Looking for help with paint thinner please....

LucidPlanet

Hi all!

I've recently begun oil painting after becoming inspired by Bob, and am having a wonderful time! However, I'm a little sketched out about using paint thinner, so I'm hoping to gain some insight to make sure I'm using it in a safe and responsible manner--I'd appreciate any input or tips you may have! I've painted 2 paintings with Bob so far using oils and odorless paint thinner, and the 2nd time the tip of my left middle finger became numb for about 72 hours. After reading online, it seemed to be likely caused by the paint thinner. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Also, I live in a 1-bedroom apartment, so I paint in my living room with the window open--is it OK to paint in a space like that?

Lastly, how long does thinner last? I currently have 2 small buckets with a metal screen in one to scrub the brushes on. I left the dirty thinner in a bucket for a week and then poured it off into the 2nd bucket, but it doesn't really look clean. When is it appropriate to dispose of? Is it still good when murky?

Obviously, I have some questions in this area, so I really appreciate the help!

Thanks!!! 🙂

Sunnylady

LucidPlanet I use gloves as I got skin rush if I have very long contact with the paint and solvent. No numbness detected though.

TheLandscapePainter

Hello LucidPanet. I've been painting with Bob for a year and have never discarded any paint thinner. The solids sink to the bottom of the bucket and although the paint thinner may look a bit cloudy it does clear and is perfectly useable. After about 6 months I poured the thinner into a clean bucket for re-use and just discarded the solids. I top up with fresh thinner when the level drops. Wiping your brushes well on paper before washing them helps keep your thinner relatively clean. Bob cleans his brushes repeatedly throughout the session. If you're careful not to overload your brushes with paint, you really only need to clean your brushes once, at the end of the session, this means that you can store your cleaning bucket outside, away from where you are working as you don't need it to hand all the time. You can use the same brush multiple times throughout your session without cleaning if you wipe your brush on paper between colour changes. Working by an open window seems to work for me. You shouldn't really need to get paint thinner on your hands but you could try wearing gloves especially when cleaning up. I would be very concerned if I thought that a chemical of any kind was having an adverse effect on my health. I would be seeking medical advice, and/or considering using different materials. Hope that helps.

wybnormal

Gloves are a good idea. I don't wear them myself often but then I have leather skin 😉 I've gotten better about wearing them and not trying to get so much paint on me vs the painting 😃 There are water based oils now and I've seen some pretty impressive work done with them.

One thing to be aware of is "paint thinner" is not always "paint thinner".. here in SolCal its virtually impossible to buy normal plain old Odorless Mineral Spirits due to govt interference. What they sell as OMS can be a wild mix of really obnoxious chemicals that are worse healthewise then the "bad" OMS. And if it's sold as "Paint Thinner", thats even worse. What I found in some research in MSDS ( material safety data sheets) is that Kingsford BBQ starter fluid is really OMS in disguise and legal to buy. There is some available at outrageous prices in art stores but it's not always pure OMS.

OMS will evaporate if you leave the lid off but like it's been said, use it, cover it and then the solids settle to th bottom. I just swapped cans and my base of OMS is now about 3 months old with some new added to top it off.

And ( borderline heresy ) you can follow someone else like MazArt Studio who uses wet on wet like bob but in much smaller quanities of paint. I mean MUCH smaller quantities 😃 She rarely cleans her brush and prefers to wipe it off on paper towels.

Mrs C

I always end up covered n paint, I struggle to get my brushes clean, and recently my best brush won't fit into my jar to be cleaned. The paint cleaner says soak overnight, but I'm not sure. I did that and they are still really grubby.

Sunnylady

@Mrs C#952 you need to buy turpentine or pinene to soak brush. It will dry bristles as this is a strong solvent. The worst thing is to ensure that bristle near ferrule are clean as this is the place where paint accumulates.
You can use Baby oil after such harsh cleaning to massage in the bristles and shape it in a proper shape.

I watch one artist online and he says that he cleans with kitchen degreaser designed to clean stove. I tried on small cheap brush it worked. But I would be super cautious to apply on the expensive BR brushes. May be to check every hour or so.

You can try to soak in baby oil for overnight as this will do no damage to the bristles and may be it will soften the dried paint.

Sunnylady

@Mrs C#952 One safety note: Turpentine or pinene are crazy chemicals and you need to keep a good ventilation when using them, and keep lid tightly closed. May be you can keep in garage overnight while soaking.

Mrs C

Sunnylady Thanks. I have Windsor and Newton oil brush cleaner. Says removes oil and acrylic (dried and fresh), but I have some brushes it's just not touching. I have them soaking in a jar still. I don't have a garage our outdoor building - and it's so cold and wet here in the UK, I wouldn't dare leave it outside at the mo.
I am going to try acrylic today and rest the oils for a few days at least, also running out of canvas and stuff too. Will order some bits, and hopefully can get them cleaned up ok (fingers crossed)

Sunnylady

@Mrs C#957 Good luck with your adventure! I hope brushes will come back to normal. I forgot to tell that after kitchen degreaser you will need to clean with soap and water and let it dry on horizontal surface.

