Relatively Safe Solvents & Mediums
 

NOTE: ALTHOUGH SAFE KLEAN APPEARED PROMISING, I WAS DISAPPOINTED IN ITS RESULTS. HOWEVER, WE CONTRIBUTORS DID COME TO SOME OTHER GOOD CONCLUSIONS, AS WITH HELP FROM SOME TOP EXPERTS IN THE FIELD. - DOUG

As someone who is quite sensitive (perhaps even allergic) to organic solvents and who is not satisfied with water-soluble oils (particularly the whites, not ground in linseed oil), I have a keen interest in safe, effective substitutes for turpentine.

Gamblin has a good chart comparing the advantages and disadvantages of oil painting solvents...

http://www.gamblincolors.com/materials/solchart.html

However, as you may see from that, none of those solvents -- including Gamsol, Turpenoid Natural®, and various citrus-peal-based solvents or odorless mineral spirits -- is a truly safe and effective substitute for turpentine (particularly if one wishes to use Ralph Mayer's standard painting and glazing medium, for which one must dissolve damar crystals).

Fortunately, there is a product that is not only non-toxic (by ASTM standard D 4236) but also non-flammable and "environmentally safe", while still able to thin oil paint, clean brushes, and even dissolve those stubborn damar crystals: "Safe Klean" (tm), manufactured by Union Rubber (the folks who bring us that old-time standby, "Best-Test" rubber cement)...

http://www.best-testproducts.com/turpalternative.html

I have spoken with their salesman and chemist to confirm that Safe Klean may indeed be substituted on a 1:1 basis for turpentine. The only special consideration for handling is that "brushes should not be left in the solution all night...[which] could damage delicate brush hair and remove paint on the brush handle."

In addition, although Safe Klean may be used to clean hands or face of paint, "soap and water should be the final step."

Safe Klean has a slight, pleasant citrus odor and dries slower than water.

The most significant difference between Safe Klean and genuine turpentine from the artist's standpoint is that Safe Klean contains a little (perhaps 10%) linseed oil, the only ingredient that is left behind upon drying. Although this gave me a bit of concern about using it in the standard Ralph Mayer painting medium, which calls for stand oil, his Artist's Handbook later points out that "the mixture of linseed oils of various degrees of refinement is a procedure of considerable antiquity...A small amount of a linseed oil of ordinary consistency added to stand oil will impart a certain hardness, body, or solidity approaching that produced by a resin; some of the old effects which may be approximated by the use of Venice turpentine and oxidized oil may also be duplicated by the above mixture, particularly as regards manipulations and brush stroking." That sounds fine to me.

I would think twice, however, about substituting a product containing even trace amounts of linseed oil for turpentine in the preparation of a final varnish, although I would like to hear the opinions of others on that.

The only practical problems with obtaining Safe Klean are its price (up to $14 a quart), which I for one am willing to pay to avoid turpentine poisoning (particularly long-term damage to my nervous system), and its (perhaps consequent) limited availability.

The distributors of Safe Klean include one of our local Pearl stores (but not the other) and The Art Store in Pasadena (but not www.artstores.com) as well as...

http://www.dickblick.com/zz004/79/p...am=0&ig_id=3492

...and...

http://www.in2art.com/best-test.shtml

By the way, I have no financial interest in the Best-Test company or any of its distributors -- my only interest in promoting this product is to help my fellow artists (and myself, by helping assure a continued market for this uniquely valuable product).

You have a great deal of good information here and I'm going to check it out. Thanks.

I am writing to tell you what I do, not to suggest what you should do/try...

I get terrible headaches if I am in a room with turpentine - even the "odorless" kind, and I've gone through a lot of substitutes and found the following....

"Turpenoid Natural" really messes up my brushes if I don't get every speck of it out when I'm done painting. If it gets mixed up in my paint, it prevents the paint from drying. I don't much like this product.

I do use a citrus-based thinner called Bio-Shield. It does not smell like citrus (thank heavens!) and it does clean my brushes. If it gets mixed up in my paint, it doesn't hurt anything. But basically I use it as a brush cleaner - seldom as part of a medium. The few times that I have mixed it with damar varnish and linseed oil to use as a medium, it has worked well....

I use "Silicoil" as a final brush wash. It is probably lethal stuff, but it does not give me a headache and it cleans my brushes easily and well. (I don't like to use soap and water as I feel it hurts my brushes). I leave the lid on the Silicoil until I am done painting and it is time to clean up. This product should never be mixed with paints.

I do use Liquin as a medium. It is also pretty lethal stuff, except that for some reason it doesn't bother me.

I have a well ventilated studio and can tolerate a lot of chemicals, but never turpentine (or hardware-store paint thinner) in ANY form! :thumbsdow

Is Safe Kleen archival?
 

I just started using Safe Kleen too and though I like the citrus smell and like the buttery feel that the touch of linseed oil gives, I wonder how it will hold up over time in my paintings.

I'd hate to think that in a few years my portraits might turn all green or something. I'd never heard of Safe Kleen before a few weeks ago and the bottle I bought does not list ingredients. It is labeled as an "artists" solvent and medium and I'm guessing the manufacturers would say it will not cause discoloration over time, but I'd just like to be sure. Anyone know what's in this stuff and how it might hold up over the long term?

Thanks!

One more thing about Safe Kleen
 

Oh, one more thing. I was wondering how this stuff might react with Liquin, since it reacted strangely with the Liquin that was left in the little metal cups I use it in. The Safe Kleen caused the dried Liquin to dissolve and bubble up in a way that never happened when I put mineral spirits in those cups. I wouldn't want to see what might happen if I use Safe Kleen in a layer of paint over top of a layer that has Liquin in it!

