Thinners and solvents break down, or dilute, the oil content of paint. They can all be used to clean painting tools with, and most can also be used to thin the consistency of oil colour as part of a painting medium. Too great a ratio of solvent to oil colour would result in the colour breaking down completely and it will not adhere to your painting support sufficiently to last the test of time, so it is good to be aware of this (very thin applications of colour can be protected with a layer of varnish). We do not recommend the use of Spirit Green or White Spirit from a decorator's merchant in the use of painting mediums as they are too abrasive and designed primarily for cleaning.
Below is a quick guide to the range of thinners and solvent that we sell.
Pure Turpentine is a natural product distilled from pine trees. It can be used in oil painting mediums by mixing with oil (linseed, linseed stand, walnut or safflower etc). It is also great for cleaning brushes as it is effective yet is not as strong as white spirit and will not dry out the natural moisture of your brush hairs as much. However please note that prolonged exposure of natural hairs to any solvent will accelerate the deterioration of the quality of the hair and cause them to become brittle and break more easily.
Turpentine can also be used to thin oil based varnishes, and is superior to white spirit in its ability to blend easily with oils to create even mixtures. To make your own varnish you can simply suspend damar resin crystals wrapped in a lint free cloth into a jar of pure turpentine until the crystals have dissolved.
Turpentine’s slow evaporation rate creates a gradual drying time, which again, allows for a more lustrous finish to dried colour that has been mixed with turps.
English Distilled Turpentine is more refined, and is stronger than pure turpentine with less particles of tar, rosin, and colophony in it than pure turps.
Larch Venice Turpentine is a slow drying thixotropic balsam for use in mediums and varnishes. Pure resin from the Austrian Larch tree purified and slightly heated when decanted. Dilute with turpentine or place in warm water bath to obtain fluid consistency.
Oil of Spike Lavender Similar properties to turps but slower rate of evaporation. Improves levelling quality of brush marks. Pleasant odour.
Rectified Spirit of Turpentine Volatile colourless liquid distilled from pine sap. Greater wetting powers than white spirit. Used to thin oil paint.
Zest It is a solvent, primarily for use by oil painters. It is made from an Aliphatic Hydrocarbon and pure food grade Citrus Oil (orange terpenes). It has a neutral pH value and contains no CFC's or Aromatics and has low VOC's. It is a clear, colourless liquid which has a pleasant 'citrus' smell, is inherently biodegradable and evaporates without leaving any residue. Independent laboratory tests show it has no detrimental effect to the oil paint or pigment quality, proven stability and a long active life. The Zest It brand has recently introduced a double stong Zest It solvent to its range, which is particularly suitable for cleaning purposes.
Low Odour Solvent or Low odour thinner is turpentine with agents to reduce the odour. This makes it more tolerable to work with than turpentine as one is less aware of the paint fumes.
Spirit Green is, rather than a solvent, an ultra strong washing up liquid which serves the artist as an environmentally friendlier alternative to white spirit, and cleans brushes whilst maintaining the condition of hairs regardless of whether they are natural or synthetic.
