# Creamy Mineral Spirits???



## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

While picking up some supplies at HD a few weeks back, I grabbed a gallon jug of mineral spirits to have on hand in case I ran out during this latest project. It was Kleen Strip Green Odorless Mineral Spirits. Today, I poured some out to set my varnish brush in and it has the look of skim (fat free) milk. It doesn't seem to leave a visible film on things, but I wonder. If you squeeze a rag full of it, you get a white foamy result. I won't mix finish with it, but just use it for cleaning purposes. Won't buy that brand again.


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## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

I have some too.. I don't recall having ever seen anything like it before. I had the same reaction to it at first, but no negative results from it..
I don't know that I'd describe it as creamy though..sounds like something you might put on your breakfast cereal, cremains.. 
Have a delicious bowl of cremains topped with creamy mineral spirits!

Just for the uninitiated cremains are what's left over from a cremation..the ashes of your loved ones..


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

I've messed with that stuff before, white jug, right? Threw me for one hell of a loop first time I poured some of it, wasn't expecting milk in my poly. Shockingly though, it didn't affect the finish at all, besides thinning it. No cloudiness or anything. Not buying it again though, I'll stick with the metal cans

Allpurpose... No. Just no


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I've bought two different gallons of odorless paint thinner and have thrown them both away. I can't find a use for it. It ruins paint if you try to thin any paint with it and it doesn't work for clean up. I now leave any odorless products on the store shelf.


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

I have a gallon of Sunnyside Oderless MS and it has performed fine. I don't know about this Kleen Strip Green stuff though. Why is it so milky? What is the purpose? It almost seems like an answer in search of a question. I was just in the shop and took a leftover quart can of Minwax clear gloss poly that had less than half a quart in it. You could see the bottom of the can through the product. I added about 2 oz. of this milky MS to it and the entire batch became so cloudy you can't see the stir stick in it. Just for grins, I laid on a coat of this mix next to one minus the now milky poly. We'll see what things look like when it dries, but I won't be using this stuff in any finish product. I'll also check the can to see if the cloudiness settles out, but I doubt it will.


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

Well, just to wrap this thread up, I compared the two samples I did yesterday and the one with the "creamy MS" in it is ever so slightly duller than the regular clear gloss. If you look at them separately, they don't look that much different, but side by side they do. The milky stuff hasn't settled out like a dulling agent would, but it definitely has had an effect on the finish. The mix was about 16 oz. of varnish with 2 oz. of this milky MS. I sure wouldn't want to use this in a 50/50 wipe on mix. I might use it on the back of the cabinet where you won't see it after installation. I opened up a can of Minwax Clear Satin, mixed it up, and it is less opaque than the clear gloss with the milky stuff in it. The bottom line is that I will never use Kleen Strip Green mineral spirits again, for anything.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

I still prefer Turpentine for thinning. Hopefully it hasn't changed?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Quickstep said:


> I still prefer Turpentine for thinning. Hopefully it hasn't changed?


Turpentine is turpentine, the only thing that has changed is it's hard to find.


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## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

FWIW, the ashes are not ashes but the bones remain and are pulverized in a machine like a blender. Both my parents were cremated.


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

Just an update to close out this story of "skim milk" mineral spirits. I had written to W. R. Brown (the manufacturer) to get an explanation for this issue, but I have not heard back from them at all. I had to go to HD today for some things and took the gallon jug of this mess back to return it. The returns desk was most happy to refund the $11 I paid for it. I took it to the paint desk so they could give an opinion on it and they said many people have complained about it. They didn't even have to look at it. Then I was directed to a rack alongside the paint counter that contained a half dozen jugs of this so called MS with a big "CLOSEOUT" sign above them. Seems I don't have to worry about buying this stuff at HD anymore.


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## Cowboy18 (Aug 21, 2017)

Been using Crème Mineral Spirits for along time. It's not for thinning Poly or anything else. I use clear odorless Mineral Spirits for that.
It's for cleaning between sandings when doing a finish, and for opening up the wood grain just prior to you're first coat. 
The crème mineral spirits has it's uses. Number one it doesn't evaporate as fast as the clear version. So when sanding it gives that wet look on the wood that reveals imperfections, such as saw marks, or sanding swirls. I circle or line mark these imperfections with chalk while the crème spirits has them revealed prior to evaporation. 
You will also find it stays in you're wipe down rag longer, before evaporating, giving you more time to work with it. 
It's a good product when used for it's purpose.


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