Technical Question for the pin stripers.

I needed some lettering done on my truck and haven't had my very amateur pin striping box out in a long time. I went to open the mineral spirits can and it was low. So I went and bought some odorless. When I opened it , it was a milky white , not clear. I used it to clean my brushes and it worked ok for that. I didn't thin the paint out with it so don't know if it affects the color. Any one else know what I bought? Should I buy some of a different brand?

The paint is One-shot and Mack brushes.

Thanks

 

You should contact Bob Bond at Auto Art Magazine. He's in Lee's Summit, Mo. You are neighbors.

 

I've never seen "milky white" odorless mineral spirits. Actually I don't know that I've seen odorless. Mine advertises "low-odor".

Don't know that I would use the milky stuff for anything other than cleaning, and maybe not for final cleaning at all......

 

After dropping out of college, I was fortunate enough to con my way into a top notch art school, where I proceeded to re-invent myself though the appreciation of the difference between art and craft; the latter being a matter of refining hand and eye, the former hand, eye, and heart. I'm still working on the heart part. Another thing I learned is that the best solvent for any oil-based paint is turpentine. I fiddle with One Shot and Mack brushes myself, and stepped up and bought a gallon. It is not cheap and it does have an odor; but, to me, it's pleasant and reminds me of my friends who were oil-painters, some who went on to create incredible works of art. Others may have opinions that differ about the necessity, expense, and logic of using turpentine. It is not harsh when it comes into contact with skin, nor does it create a reaction to anything you use to paint with in the One Shot catalog; even if a it is wise to wear surgical-type gloves due to the chemicals used to create the pigment in many of the One Shot paints. One thing turps will do is clean brushes and not destroy them. One trick I learned from an older, illustrious West Coast pin-striper is that when you want to add viscosity to the paint and get better flow, even when you've thinned it, is to add a tiny bit of raw linseed oil to the paint. It does wonders. Of course there is no quick and easy formula for how much works, and experiment is the operative word. It also causes the resultant paint to dry slower, which can be a pain in the ass, or a blessing, depending on your point of view, and needs. Some folks use a variety of oils, including transmission fluid to store their brushes in. I prefer non-detergent 30W. And, none of this is an endorsement for any product, and all necessary cautions should be taken when using anything mentioned in my post. Personally, I dislike petroleum distillates for any purpose where they may be inhaled, hence my use of turpentine.

 

My sons have been practicing striping this summer, and they were asking me about brush storage. Can you elaborate on how you store the brushes in oil? Do you just wet them down, or are they literally sitting in a container in oil? Do you clean the oil off with turpentine before use? Thanks!

 

I sold One Shot and all types of painting supply's for more than 40 years and all the old timer sign painters & pin stripers I worked with used turpentine to thin the enamels.

Several of them after cleaning there brushes used mineral oil to keep them in shape. HRP

 

The short answer, yes, get different mineral spirits. I'd used some of the milky stuff, and some with a green tint, it sucks. I buy mine at my local ace hardware, low odor mineral spirits in a clearish plastic jug.

Phillips, I use Neatsfoot oil, afraid of modern additives in oil. I dunk my brush, get the hairs plenty wet and lay it flat in the brush box. yes, always wash the oil out of the brush before painting.

 

Here is a link that might help you to Bob Bonds site.

I still have all of my One Shot paint and brushes and that look as good today as they did 25 years ago.

Jimbo

http://www.nostalgicracingdecals.com

 

I would not use odorless or low odor mineral spirits, it has some water in it. It doesn't work well and may loosen the hairs on your brushes because the hair is held on with a water based glue. If you are going to use spirits for cleaning brushes use the standard stinky stuff. Never use mineral spirits to thin 1-Shot. The newer lead free formula doesn't mix well with mineral spirits and will separate sometimes. I use Penetrol flow agent and either high or low temp 1-Shot thinner depending on if I want to slow or speed up drying.

I have three containers with spirits in them. When I clean my brushes I rinse them first in the dirtyest spirit container, wipe then the next cleaner one, wipe and then in the cleanest one wipe dry and coat the brush in brush oil then lay them flat and straight. You can use 30w non-detergent oil, mineral oil or even cooking oil. You don't want to use any oil with cleaning detergents or acid, this will damage the hairs. When you want to use a brush dip in spirits and wipe dry to remove any oil. I like to spin the brush between my hands to get all the thinner out before I dip it in paint.

 

Thanks, it was cheap and I think I'll get some clear from Ace.
I haven't used my brushes for about 3 years and they were just like I put them in yesterday. I use baby oil. When I started, I read a lot and asked questions. At the time the place I got the brushes recommended the mineral spirits and baby oil, works fine.

I haven't had them out in a while and was surprised I could still pull some descent lines. I really enjoy striping but illness and life got in the way. After painting some letters and pulling some lines, I hope to practice some more and see what I can come up with.

 

I have had some of the milky mineral spirits. Seems to always be in the white plastic jugs. I just switched to the clear ones and pitches the others.

 

Odourless Mineral Spirits works fine.

 

I use mineral spirits(the odorless type)for cleaning my brushes and have had no trouble with the adhesive holding the brush hairs come loose.I use 1-Shot low temp or high temp(depending upon the ambient temperature)for any paint reduction.I have found that mineral spirits of both types does not like to mix with the newest formulations of 1-Shot.
I haven't used turpentine to thin paint in twenty five years at least due to the high incidence of spontaneous combustion when used with cotton cloth and sometimes paper towels.Plus the shit stinks.
I clean my brushes(some of which are used daily)with odorless spirits and an old denture brush and store them in a mixture of Marvel Mystery Oil and air conditioning compressor oil.The A/C oil is for storage and the MMO is so I can tell by smell whether all the oil is out of the brush beofre using. Just my opinion folks.

 

The One Shot that you sold isn't anything like what they're offering today. What they're currently offering is not what it used to be .