Heavens! If Safe Klean reacts with dried Liquin in a little metal cup like that...don't take a chance and use it over ANY dried surface containing Liquin!

ALSO

:cool: I use Liquin too and am glad to hear of something (other than blasting caps) that can actually dissolve the dried stuff...i.e., spills on clothing, floor...THANKS FOR THIS INFORMATION!

Karin, I think I'll try your Bio-Shield. Dick Blick.com doesn't have it. Can you tell me where you get it?

Thanks!

I ordered BioShield's Natural Citrus Thinner from:
http://www.bioshieldpaint.com/22.htm

Luckily, there were so many requests from painters in my area, that a local art supply store now carries it. I love this stuff - it is easy on the brain cells...but still use the (lethal) Silicoil as a final brush wash as it is more powerful. (Note: Silicoil is NEVER meant to be mixed with paints).

Thanks, Karin! I bookmarked their site and I'll check it out.

Dear Michele & Karin (and our fellow artists),

According to the manufacturer (whose salesman and chemist I've contacted directly), the only thing left behind after SafeKlean evaporates is a little linseed oil, which will of course oxidize and harden as part of the layer of paint.

So unless they are not telling the truth, there should be nothing to "turn a painting green" over time (a prime concern of mine, too, of course).

I tend to trust the manufacturer, given that their Best-Test rubber cement has been a reliable standby for a great many years.

SafeKlean is also certified to be non-toxic and non-flammable. According to the BioShield website, that product is based on citrus peel; and according to that Gamblin Solvent Chart I referenced (http://www.gamblincolors.com/materials/solchart.html), solvents based on citrus peel have as their active ingredient d-Limonene (4-Isopropenyl-1-methylcyclohexene, according to my trusty old Handbook of Chemistry and Physics); they do dissolve apparently all artists' resins (like only turpentine and SafeKlean); they are used in making mediums (in addition to being used to dilute paint and to clean brushes); they have a flashpoint of 116ºF (i.e., they are flammable); they have "harmful" vapors; and they are "a suspected liver and kidney toxicant in addition to hazards associated with strong solvent."

SafeKlean has its own "strong solvent" action, as evidenced by the manufacturer's warning not to leave brushes in the solvent for an extended period of time (to avoid damage to the paint on the handle of the brush) and, apparently, by its action on Liquin (an alkyd medium, different from typical oil mediums, based on linseed oils).

I'm currently experimenting with SafeKlean, in making Ralph Mayer's standard painting/glazing medium (from his authoritative "The Artist's Handbook"). I dissolved virtually all of 5/8 oz. of (pulverized) damar resin in 6 ounces of the turpentine substitute (That would be the equivalent of 1 oz. of 5-pound-cut damar varnish plus 5 fl. oz. of pure gum turpentine), although it took a couple days, with plenty of agitation (as would be the case with true turpentine), and there is a waxy fraction, of insignificant weight, leftover (what commercial manufacturers apparently dissolve with the addition of an anhydrous alcohol or the like to their damar varnish, for "clarification" -- which makes the product look nicer on the shelf but apparently isn't absolutely necessary for varnish action -- the wax dries clear and shiny, although it is less susceptible to bloom with the addition of an alcohol). I will then filter out the wax, bits of bark, etc. (through a folded coffee filter in a funnel); add 1 oz. of stand oil; and only if need be, add up to 15 drops of cobalt drier (the only truly toxic ingredient in this "recipe").

The people at Best-Test tell me SafeKlean is proper for all these uses, as well as cleanup; and they seem to be as reputable a company as there is in the art-supply trade (Please tell me if they are not), so I am going ahead.

According to all the data I've read (and I've been consulting the labels and literature from as many commercial and scholarly sources as I can), SafeKlean is the only non-toxic, non-flammable artist's solvent that will dissolve damar crystals and can be used on a one-to-one basis as a substitute for turpentine, the traditional solvent of the Masters, as in painting/glazing mediums.

Incidentally, because of the linseed oil in SafeKlean, I would not use it to prepare a damar varnish to finish a painting -- the linseed oil left behind would oxidize and not be re-soluble, as the damar would be -- the varnish would not be completely removable, for later cleaning and restoration of the painting.

Once again, if I'm wrong, please let me know -- I don't mean to mislead anyone, anymore than I want to mislead myself.

Doug

If the only thing left behind after SafeKlean evaporates is a little linseed oil (which eventually oxidizes and hardens) it would seem to me that you wouldn't want to clean a decent brush in this stuff and let it sit for 3 months or so afterwards...

If you are saying that you must clean up with soap and water after using SafeKlean Brush Cleaner, I'd say that it is a lot of unnecessary work to have to clean the brush cleaner out of the brush..

I found Weber's Natural Turpenoid to be an awful product that I once mistakenly used to clean my brushes. It wrecked the brush that the "oil residue" dried in. Also when I used it in my paint, the paint "didn't dry" correctly. Sounds like SafeKlean is of the same ilk...

As to the addition of d-Limonene to the BioShield citrus based thinner...I'm willing to trust the manufacturer of BioShield to tell me the truth when they say that this particular product is "non-toxic" and won't hurt anybody....

I get a headache in the presence of turpentine...(after awhile it actually makes me itchy too). I tried a lot of different paint thinners and about 4 years ago, I found BioShield. Because of the way I paint it really works well for me. Whew!