why would you?
Maybe to clean the brushes of all paint residue.
But you should you need that stuff at all?

 

[DrJohn]

RE linseed oil

Think wiping the brush clean with a rag...

 

[DrJohn]

Perhaps tell us what the actual paint thinner being used is, what it says on the contents label.Remember that an essential oil is not something that is "essential", it is just the general volatile smell component of a plant or flower. They have no magical properties either (apart from pepermint oil driving mice out of a caravan or shed, which then smells minty), just something used in aromatherapy with no evidence of curing diseases.

 

[BWV]

The most common thinner used for watercolor paints is extremely toxic at certain dosages...

 

[LightningInAJar]

Install an exhaust fan in her work area. A fume hood would be great.
View attachment 321146
In my opinion, there is little guarantee of finding a lot of harmless solvents for use in the arts.
In addition, many arts people are not too concerned about it.

Perhaps, but some think the paint thinner fumes are what gave Bob Ross cancer.

 

[LightningInAJar]

Perhaps tell us what the actual paint thinner being used is, what it says on the contents label.Remember that an essential oil is not something that is "essential", it is just the general volatile smell component of a plant or flower. They have no magical properties either (apart from pepermint oil driving mice out of a caravan or shed, which then smells minty), just something used in aromatherapy with no evidence of curing diseases.

I will ask her what she has tried. As for essential oils she seems to be under the impression they can be toxic to some animals in ways they aren't to people. I don't think magic is a consideration. Lol.

 

[LightningInAJar]

Lavender oil, lamar varnish mixed with mineral spirits and something else, and she has tried linseed oil.

 

[hutchphd]

There are two types if toxicity to worry about:

1. Paints (particularly "oil paints") contain hydrocarbons that are not good for you
2. Paints (and inks if you do prints) contain pigments that are often made from toxic metals.

In addition intaglio printmakers use various caustic concoctions to etch copper and zinc plates. I have a good friend who has done a lot of work making printmaking less toxic. She is at University of Maine (in Orono).
So ventilate and wear gloves.
But nobody gets out of here alive!

 

[DrJohn]

Lavender oil, lamar varnish mixed with mineral spirits and something else, and she has tried linseed oil.

My vet / partner says some essential oils are bad for pets, but can't remember which do what. Basically they are very concentrated extracts from plants, and that may be part of the problem. Some common plants are toxic to animals, others are toxic to humans. Given that essential oils are expensive for a small volume, and are water based, they don't seem a cost effective substitute for mineral spirits which are a hydrocarbon mixture and significately cheaper as well. Not that breathing in lots of hydrocarbon fumes is a good idea either.

Wikipedia says linseed oil is the normal base oil in oil paints, so perhaps that's why some use it to thin down their paints, despite the spontaneous combustion problem.

 

[LightningInAJar]

Thanks for comments. I will inform my friend.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Sorry for the late post....
I think you meant dammar varnish. It does dissolve 100% in turpentine, ~40% soluble in methanol.

In either case if your friend wants gloss over oil paint then dammar with no pigment is considered the best choice. For color work, consider some pigments mixed directly with dammar crystals and and a drying oil (like boiled linseed oil). Overcoming viscosity issues like drips and runs take experimentation with solvents.

Ventilation is required.