Mineral/White Spirits in german

[Klod]

Hey guys, I wana try out painting with enamels, and in the tutorials they use Mineral Spirits. (Sometimes White Spirits) https://ak-interactive.com/product/white-spirit-100-ml/

 

Is it what you would call "Waschbenzin" in german? https://www.dm.de/klax-waschbenzin-p4002832001190.html

[Dagoth Ur]

Jep, that'd be exactly what you're looking for. I had the same conundrum here in the german speaking part of switzerland and after some trying out, I discovered that White Spirits are pretty much just Waschbenzin in this context.

[Klod]

Jep, that'd be exactly what you're looking for. I had the same conundrum here in the german speaking part of switzerland and after some trying out, I discovered that White Spirits are pretty much just Waschbenzin in this context.

 

Cool, thanks!

Was not sure because of how cheap it is compared to what AK Interactive is selling it for. But I guess that's one of those things where you sell sand in a pot for 5€.

[Bung]

White Spirit isnt Waschbenzin.

You can use it but there is a difference.

You are looking for Terpentinersatz

https://www.amazon.de/Wilckens-4000590039905-Terpentinersatz-1000-ml/dp/B001CJEGJ4

 

But i would recommend you an odourless artist variant

https://www.kreativ.de/GERSTAECKER-Terpentinersatz-geruchlos.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAt8WOBhDbARIsANQLp954oCd3NRfURN7cfLj3jZBu6QKH03_7OyMCnggoBgBd8keBEjaBRJYaAgFJEALw_wcB

 

Except if you are into glue sniffing or something like that.

[Arkhanist]

Yeah, modelling companies are often heavily overpriced for basic materials. White spirit should be extremely cheap, as it's the same stuff used for thinning and cleaning off house paint and a starter for BBQ grills. You can get 'odourless' white spirit (less smelly) that will cost more, as it's filtered to remove the more toxic aromatic compounds, which is safer to have about and better for using as a solvent for painting (as opposed to cleaning)

 

If you don't need it it such a large quantity, you can usually get it from artists supply stores which is definitely of suitable quality for thinning paints, brands include Winsor and Newton Sansodor, and Pebeo Odorless Mineral Spirit.

 

I think Terpentinersatz is turpentine; an organic solvent from tree resin, rather than mineral/white spirits which is refined from petroleum oil. Turpentine is less toxic than white spirit, but also a stronger solvent, so care needs to be taken it doesn't lift other paint layers, and has a very strong smell. Household grade turpentine is cheaply processed and can leave a gummy residue, so you'd definitely want artist-grade turpentine for thinning oil paints. IIRC, it speeds up drying time of enamels, so isn't recommended for those.

Edited January 2, 2022 by Arkhanist

[Arkhanist]

I think Terpentinersatz is turpentine;

I did a little more research; was wrong on this. Turpentine has the properties I described (i.e. not recommended for enamels, also as the pigment settles out pretty quickly), and is Terpentin in german. Terpentinersatz is "turpentine substitute", i.e. a mineral spirit replacement from crude oil, so it is similar to white spirit. It is not a standard, and is intended for cleaning brushes rather than diluting paints, as it can have a wider range of organic solvents in it than white spirit. It can work for diluting paint, but can also leave an oily residue depending upon the brand you get.

 

White spirit is standardised and is distilled more specifically than turpentine substitute to have only C7 to C12 hydrocarbons, so is suitable for thinning oil and enamels as well as cleaning. It comes in different grades, depending upon the amount of distillation (and flash point). The most common in the EU is type 1 (which removes the sulphur). low odour (type 2) and odourless (type 3) white spirit has been further refined to remove the aromatic compounds; low odour having most removed (usually found in hardware stores), odourless having almost all of them filtered out (artist supplies).

 

So to go full circle, waschbenzin does appear to be the right term for refined white spirit. I haven't found the right term yet for the odourless; I've seen dearomatisiert, aromatenfrei, and geruchsarme, but none prove useful as a search term.

 

Who knew organic chemistry was so complicated across languages!

[Bung]

@Arkhanst

Odourless is translated as geruchslos which means without odor word for word translated.

 

Its the stuff from the second link i posted above.

 

And you dont get real turpentine in Germany easily.

I tried, but not for art.