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When I went to pick up the materials for this project, i went to Shermin Williams for a gallon of MS. I went in, asked the guy where are the MS, he took me to the aisle and gave me a gallon of paint thinner that had %100 MS. ive been mixing this with the rustoleum. is that ok if i use that paint thinner\MS? because my local home depot and lowes do not carry anything thats simply %100 MS, except for that odor-less MS.



The 100% mineral spirit is the preferred thinner, but the 'odorless' mineral spirit will also do the job.

The 'odorless' mineral spirit simply takes longer to dry. Here is why : As you know, when you leave a tray of either mineral spirit out it will evaporate. After a while there will be no mineral spirit left as it has all gone into the air. The pure 100% mineral spirit evaporates quicker - thereby releasing its 'smell' or 'odor' into the air quicker and in a greater concentration - because it is evaporating into the air quicker and in a higher density. Therefor it smells.

The odorless mineral spirit isn't really odorless. What it does have is a slower evaporation rate. Therefor it takes longer for it to get into the air. Because it takes longer to evaporate into the air, the concentration or density of the mineral spirit evaporants in the air are lower. There just aren't as many 'smell' molecules being released into the air. Hench the reason it doesn't appear to 'smell' as much.

So... the key thing to take away from this... is that if you are using the odorless mineral spirit, just understand that it will take each coat of paint a little longer to dry or cure - because it is chemically designed to evaporate slower.

OK... so let's tie this into our painting.. and the key thing to remember is that if you are working in a very hot and dry environment, you might prefer to go with the 'odorless' mineral spirit to give you additional time to work with the paint before it starts drying - and it would allow the paint additional time to self level.

If you are working in a very cool environment, you might prefer to go with the 100% mineral spirit ( non-odorless ) to give the mineral spirit a little help evaporating in the cooler temperatures. ( as you know evaporation occurs slower in cooler temperatures ).

You could use the 'odorless' mineral spirit in a cooler environment, but just accept the fact that it will take longer for the paint to dry.

In general this is the theory you have to keep in mind regarding mineral spirits

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