I've never actually used mineral spirits before, but I've been hearing a lot about them lately. They seem to have tons of applications! If you have some on hand in your shop, what are the different ways you use it?
3 Answers
They're fantastic for getting rid of oil and grease on cast iron surfaces. If you have new tools, they usually have a protective oil layer that mineral spirits can remove. I started using it for cleaning cosmoline off old gun parts and discovered it’s effective for general degreasing too.
Mineral spirits are great for a few tasks! I use them to clean surfaces filled with sawdust. They also help me see how the grain of wood will look once finished; just wipe it on and it won't raise the grain like water would. Plus, they're useful for thinning out oil-based paints and finishes, which can really help with application.
Thanks for the info! Why would you thin out finishes in the first place?
That's interesting! Does using mineral spirits to thin finishes change how you'd go about applying them? Or would using isopropyl alcohol work the same way?
I've used mineral spirits mainly to clean my paint brushes. Just a heads up, once you’ve got some used spirits in a jar, you need to dispose of it properly, as it shouldn't go down the drain. Honestly, I'm here to learn about other creative uses too!
That’s exactly what I was looking for! Having something that works like that when a simple wipe won't suffice is super valuable.