Sunnylady

@Mrs C#957 Yesterday I decided to give a quick wash my hog bristles brush and many synthetic brushes with kitchen degreaser. DO NOT WASH THE NATURAL BRISTLES WITH IT. I killed that brush as those chemicals ate some bristles.
Synthetic brushes are ok. Nothing happened to them.

Mrs C

Sunnylady oh jeeze, what one did you use?
I have brush cleaner in a jar currently, and a Bob Ross bucket and screen on order. My Bob Ross 1 inch brunch bristles are all over the place, but I also tried sunflower oil.
amazed how much paint came out with that too.
hopefully when I have my proper bucket it will be better, yesterday I accidentally picked up the cloth where I had been wiping brushes off the wrong way around and I ended up with almost as much paint on me as on the brushes.
did manage to get cleaned up and washed the Bob brush out with water and a little eco washing up liquid, more colour still coming out of the brush. I also now notice that the wood of the handle is cracked slightly.
I have also been using a cheap synthetic brush which is stained green still (bristles are bright yellow usually).
As I have no where to store things outside currently, I just hope my brushes aren’t ruined, and the small amount of brush cleaner in my jar will suffice, although I have no idea how I would pour any of it off, think I’d need a pipette and a clean jar.
when I get my Bob bucket, I assume I can’t store the cleaner in that for much time? All my thinners and cleaners are in glass bottles (hence my glass jar), will I need to decant it from my bucket into a jar to store in between paintings?

Sunnylady

@Mrs C#957 I found article that mentions brush cleaner is for final clean up. https://www.winsornewton.com/row/education/guides/oil-painting-safety-practice/

Mrs C

Sunnylady , thanks for the link, it didn’t open for me just resent me to this forum.
anyway I looked up on Windsor and Newton, and also found this info.
I have copied for their website about clean up information and disposal of paint, and the rags, I use kitchen paper usually but hadn’t really considered the drying process.
interestingly my BR painting kit of Mountain Summit doesn’t mention anywhere about safety storage of paint or thinner or flammability, the tubes themselves only say to dispose of only when empty.
now a little concerned as I had left kitchen towel with paint wiped on it in a bag in the bin overnight, and now I feel a little scared having this stuff in the house. :
:::

Clean-up and disposal

It’s very important that nothing goes down the sink. Solvents and heavy metals are toxic and must be disposed of responsibly. Have a good clean-up and disposal system that is as ethically responsible as possible.

Palette cleaning Clean up by scraping your palette into newspaper, then putting that in a sealed bag for disposal.
Brush cleaning Wipe and scrape excess paint off the brush into a rag or newspaper. Soak the suspended brush in a suitable paint thinner – preferably a low odour solvent such as Winsor & Newton Sansodor. Over time the pigments will settle at the bottom. Decant the excess thinner to be used again. Dispose of the residue as responsibly as possible. You can finish cleaning your brush with a product such as Winsor & Newton Brush Cleaner.
Oil rags Rags are a key element in any oil painters’ practice. As the oil is drying on the rag it produces heat, and air gets trapped in the folds. The rag is usually made of a combustible cloth that can become a source of fuel. Heat, oxygen and fuel are all that is needed to create a fire, which is why oily rags, when not disposed of properly, can spontaneously burst into flames. Oily rags should be kept in an airtight metal container, and then transferred into an airtight sealed plastic bag for disposal.
Disposal of hazardous waste Oil paints and solvents, and rags that have been soaked in them, constitute hazardous waste. This should not normally be disposed of in mixed municipal waste such as household and garden waste. In some cases, your local council may be able to collect the waste from you, though there may be a charge for this. Alternatively, you may be able to deliver it to a household recycling or civic amenity site, free of charge. Your local council will be able to advise you on where to take all types of hazardous waste in your area. 🙁

Sunnylady

@Mrs C I have 1.5 L plastic soda bottle that I use to pour used thinner/solvents at the end of the painting session. It stays outside with tightly closed cap. In summer time it takes one week apx to settle paint from the thinner. In winter when it is minus 20 outside it needs 2 days only and solvent is cleaner in the transparency. Before every painting session I decant enough to a glass jar which I use to wash brushes during painting session. The rest I decant in the another plastic bottle for future use, for second wash for example. I need to say that thinner is slightly colored as transparent brown but it is clean. I do not use that solvent to thin the paint in the painting process.

I think i did not mention that bristles will have some residual color but that will not create any problems this is similar like when we dye hair the pigment goes deep in the bristles.

You are totally right about using sunflower oil, even after two times with thinner there is still enough left in the bristles to be removed with oil. Just wipe and shape brush very well after oil cleanup.

Sunnylady

Sunnylady no idea how to change bold font into normal one. Something went strange.